Sommelier of Marketing

A Creative Approach to Sales

2009-05-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

A Creative Approach to Sales: "Taking a cue from another New York boss decades before, WCBS New York Presi..."

Yummy Wines/Good Reading

2009-05-03T09:23:00.002-07:00

Really been drinking some incredibly great burgundies--such a kick! Marcassin Three Sisters Vineyard 2002 Pinot, Kosta Browne/Kanzler Vineyard 2005 & 2006, such incredible wines that did so well with the food and the company. Which is the perfect storm in every way!

Some good books to note: The Science and Art of Branding by Giep Franzen and Sandra Moriarty. Another book to add to your collection and really good insights is Ads to Icons: How Advertising Succeeds in a Multimedia Age by Paul Springer.

Been buying a lot of Oregon Pinot's for the cellar--I think dollar for dollar, so good, priced right and really go well with good food!

And my friend, Brad Berens, always wants to know the right books to read--well make sure that all of you get and devour: Brand Immortality: How Brands live long and prosper!

Promise to right more, in fact am doing a Top 50 of Must books for your Kindle/library in the advertising/marketing business.

Yummy Wines/Good

2009-05-03T09:23:00.001-07:00

Catalyst:SF wins Del Monte Foods digital account - iMedia Connection

2009-04-08T05:14:00.001-07:00

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Go Out And Buy Some Newspaper Imps Today - iMedia Connection Blog

2009-03-04T05:22:00.001-08:00

iMedia Connection Blog: Go Out And Buy Some Newspaper Imps Today

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The Republic Project Puts Musicians in Control of Their Content

2009-02-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Republic Project Puts Musicians in Control of Their Content

Champagnes for Mardi Gras!

2009-02-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

As one of the best days coming, FAT TUESDAY, thought i would share some champagnes for that day and evening! And if your going to fast during LENT, go out in style:

(Abridged from FORBES LIFE)

The Party Boy: Marques De Gelida 2004 Cava Brut

The Sure Bet: Roederer Estate NV Brut

The Sweet Tooth: Zardetto 2007 Prosecco

The Wild Card: Majella 2005 Sparkling Shiraz

The All-American: Schramsberg 2005 Blanc de Blancs

The American Artisan: Soter 2004 Brut Rose (Oregon) this is so friggin yummy

Going Green: Pommery NV Blanc de Noirs

The New Kid: Bollinger NV Rose

The Keeper: Dom Perignon 2000,

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST: KRUG 1996

Thinking ahead and enjoy the day and end up with Krug, if you have to go dry go out with style!

Happy Monday

Interesting Reading/Fascinating Wines

2009-02-14T02:02:00.000-08:00

Well it is the weekend, many things going on right now, wanted to share some good wines, good books and some good thinking:

Ken Roman's book, The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the making of Madison Avenue. Good reading, highly recommend!

Pamela Sweet, Jonathan Weisen, Selling Modernity: Advertising in 20th Century Germany. Saw this on Amazon and like whatever and when I got it, could not put it down, interesting perspective on the history of advertising in a country that I have visited many times.

If you can score some Blue Mountain Chardonnay from Vancouver/BC, damm you will think me so good.

Read the above books with a good bottle of Ladera on Howell Mountain, always a rich ruby red wine, like the people and the product. Join the club and you will thank me, I am not a big joiner of clubs but Ladera and Phelps, the only two! (have to get Insignia at release prices)

A very challenging time in the ad business and I think the wine business is as well. Evidence is that i am going to be on the Sine Qua Non allotment, and that has taken 3 years.

Hope you have a good three-day weekend and drink some good wine!

Great Reading

2009-02-13T15:57:00.001-08:00

Some new books crossed my desk in the last couple of weeks, and wanted to get them in front of you for consideration.

Roy Spence of GSDM in Austin, Texas fame, has a damm good book, It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose. This is good reading, did it on a plane back from iMedia in Florida.

Grab it and drink with some good Italian wines, hmmm how about our friend, Pao Bea, and his Sagratino (you will so think me for this recommendation!)

The other book is by a good person in the SF market: Digitial Engagement by Leland Harden and Bob Heyman. Bob is a great guy in this business!

Hope you get to taste some good wines, for Valentines always Merlot is a good bet! And how you can not have any Champagne, for the best value right now, Bollinger Grand Annee Rose 1999 for under 80.00, friggin awesome!

A South Florida Wine and Marketing Weekend

2009-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a good weekend, a great wine dinner with some really fine wines and even better company--drinking Freeman, then Rochiloi and some Dolce for dessert. Awesome wines but some members of my company and Real Branding!

I am here in South Florida for the iMedia conference about Brands in this digital environment. It is going to be a good conference.

If you get a chance, check out Jim Nichols blog , a great way to think about Catalyst:SF. Fascinating time to be in the advertising business right now.

Cheers!

Quick and Dirty on the Super Bowl

2009-02-01T20:17:00.001-08:00

wow, what can I say, the Game was good, damm good, all the way to the end! Good finish, wish the Cardinals had won, but it was good.

1. NBC must have run some 300-400 GRP to promote their own properties (Hulu was good, and the Olympics only 374 days away)

2. CareerBuilder, Teleflora, Dennys were some of my favorites, but most were lame.

3. If you want to check out the ads from Ad Age

4. Budweiser spent a lot of energy promoting that they were an American legend, is this the beginning of the influence of InBev...too mushy for my taste!

So the big question, was the ROI on $3,000,000 worth it! your thoughts. Also check out Bob Garfields witty video on AD AGE...

Cheers

2009-01-31T18:46:00.000-08:00

I saw this on WINE CRUMUDGEON, which is a really good wine email, this is interesting and wonder what is happening to prices at restaurants, "Wines that built their business on wine lists at exclusive restaurants are in trouble. They need to find new markets" wonder if that will bring the prices down on some of the California over-priced wines, some of these wine lists just suck!

No wonder we want to bring our own! did that recently at Mortons in San Francisco, brought a bottle of Sine Qua Non 2001 Shea Pinot and a 1996 Quintessa, it was so awesome, the wine sommelier, had never had either and was loving the tastes--made sure the waiter tasted and the service and food that night was so good, a belated holiday dinner!

Wine lists and wine gouging, I am so over! will send along some good books in next post!

Back in the Saddle

2009-01-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

Just a short note to my friends, that the wine posts are coming shortly, have many to write about

sorry to have been away, but back in the saddle and ready to write and share wines and books--

so many!

happy new Year!

Branding Strategies in an ever-changing digital world, David Pugh-Jones, Creative Strategist, MSN

2008-12-24T00:39:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: interesting perspective, watch this with a good glass of Veuve Rose, and some asparagus! good stuff!!!

Branding Strategies in an ever-changing digital world, David Pugh-Jones, Creative Strategist, MSN

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: creativity online)

History of Advertising

2008-12-24T00:36:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: really fascinating and some perspective on our business

History of Advertising

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: advertisinghistory ads)

My wines/Thanksgiving 2009

2008-11-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

Good evening, hope your ready for the weekend!

My wines for the holiday weekend:

1994 George Latour BV

2000 Paradigm

2004 Hope & Grace Pinot

2004 Freeman Wines

Champagnes

1990 Krug

1996 Bollinger Grand Annee

1996 Louise by Pommery

1985 Salon

a big Thursday and Friday-- hope you have a special holiday weekend

Many thanks to my friends and readers!

Yum Yum, big Saturday!

2008-11-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

When it is good friends, business associates and wine, good food, what a great evening. Had one of those and the ones were all incredible.

Shafer Hillside Select, 1998 Cab, not sure it could have got any better. But what a great bottle of wine, shared with wine novices and cork dorks together!

The opener was Sonoma-Cutrer Les Pierres 2005, a great balanced white wine goes with anything and just great in everything. I always thought their complexity in whites was worth it. But last night, damm fine!

OK, a tad bit later will send some great Thanksgiving wines for you to have on the table to drink!

The conversation was all about the ad business and how challenging it is right now--but the place we all had dinner was packed, so hmmmm!

Took my MBA class (USF) for a bit of retail therapy and an academic experience in Union Square San Francisco--the 25 students had their eyes open, always a great Saturday, what a hands on way of truly seeing marketing by walking around.

Lots of sales, truly deep discounts, no bags bad service and hell it isn't even Black Friday!

Cheers!

The 25 Hour Day

2008-11-02T09:26:00.001-08:00

One day a year, we get that extra hour, that time to reflect, sleep and think about something/nothing.

For me it has been catching up on some great wine blogs. My friend Steven Comfort just got the word that his blog, was one of the Google Top 100 wine blogs. Congrats. A true friend, great wine geek and guy, his blog is such good reading and he makes a hell of a pinot!

Tuesday is a very special day in our country- the election finally, my absentee ballot took me some 20 minutes to finish, so many ballot propositions, but will be good, what will you be drinking, I am opening Diamond Creek 1997 Volcanic, rich and full-bodied and will go down to wire in good taste and some of the questions in California will be just like that, down to the wire.

Thanksgiving is upon us, what are you suggestions for your holiday wines, send along and I will post.

Good reading: Paul Arden, It's Not How Good You Are, its How good you want to be. Funny solid tome that gets you thinking.

Make sure you vote, drink good wine and check out this wine blog: Chateau Petrogasm. Good cool and interesting reading.

A Pinot Crazed time

2008-11-02T04:52:00.001-08:00

Been a while, i know, but in this interim, been doing a lot of reading, traveling and enjoying fine wines.

Well for the wines, it has mostly been Pinot: Freeman (so yummy!), Williams-Selyan 2000 Russian River, Rochioloi (so classic) and a real sleeper, CASE by Robert Talbott (1999), yes all of his wines are named after children and family, go figure!

If you really want a good meal, get a pizza and a bottle of Freeman.

Hits the spot, even from a decent pizza, just so fun and good!

As to a book or two, let me suggest Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery's Do You Matter: How Great Design will make people love your company.

A great article from the October Harvard Business Review should be on your reading as well

"The Contribution revolution: Letting Volunteers Build your Business" by Scott Cook, yes the same Scott Cook from Intuit.

My friend Eric Porres sent me a great quote that I will end up, on this day of 25 hours:

"Bottles of wine aren't like paintings. At some point, you have to consume them. The object of life is to die with no bottles in your cellar. To drink your last bottle of wine and to go to sleep that night and not wake up." Jay McInerney.

Have a great 25 hour day! November 2,

Dodgers/Giants and Diamond Creek

2008-09-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

What a Saturday night, baseball at it's best-the ultimate shit show--the Dodgers/Giants in AT&T for the final homestand. The Giants going nowhere and the Dodgers in the show! But the real show was in the bleachers--drunk Giants/Dodgers fans, normally don't sit in the bleachers, but tonight it was worth it. What a game, LA won, but I am in tears reflecting on humankind at the game! The women in front of me were priceless!

Now as to wine, what a way to celebrate with Riley, Quinn and Matt with a Diamond Creek/Red 1997 from my cellar along with some 2006 Groth Sauviginon Blanc--yummy wines for a great way to cap an evening!

Got my Communication Arts, Interactive Annual today in the mail, great creative and interesting ways that people are using digital---strongly suggest that you buy a copy!

Again Baseball and Diamond Creek, what a Saturday night!

What a Book and Two Very Strong Women

2008-09-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

Really enjoying this new book, 1001 Wines: You Must Taste Before You Die. Fascinating type book where they do 1001 of different things! I went through and counted that I had drank 817 of the wines, not sure i agree with all of the assessments!

Well I just returned from the iMedia Brand Summitt and saw many wonderful friends and made some new ones. But this past Saturday night, my business partner, his wife, our team working for a client and two women from iMedia had dinner. i brought out the big gun Napa winemaker, Ann Colgin and her 2002 Table red. holy merd! it was good! damm good!

And then one of my favorite ladies, Merry Edwards with her Pinot and Sauvginon Blanc, such great wines from two classic producers!

Well will be catching up and writing more often, thanks Josh from Imedia for the plug.

Got a request for holiday wines, let me know!

Must put in a good word for a new book: Relevance: Making Stuff that Matters by Tim Manners. Fascinating little tome! good plane reading

Some good books with that wine!

2008-08-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

My friend Brad Berens, always challenges me to share my reading list with fellow marketers. I combine my wine interest with good books.

Some I would recommend for you, How Did We Get to Be the Bad Guys: How Advertising Lost Consumers Trust And what it must do to get it back. Tom Wneks, great little tome that really does address some key questions. Read this book drinking a bottle of Veuve!

Also, let me suggest, YES: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini---a really good book on persuasion. This is my kick this summer along with some great French burgundies. (had to get the wine in there!)

To paraphrase the old "must see tv", the must read book of the summer is Value Creation: The Power of Brand Equity. This book by Bill Neal and Ron Strauss is so powerful in thinking about how brands, even "direct" brands build that equity. I read that book in one setting with a great bottle of Corton-Charlemgane, one of my favorite style of burgundy. It was a Oliver LeFlaive 2000.

In the wine vein, this was a good book, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink, Tyler Colman. This is a damm good book, a good plane ride and one you will enjoy. Suggest you pair up with Ladera Howell Mountain 2004. I did and it both hit the spot.

I tend to use Barnes & Noble for my on-line book ordering--I like what they do and love their delivery options.

A Northern Rhone Experience

2008-08-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

My wine group had their bi-monthly tasting this past Thursday (8.14.08). What a great evening and a learning one for me. We even traveled to Walnut Creek in the east bay, I normally do not do east bay, but what a surprise that was--stars, moon, warmth, so suburban! The host, Rich Johnson class act member of our club.

It was all northern Rhone--a region and wines that I am so pitiful in my knowledge and appreciation. Check out our evening from viewing the notes from the scribe, Steven Comfort! Check out www.comfortwinery.com. This will give you a great perspective on the wines that we have been having at our different events through the years.

What an evening and what a learning experience. We drank back to 1959. My personal favorite was a Jaboulet vertical 94.96.98.

Will be trying some more of these wines. A special shout-out to Quentin George who as a bi-coastal member of two clubs gave our table a special education with his tour notes in the northern Rhone, it added to an even great evening. We also added anew twist to the group--some members just chipped in and the host went out and bought some older library vintages and added to the special night!

New wines, east bay dammm 2 big treats in one week! Lucky in wine and knowledge. Got to get some good book knowledge. I have been reading up a storm since I have been traveling a lot and school is coming up.

This book is solid: The Power of Persuasion: How we're bought and sold by Robert Levine. This is a really good book on advertising persuasion appeals. It is so marked up now and only four days old.

As always drop me a note, post or let me know what your thinking.

A Pop Culture Weekend

2008-08-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Was in Las Vegas last weekend for the Jerry Seinfield show at Ceasar's Palace. What a great show it was, he is truly the best in comedic timing, I have ever seen.

But what struck me as unusual is how truly branded everything is in Las Vegas and this from the ultimate ad brand slut. From the moment you land, all foods in the crappy United terminal, to the magazine choices (what started the whole pop culture thing), was this woman asitting next to me, apologizing for reading People and Us Weekly. She said the only time she ever reads this "crap" is when she is coming to Vegas, she feels like shoe should. Those magazines so define our culture at the moment.

Starbucks, Cinnabon, Burger King, the hotels and their intense branding efforts, and the stores in the Forum and the Mall are so over the top in the over the top city in America.

Have to put in a word for the dinner choice though--Bouchon, it is such a favorite of mine, in the Venetian, had some of my favorite pinot Kosta Browne (2005). But alas, that was the step out of the norm for me in the pop culture weekend.

I drank some Fetzer Chardonnay, Jordan Cab, so proletariat in my mind! But alas, it so fits!

And then had the ultimate flight home on the definition of pop--Virgin America. But go to tell, you ten times better than United. what a great airline, might be getting the nod. I talked to the flight attendant and he told me the wines they usually serve were small producers in California.

Well will be sending several updates yo you in the next couple of days. Even my reading that weekend was pop: the Bourne series new book, Bourne Sanction! Not even any business reading,

Oh my God, i have died and gone to Pinot heaven!

2008-07-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

one of my Durham lines when drinking pinot noir! And it was over Alfaro wines in Aptos/Santa Lucia area. But last night in BOUCHON in Las Vegas, the bottle of all bottles, the 2004

Covert Fingers by Sine Qua Non Check this wine out if you can find it, buy it, and thank me.I have been furiously all over the web today trying to find bottles. This was a remarkable wine. i am a burgundy fan and this hit it!

And speaking of an incredible find, please go buy this book and thank me later, A History of Advertising by Stephane Pincas and Marc Loiseau (Taschen). A great book about the history of our business. Really enjoyed this book, oriented towards Publicis, but still very engaging book.

Let me know if you find and sample this great wine and what you think of the book. It is always fun reading books on the history of advertising--fascinating perspective!

Some great reading along with some good wines!

2008-07-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

since i am doing a bit of traveling, right now, stocked up with some good plane ride reading and the sunny sit by the Adritatic and lesiruely read, let me suggest these books to add to your summer list.

Wine Politics: How Governments. Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics influence the wines we drink by Tyler Coleman (University of California Press, 2008). good reading and actually very entertaining.

Eric Porres gave me The Billionaire's Vinegar, wow, this was a one plane ride read! Really fascinating story by Benjamin Wallace.

Saw in the Wine Spectator, the current issue with Mondavi on the cover, a contest that can sure be fun, hope you enter: winespectator. Could be a great fun event. Will be sitting at the beach tomorrow here at the Excelsior in Dubrovnik thinking of some great ideas. If you submit, let me know, would post yours here as well! check out James Laube's Recommended California Chardonnay's (p.63) and notice how damm expensive they are getting. Dumol and Peter Michael, top two and they are stunning!

cheers!

Fitting Saturday night in Prague

2008-07-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

What a way to end this great holiday in Prague, than with good friends and a surprise birthday present of a 1982 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Le Montrachet. What a treat my friends from London gave me for my birthday.

DRC has a special place in my heart as a great story can be told by my friends Scot and Steven about a DRC night in New Orleans!

But this is about a beatifiul Saturday night having a dinner at Cowboys. This place is so special a terrace right under the Prague Castle. What a good wine list, had a very nice 2005 Pugliny Montrachet and then the surprise gift, wow, it was so young, so tasty and went well with this steak and salad place. Not even the wine wordsmith in me can describe the taste of this bottle. Afraid to look it up on wine-searcher!

What a fitting way to end Prague! Well off to Dubrovnik this morning!

Gretchen and Cory's wedding in Meadowwood

2008-07-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

What can you say, this was one great weekend! Hope you had a chance to check out all of the pictures from Jim Nichols blog (see my blog listings). What a wonderful weekend. These are two very special people in my life and it was a such a job to see them get married. The wedding was so beautiful at the resort, drank some great wines ( I love Groth!) and music, friends and the whole evening was so special.

They are off to Bora Bora and Cory told me that he put in several bottles of Cab so that they can celebrate. But the celebration with the Schramsberg to start and end the night was so good.

It was good to see all of the Catalyst:SF team. I work with amazing and fun people! Well it was the second weekend in a row of good times, the birthday weekend, the wedding weekend and now Prague, what can I say, very blessed!

Cory and Gretchen I wish you the best in life and your marrige grow so strong and many many wonderful years!

Cheers! now off to another brewery tour in Prague, what can I say, God Bless America!

The Spanish Bay weekend, wines/golf galore

2008-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well two very good friends all turned 50 recently and they invited six of their friends to join them for golf, great conversations and a world class wine weekend in Carmel, California. Staying at the Inn at Spanish Bay, what a way to start the weekend!

The dinners were stupendous. The wines, have to tell you rank as some of the best. We had Diamond Creek 1991 Volcanic Hill, and a vertical of Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet 1998-1999-2000.

Other wines drank that weekend included an Atlas Peak Cabernet, Robert Talbott Chardonnay, Cass Pinot, Bernardus Sauvignon Blanc, Jacquesson Champagne, Morgan Double XX Chardonnay, Dolce by Far Niente. I know I am missing many but these stand out. But more important than the wines was the fellowship of 8 people enjoying some 50 hours of golf, food, sleep, conversation and a lifetime of memories.

I did a night in Carmel with Matt and Quinn and had a 1997 Oriennella (yummy Italian Tuscan!)

Thanks S & D for that special weekend, I know myself and the 5 others will cherish that weekend for a long time. Hope we can get together in another 50 years!

The 4th of July in Prague

2008-07-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Most people enjoy their 4th surrounded by fireworks, friends, music and good cold beer! Well the same here except the fireworks and the beers were in Prague!

Yes the holiday time, my birthday, scooting away from wine (even though I did sample some Czech Sauvgninon Blanc) could not tell you the name of it mixed with the many many Pilsner Urquells!

Hope you had a good holiday, really appreciate being an American here, the dollar is decent against the Czech crown! Found this very cool Reidel store where the have/now had a limited magnum decanter that I have never seen (Tyrerol!) and it will be cumbersome to get home but what the hell, a good birthday present!

My friends and I have so enjoyed this town, Serena and Venus playing tennis, some strawberries and beers! (damm there are so many pubs) and what they say about British stag parties is amazing!

Well another great American holiday passing, my birthday is approaching and i am one lucky guy---good wines, good friends, good beers, great holiday!

Hope your enjoying yours!

one last word on the NY Winos (the grapes!)

2008-06-19T22:37:00.000-07:00

They do it so right! Here is a snapshot of some of the wines. As a champagne geek, i really like small producers.

Thanks Eric! Here tis: nygrapes

Got to get a word or two in for Pierre Peters Cuvee (1999), very close to Krug, but this producer can so hold their own, a very yummy bottle of champagne!

And as Winston Churchill said of champagne: "In success, you deserve it, and in defeat, you need it"

cheers!

Thursday notes

2008-06-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

as I sit here planning a very special weekend of wine, golf, good conversation and good friends--i am picking some good wines, Dolce for dessert, A Rafinelli Cab and a Jeroboam of Diamond Creek Volcanic 1991 (you can imagine how nervous I am and hoping this isnt past prime!)

Had dinner with my good friend Brad Berens, from iMedia and Ad-Tech. He is such a solid marketer and thinker in this business.

Working on my summer school syllabus. Anyone got any ideas for good advertising projects? I am teaching a course (MBA) in Advertising and Sales Promotion. Been a chore to pick the right reading and text materials. Going to combine my like of wine and marketing and hopefully have the students do a creative campaign on wineries from Sonoma.

got an email from the nywinos--had a small producer of champagnes party in New York. Some really good winners, it appears. If your in New York and your in the ad business and a wine geek you should contact Eric Porres!

My site of the day: loopt and check out tubemogul, interesting video analytics site!

sitting in LAX can always be a challenge

2008-06-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

it is a great Tuesday in both cities/ SFO and LAX and yet the typical United flight is delayed. But it gives me a chance to see the worst major airport in my personal estimation in the United States.

It is called a terminal for many reasons and this place is so bad, so bad. But I am in a good mood, spent time with clients here in Los Angeles and got excited.

Marketing is a fun business and when you see and feel the impact of change and what you bring to the table it gets you excited! Almost feels like a special bottle of Krug Rose!

Quaffing a good bottle of champagne is a good idea on this Tuesday, sure hope the Lakers ice it down for a 7th game, Speaking of performance, what about Tiger yesterday, AMAZING! is the only word..it brought so many people to watch video or TV on a Monday, be curious as to productivity in offices across America--but the lessons learned from that performance from the weekend, those 91 holes amazing!

Well off to try and get on this delayed United flight! Check out mofuse, very cool product.

Fathers Day Refelctions

2008-06-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

a good week in wine it has been! we had 2 special days in Aptos with our wine group. It was a night of deep reds including Jordan, Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill, and some very interesting French champagne including Jacqueeson 96.

But the killer was the evening of Santa Lucia wines, many many good pinot wines and the winners included Hope & Grace, ROAR and Alfaro wines. But the opening act of champagne was pretty damm good as well, including Krug 1990, Dom Perignon 1998a and the surprise good bottle of Billecart-Salmon Grand Cuvee 1996. Most assume that brand is about the Rose, which really is a good bottle of wine, but the Grand Cuvee is a sleeper!

I enjoy being the sommelier at Macs house, because we are tasting some damm good wines. Check out Comfort winery (www.comfortwinery) and check out his comments and pictures of this great event.

My Fathers Day weekend of wines included Rudd Sauvignon Blanc and a nice bottle of Schafer Hillside Select 1998. Nice way to appreciate the weekend!

Hope all of you are having a good weekend!

May Days are now Over!

2008-05-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well it sure has been a short year! Already at the end of May. I paid $5.25 a gallon today in San Francisco..that will sure drive you to drink!

Had a chance to visit in Dry Creek this week and stop at Michel-Schlumberger..wow what a great price and very solid wines! If your up for something different visit the Healdsburg/Dry Creek area and try so many artisian wines including one of my other favorites, A Rafelleni!

Cory and I are off to New York for a week of meetings (www.catalystsf.com) and doing a 100 point dinner this Monday night with good friends Eric and Paul--will share details!

Make sure you grab a copy of the new FAST COMPANY with Alex Bogusky from Crispin, Porter, fascinating story on the agency.

Hope May has been a good month for you. I am going to end my month with a good bottle of Robert Mondavi Reserve Cab, 1998. Solid wine and will go well with a nice piece of protein!

Will also sneak in a bottle of William Deutz 1996 Champagne, a truly surprising good bottle of the bubbles!

Remember, let me me know some places that overcharge for wine! Still just pisses me off!

If you get a chance, check out www.ebacchus.com.

Cheers!

i sure like this business!

2008-05-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

it has been a good two weeks, reading and drinking good wines in both Austin, Texas at the iMedia Agency Summitt and in Las Vegas just enjoying a good Memorial Day weekend.

Reading some really good books that go with Rombaurer Chardonnay (yummy to describe both!) Value Creation: The Power of Brand Equity by William Neal and Ron Strauss!

Good hefty reading might even take a hard bottle of Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill, any year!

Got to sample some of my friend Eric's favorite wines: Dominus, damm it is good!

Well look for some more reading and some great summer wines coming up! Remember champagne goes with anything, anytime, anywhere!

Some good reading!

2008-05-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Well along with some good wines, and if you in San Francisco, it sure needs to be a crisp, cool Sauvignon Blanc---there are so many good ones to choose, but if you can pick up Groth! what a fine bottle for the price--will go so well with some cheese and these books for the weekend or summer reading.

file:///Users/johndurham/Desktop/Books%5B1%5D.doc

Ok Who are the Big Offenders!

2008-05-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

Looking for restaurants that overcharge their customers with wine pricing. please send to me via the blog or to my email: durham@catalystsf.com. i want to do a wine shame posting!

Eric Porres my wine buddy and political advertising partner in Pericles called me and wanted to send a bottle of champagne for someone's engagement. He was reading me the choices and their prices.

Veuve Yellow label for 135 now that is bullshit. Dom for 310 (1999 vintage) please! and even my favorite Krug Grand Cuvee for 285. That is highway robbery and does nothing to encourage people to step up the the game and drink good wines

So send me who is really bad and if you got a good choice as well, do pass along. For the standard-bearer of who sets a good wine policy is PLUMPJACK in San Francisco. Five dollars over retail---that will get you to drink better!

Ad Guys/ Big French night!

2008-05-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

Always encourage you to drink your special bottles with friends--wine is to drink, yes cellar, but then open with friends and solve the business problems that we are all encountering in the digital advertising business.

I went deep with 2 bottles of Chateau DUCRU-BEAUCAILLOU 1970. Now that wine is 38 years old, (it was older than a couple of the people at the dinner). Decanted about 3 hours before everyone appeared! WOW--rich, red and it was spectacular! (remember the Seinfield episode!)

Rich bought a 1995 of the same vintage and for safety reasons I had a 2001 and 2004 of the same to open just in case all three were really bad.

As a side bar, the two 1970 bottles were open and decanted in their own decanters. It really begs the importance of the bottle is critical--

As for the food, real simple PIZZA, heavy meat lovers pizza--pizza so hit the spot, (picked this up at a Latour tasting in Paris!)

we solved many of the ad problems, like how much should a site sell for, how do we improve the ad seller/buyer relationship!

I enjoy wines with friends and good food and it is the elegant and simple approach that I recommend!

If you want to know who was there, and who we talked about, drop me a line! and if you can find the 1970 DuCru buy it and drink it!

Fizz at your fingertips

2008-05-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Thought i would write a moment about my favorite subject: Champagne! So easy for me to talk about this, some 1500 bottles I have of all different kinds, price and tastes. Champagne to me is one of these great wines that go with everything!

A great web site for you to peruse, ironically is from Australia. www.champagnegallery.com.au

This was found in Gourmet Traveller magazine. It is a great site that can help you figure out some champagnes that you should try.

For the best to me it is KRUG , duh! not even a close second. But if you check my refrigrator, its the yellow label day in and day out. Veuve is such a great product as well.

Good reading on champagne is the book: 4000 Champagnes by Richard Juhlin, should be on your reading and collecting.

I hope that you will try some great producers, Salon, Ruinart, Deutz are three that I call your attention too.

But if you really want to sample the special juice: Krug Rose. When I visited the Krug family many years ago, I had the rare priviledge to sample champagne with Renny Krug in the cellars and we drank a bottle of Rose and I have never been the same!

For our wine group, which is a bunch of ad geeks drinking/no quaffing wine that we sample from around the world--I had a champagne only dinner and the food was Popeyes Fried Chicken and vintage champagnes. Check out the Comfort Winery photo page for some of the best vintages and a special Napeleon sword dance!

Hope you send along a question or two about champagne and let me suggest several from $40 on--hard to find French champagne due to that damm Bush dollar anymore!

cheers!

Back Aboard!

2008-04-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while, and that will now change, will get back to blogging on a more frequent basis!

So many things have been happening since we last get together, AD TECH for one, what a good week for san Francisco. In fact one of the best events was the Adconion party at BIN 38 on Tuesday night--great wines, in fact damm food wines from Oregon, Italy and yes even Sonoma. Hope you have been to BIN 38, go in and ask for one of my wine friends, Don Davis, knows his stuff!

Now in my next post will be some wines and reading as the summer is upon us. Got to do my final exams for my classes at USF. always fun!

If you ever want to request a good wine or pass along some tips, please do! I spent some time in my cellar yesterday and am so excited to drink! Made way too many purchases this month!

Remember a glass of champagne a day will make you better!

Dinner for a good Cause and with some good wines!

2008-03-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Being on the SF BIG Board has really been very special, working with Scot McLernon, putting this group together has been a very worthwhile endeavor. This past December there was a charity auction put together by our good friend Brian Monahan at UMI (love name dropping!) who waned to raise money for ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD.

I donated a home-cooked meal with some special wines assisted by Scot for the evening. The high bidders were Seashal Morse from Centro and Liberty Carras from Drive/PM. what an evening

we opened with my one of favorite champagnes day in/day out Veuve Yellow Label, always a bottle or two or three in he refrigerator. My menu was Corn/Feta salad with onions and Roma tomatoes, pork loin with lemons and a brandy sauce, grilled Roma tomatoes and asparagus. Scot made this wild fruit tart. But the wines were all APTOS, all Mac wines--his chardonnay, and his syrah--both bottled by him and some good friends. Great wines, if your lucky, Scot might share a glass or two.

But the winner was the children of San Francisco schools, good times, great cause and good way for a Wednesday break. Thanks Seashal, Liberty, Scot and Brian to you as well for bringing this great evening together.

Now if you want to know the marketing talk, there was plenty!!

What I want to accomplish

2008-03-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

For several years, i wrote a weekly email entitled THE WEEKLY READER combining some key reading tips along with wines i bought or drank that week.

Many people wanted me to continue writing this, they didn't give a damm about what the business thoughts were unless they didn't get mentioned, but wanted good wine tips. They told their wine store buddies who wanted me to send them the email so that they could stock up some interesting and intruiging wines. It is not about price but about value, so my wines could go from 8.00 to 800.00 and reflect all different type of tastes just like me.

I am a wine drinker, not a snob, I can play that cork game but why waste the time, it is about the people and the places that you drink and share that make it worthwhile for me. My friend David Greenwald was the first post, calling it the wonderful wacky world of Durham and it is-my tastes are as varied as there are "Google-killers".

I enjoy reading a lot, in fact my good friend Dr. Brad of iMedia fame wanted me to share some top books that I make must reads for this business--this from a September Imedia, check it out!

OK, ask away, will be sending some wines that I drank to and from Paris in the past few days. Made some purchases, the damm Euro is killing good medium-priced burgundy!

Welcome to the World of the Durham

2008-03-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

hello, wanted to welcome you to little world of wine and marketing---coming together from a perspective of the good, the bad and the best!

i will be sharing some of my thoughts and some wines that match those thoughts!

also available to give you some insights and tips into picking wines as well

what the hell, it will be me all over the wacky world of marketing!

open to ideas and as usual, ready for the comments!