Wine Predator: Passionate about Murphy-Goode Wine Blogging Job

MGbeachbikesunArt Predator aka Wine Predator on the Prowl for Murphy-Goode Wine Blogging Job

So I know you’re wondering, “what’s up with this Murphy-Goode wine blogging job you’re going for?”

Glad you asked! In this June 5 LA Times article, Murphy-Goode winemaker Dave Ready Jr admits they jumped on the “best job in the world” idea and made it their own by offering $10,000 a month for six months and a house in Healdsburg in the heart of Sonoma County wine country to the winning applicant via a 60 second video:

Ready said he got the idea of hiring a “lifestyle correspondent” via video application from the Australian state of Queensland. Early this year, tourism officials there caused an online sensation by inviting people to submit videos for “The Best Job in the World.” The gig: spending six months as caretaker of a palm-fringed island surrounded by azure sea, and using blogs, video updates, photo diaries and other online media to promote tourism. More than 34,000 people applied for the roughly $120,000 job, which went to Ben Southall, a self-described adventurer from Britain.

“We thought, ‘Wow, can we apply this to the wine industry?’ I guess we can,” Ready said as applicants joined him in sipping samples of Murphy-Goode wine. Many said they had learned of the job — which calls for an imaginative, inquisitive “people person” who is also a communications whiz — through e-mail lists or from friends.

With the deadline looming on Friday, Murphy-Goode has over 1300 videos posted on their website; they’ve warned they won’t accept more than 5,000. But according to Ready:

the main weakness among the applicants so far was their inability to show a passion for wine or for life in the bucolic Alexander Valley, not their mastery of the Web as a marketing tool.

Hmmn passion, passion, passion…I just think that’s a Predator attribute if there ever was one. And passion for wine? For life in the great outdoors in a special place like the Alexander Valley? Hhmmmm, I would say while there’s plenty of evidence for that all over this blog, it’s gonna be up to me to lead the Murphy-Goode folks there!  And I need to make sure that comes through in my video as we finish editing it!

Because, honestly? The tech stuff and how to use social media stuff can be learned rather quickly by anyone who’s a good writer.

Being passionate, enthusiastic? Ahhh, now see, that I have learned, my friends, that I have learned is one of my gifts. It was my passion and enthusiasm, the poetry I had for describing coffee which got me a tasting room job at Ridge Winery in my early 20s.

I am like the Pied Piper, leading my charge on bicycles with 50 people along for the ride in Santa suits or prom dresses, by organizing community cleanups and planting days, or simply in the college classroom, keeping my students awake, showing them how to be ALIVE, encouraging them to be human. To lead a life full of aesthetic, participatory experiences, not anaesthetic spectator ones.

Hmmn, now isn’t that what social media is all about anyway? Being human and interacting with each other?

Wine Predator: Going for A Really Goode Job

Art Predator aka Wine Predator: I Want “A Really Goode Job”

Murphy-Goode wineJust over a month ago, Queensland Tourism announced Ben Southall Gets Best Job in the World!

Which meant that Art Predator aka Wine Predator did not. And for those of you who follow this blog (and there are a lot of you, lurkers and commentors alike), you know my huge disappointment. You likely recall that I wrote a lot about Australia (not just my typical AUS wine posts!) and the Great Barrier Reef  in the weeks leading up to that announcement–posts that, I must admit, have very long tails and continue to be quite active.

In the same post, I mentioned that Murphy-Goode was a week or so into a contest looking for a “Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent,” and I wondered whether I should throw my hat into the ring. I even bought a bottle of 2005 Murphy-Goode Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at the Ventura Wine Store on Telephone.

But I was still licking my wound, letting the warm consoling words of friends wash over and heal me.

Until now. Yes, friends Helen and Dave have been after me to apply ever since I told them about the Murphy-Goode wine blogging and social media job while we were en route to the Delicious Wine Tasting in Santa Monica. Dave keeps giving me that “I’ll never forgive you if you don’t apply” look. So I’ve decided to go for it.

One minute video applications are due Friday June 19 at midnight, California time. I’ve got my script ready, and my lines rehearsed. Some filming and editing is done, my friends and family are lined up, and the tritip is marinating for the fine dinner party we’re going to have with some Murphy-Goode wine up at my mom’s house.

And then. And then.

And then I’m cruising the internet and find this: a wine marketing think tank, VinTank, has already vetted the existing candidates, chosen their favorites, and even helped them promote their candidacy. At one point, they even offered Murphy-Goode $100,000 in services if M-G chose one of their favorites!!

Hello? Murphy-Goode Dream Job? My dream has been squelched before I even finished my video!

OK, I admit, this is a great way for VinTank to draw attention to their white paper on the wine business and social media. And one of the candidates they chose (Todd Havens) was one I chose and even featured on my blog in this post: Art Predator Gets Best Mom, Ben Southall Gets Best Job in the World!

Yep, he’s really good. And his video is really good–or is that goode?

Anyway, now I am in a quandary. The invites are out. Friends and family have made plans. I’m looking forward to seeing them, to enjoying the great meal I have planned, and to drinking this Murphy-Goode wine I bought!

So–The party’s is ON!!

PS And you know it–you will be the first to know how it goes! I am counting on you, my faithful readers, to vote and support my candidacy! Together we can do it, we can put the Art Predator to work at a Really Goode job!

And, if you get a chance, drop those folks over at VinTank a note and ask them to save a spot for the Art Predator aka Wine Predator. They won’t regret it!

Flag Day June 14: Food or Wine? Art or Music?

ojai wine festival posterYes you have to choose–food or wine, music or art–on June 14.

Will you get your hands dirty at Devin Slavin and the Grow Food Party Crew’s permaculture workshop June 14?

Or stain your teeth red with fabulous wines at the Ojai Wine Fest from 12-5pm:

The Ojai Wine Festival is a Charity Event

The Ojai Wine Festival is the major fund-raiser for the

Rotary Club of Ojai-West

Of course there are other options: the Ojai Music Festival (OMF 6/12 review & Flag Day dilemna: hear music, taste wine, grow food, or make art? Part 1 no alcohol allowed although people sneak it in). OR make art by silk screening t-shirts with the Ventura Bicyclists Union from 10:30-2:30 which I am hosting!

Of course we will have wine and be playing music and talking about gardening and food coops so maybe you or I can have it all by making art! Comment below or email me for more details!

If you choose to grow food, here’s the details on the permaculture workshop: Continue reading →

More Wine & Music: KCRW iPhone ap & 6 Bottle Grateful Palate Grab Bag

Writes Grateful Palate’s Dan Phillips of his 6 Bottle Grab Bag for $50:

Six bottles of wine (my choice). Adult signature required for shipping. An additional fee of $4.25 will be added.

The combo that always causes hysteria! We choose the wines from our warehouse. You get six bottle of wine that The Grateful Palate imports. Some shockingly amazingly high quality wines seem to find their way into our Grab Bags – so don’t settle for just one. Note: adult signature required when you receive the shipment and we can only ship wines to States where it is permissible. Call us if you are unsure of your states laws.

Knowing the condition of Dan’s warehouse after several warehouse sales, I’d say this one’s a go for it steal of the day! I’m betting it will include some super close-out deals of wines that they no longer import or the tail end of a case that they don’t want to mess with anymore. My bet is he’s going to give you some great wines at a great price knowing you’ll come back for more!

And what soundtrack might you choose to enjoy with your Grateful Palate wine? The soundtrack to 15 years of my life in SoCal is KCRW–the public radio station out of Santa Monica City College that I’m obsessed with! And now that they have an iPhone ap, I never have to leave home without it–even when I’m traveling by bicycle or out of the station’s reach or away from an internet connection!

This KCRW iPhone ap is absolutely the best news I’ve had since the good times on the Santacon ride Friday! The only bad news is it’s not free–which it should be for us subscribers! Yep, it’s .99. Here are the details:

KCRW Listen to KCRW with our brand-new iPhone app. Listen Live, On Demand, and Be Tuned-In to events around town! http://ow.ly/doaj

BTW, here’s the info on Today’s Top Tune: KCRW Today’s Top Tune is Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens with “Trouble in My Way.” Get the FREE song-a-day athttp://ow.ly/do5D

Wine Blogging Wednesday #58: wine & music symbiotics

A month or so ago I went copper river salmon to a tasting at Paradise Pantry in downtown Ventura where Vino V winemaker Michael Meagher showed off his chardonnay, his Confundido blend, his pinot noir, and his syrah. I knew the syrah and even used it for the Wine Blogging Wednesday North vs South Challenge, so I was excited to experience the others. At a rushed tasting that night (we had a documentary on loons we’d planned to catch that night and we were on bikes), I loved the chardonnay because it was NOT overwhelmed by oak, and I was super impressed by the pinot which means a lot because I’m not always impressed by California pinots. I knew when it was wild salmon season, I wanted to pair it.love copper river salmon with Red Rex

Fast forward to Copper River salmon season, those fleeting, magical few weeks in early June which I wish would last for months, but this year may even be shorter than the typical Memorial Day weekend to Father’s Day or sometimes July 4th weekend. The Copper River salmon season lasts as long as the allotment, and this year the allotment is so small that Von’s won’t even commit to having it one day to the next; when they have it, it’s $29.99 a pound unless you’re a Vons Club member which means it ranges in price from $8.99-15.99. Right now it’s $12.99. Typically we prepare it simply: some olive oil, salt and pepper, a squirt of fresh lemon then cook it on the outdoor grill.

Vino V pinot 2005 smSo when I learned that Gonzo Gastronomy’s Wine Blogging Wednesday #58 Prompt “Now I’m waiting for Wednesday, waiting for Wednesday…” was to do a tasting under different musical influences, I thought: FUN! Then I thought: Gotta get some of the Vino V pinot and taste it with some Copper River salmon and then sit around and listen to music! (This is how I broke the news to the Big Monkey–you be my dj and I’ll be your dancer and we’ll both do the drinking! You can imagine this suggestion was greeted with enthusiasm!)

Just to make it more interesting, and because I’ve become quite fond of NZ pinot noirs following the Wine Blogger’s Conference last October, I opened a bottle of Babich 2004 Lone Tree which I found on clearance for $8 at Vons. It typically retails between $15 and $20. babich pinot 2004 sm

The Vino V has super limited distribution but since they’re local, I was able to pick up a bottle that night from winemaker Michael Meagher who was hosting a winemaker dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Brooks.  It typicaly retails between $40 and $45 but for members of their email club, it’s 10% less or on special at $35 which is what I bought it for.

While we were preparing our dinner, we of course opened the wines and snacked a little on some simple wheat and flax organic crackers from Trader Joes. The Babich was room temperature rather than cellar temperature like the Vino V, which was especially important to the Vino V since it is 14.5% while the Babich is 13.5%.

At first there were many characteristics that we really liked about the Babich, and we liked it even more after we chilled it down a bit: it has a nice, earthy character, a generous nose, and surprising depth and complexity with notes of eucalyptus and truffle. We liked it with our simply prepared salmon, brown rice, fresh squash, and stuffed portabello dinner. But as the meal and the evening progressed, it seemed to grow harsh, and flat while the Vino V flourished. It was significantly more flavorful and complex–flat out more enjoyable, begging us to refill our glasses. It had plenty of flavor and character for our meal yet didn’t overwhelm the salmon either. The wine comes across balanced and has a lovely finish.

cooked copper river salmon

The next stage was to fullfill the legacy of the prompt: to taste the wine with various musical offerings and see how that changes the experience of the wine, enhancing or degrading it.

Honestly, it’s hard for me to imagine a wine such as this as ever being distasteful. But we did find that our experience of the wine changed depending on the music. Our musical choices ranged from Bruce Springsteen to Frank Sinatra to a spoken word piece of mine with music I arranged:

The bottom line on this prompt is that we really enjoyed selecting music from our hard drive, clicking play and then tasting the wine and talking about it and the music. This is one experiment we will do again!

Here are some really rough notes of the Vino V pinto noir with various musical pairings as well as the original prompt: Continue reading →

Green Drinks & Green Wine –biodynamic, organic & sustainable practices explained

shapeimage_3Whenever I bring up Green Drinks, the national green monthly networking event, people always assume I am talking about “green” as in sustainable drinks.

Uh no, but that’s a good topic too and one that confuses people as well. Since I just happen to have some info on it and a desire to let you in on some wonderful “green” wines including the Vino V Pinot Noir I want to feature for tomorrow’s Wine Blogging Wednesday #58 hosted by Katie at Gonzo Gastronomy, I figured I’d take on a intro to both Green Drinks and “Green” Drinks especially green wines in this post.

First, Green Drinks–the event. Then Green Drinks, the beverage with particular attention to wine, my favorite drink of all and possibly one of the most easily available green drink (after water and likely most non-alcoholic beverages!)

Green Drinks is a networking event for people who are “environmentally minded.” Casual gatherings, held monthly in 400 cities around the world, bring like-minded people together to eat, drink, socialize, problem solve, network, find jobs, learn, and make jobs better. Locally we meet on the second Wednesday of the month and it appears to be sponsored by GreenLiving Magazine; I’ve gone twice now.shapeimage_7

In April, we met at the new Red Cross headquarters in Camarillo where officials showed off how they are pursuing LEEDS certification and described the many ways the Red Cross is trying to go green. About 30 people attended, and I saw familiar as well as new faces. Some wine and appetizers were available, but they weren’t necessarily “green”–either by being locally produced or organically grown.

In May, I rode my bike over to the Crown Plaza on the promenade near the ocean. The restaurant served excellent fried calamari and a tuna appetizer as well. People paid for their own drinks; I had a house special using locally made Limoncello that was really yummy–not too sweet and not too sour. Over the course of the evening, about 30 people passed through.

This month, on Wednesday June 10 from 5:30pm-7:30pm, we meet at Sheila’s Place Wine Bar and Restaurant, 302 N. Lantana,  Camarillo. Maybe I’ll see you at our local green drinks or in spirit at yours!

So what about this other “green drinks”? What makes an alcoholic beverage “green”? And I don’t mean St Paddy’s Day green beer or other artificially green drinks.

Typically it means a beverage made from organic, biodynamic, or sustainably grown grapes, grains etc and/or produced using sustainable practices. For some examples of organic beers, go here.

According to an article by Heather Stober Fleming, a wine professional who lives in Fairhaven MA ( http://tinyurl.com/dbzakd), “As the green movement gains momentum, more wine drinkers are seeking out wines that are made from producers that are using Earth-friendly farming practices.”

If a wine is made from certified organic grapes, the label will read “organically grown,” “organically farmed,” or “made with organically grown grapes.” The fundamental idea behind organic farming is to harvest grapes that have been grown without pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or any other synthetic chemicals.

Methods like crop rotation, tillage, and composting are used to maintain the health of the soil. Other natural methods are also used to control weeds, insects and other pests that can damage the vineyard or the fruit.

It is important to know that most wines made from organically grown grapes will not be labeled as “organic wine.” In order for a wine to be labeled as “organic wine,” it must be made from certified organic grapes and contain no added sulfites.

Biodynamic is the highest form of organic farming. It goes beyond the elimination of all chemicals. It incorporates the environment in and around the vineyard and works with nature to apply the knowledge of life forces to bring about balance and healing in the soil. No artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides may be used. Farmers achieve pest control through soil management and the use of biodynamic sprays and teas. Crop rotation, natural vineyard compost, and manure are employed to promote a healthy crop. Biodynamic farmers nurture a diverse animal, bird, and insect population to promote natural control of predators. The vineyard must be free of all synthetic components for 36 months and under biodynamic farming for 24 months before it can be certified. Weeds are controlled by using cover crops and other mechanical or by-hand methods. The majority of composting material used is generated by the vineyard itself. What is taken out of the land is put back in.

The Demeter Association, an independent certifier, is the organization that certifies a vineyard as biodynamic. The certification is extremely difficult to achieve, must be renewed every year and is the ultimate guarantee of purity in agricultural products. Sustainable agriculture produces crops without depleting the earth’s resources or polluting the environment. It is agriculture that follows the principles of nature to develop systems for the best crop possible.

As far as I know, there are no certifications or legal guidelines for sustainability. It is more of a way of life and a commitment that the farmer has made to the land to produce the best product possible, without stripping the land of what nature has given it. All organic and biodynamic growers practice sustainable agriculture, but not all sustainable agriculturists are certified organic or biodynamic. The wine industry is not only green in the vineyard, but the wineries as well.

There are more than 75 wineries in California that have switched to solar power to supply electricity for their winery and other facilities on their property such as tasting rooms, office buildings, and residences.

The article also mentions these widely available wines:

* Bonterra, one of the first wineries in California to commit to organic and sustainable agriculture. All of their wines are made with certified organically grown grapes. They also make one red wine, The McNabb, which is certified biodynamic.

* Benziger — The Benziger family is an industry leader in organic, biodynamic, and sustainable grape growing. They are going through the certification process so the wines that are distributed across the country do not have the organic certification on the label yet but have been grown in sustainable vineyards. The certified organic wines are currently only available at the winery. Benziger Tribute is a Bordeaux blend that is biodynamic certified. It’s hard to find, but well worth it if you do.

* Cono Sur from Chile produces a Cabernet Sauvignon/Carmenere made with organically grown grapes.

* Öko from France produces a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend made with organically grown grapes.

* All the following wineries are solar powered — Cline, Domaine Carneros, Saintbury, Fetzer, Far Niente, Frog’s Leap, Grgich Hills, Long Meadow Ranch, Merryvale, Robert Mondavi, Robert Sinskey, Shafer, Silverado, Spottswoode, Eos, Clos du Bois, Rodney Strong, J. Lohr, and St. Francis.

Usually, information on the front and back label can inform the consumer of earth-friendly practices that were used to produce a specific wine.

Mutineer Magazine Launch Party Success

subheader_magcoverI’m surrounded by stickers, business cards, tattoos, pamphlets handouts and more inclusing a special artist inscribed bottle of wine from Wine Guerillas as I sift through what I collected last night both in terms of memories, tastes, flavors, people and fun.

Life changers: seeded gouda!! and Trippel beer!! and yes, there as wine there also!

More to come!!