Wineskinny.com
TOP TEN WINE LINKS We're not crazy about those links pages that just give a long list of links with no explanation, rating, insight, etc. Who has that kind of time? So, in each issue, we'll give you our current Top 10 Favorite Wine Links, along with a little description of what you can expect to find in each. To suggest links for future issues, email us at editor@wineskinny.com. LocalWineEvents.com Easily one of the best new sites we've seen in a while! It's created to be the one central place where wine enthusiasts can go to find out about events in their area without being on the mailing list of a dozen different wine shops. And it's free and already full of great listings. Definitely check out this one!
Houston Business Journal
by Walker C. Wooding Jr.
When Eric Orange decided to launch his new wine events Web site (http://www.LocalWineEvents.com), he figured it would take about six months to find out whether he would sink or swim. But four months later, the site has more than 850 events listed from across the country. The site serves as a link between sectors of the wine and spirits industry that can post tastings and dinners, and consumers who are looking for events to attend. Orange, who once worked for San Francisco, Calif.-based WineShopper.com, went out on his own to put his idea into action, and registered 300 hits in the first month of operation. "I have had a tremendously positive response from the wine business," says Orange. "My biggest chore right now is to let the consumers know about it. And there are those wine people out there that I haven't been able to reach." Currently, the site covers events in nearly 100 cities in the United States and Canada. Representing the international contingent are Australia, England, France, New Zealand and Scotland. Orange is aiming for 100,000 hits per month. Right now he's receiving 23,000. Orange says he's expecting competition. But he feels he has an advantage because his focus is on presenting a schedule, not selling wine. "I put myself on a six-month schedule," says Orange. "If it was not promising, I was going to give it up and get a job. The first month I was absolutely stunned."
Robin Garr's Wine Lovers Page
by Robin Garr
Eric Orange's new LocalWineEvents.com site is a place where organizations holding wine-tasting events and dinners around the world can post free public announcements about their events. Easy to navigate, it begins by offering a choice of cities around the world. Click the location of interest to you and you'll find local events listings, plus links to submit additional events. At this point, it's new and still growing, and while it's rich with listings for larger cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, many of the listings from international cities and smaller U.S. cities contain no events. It's a good concept, though, and participation will make it work. So if you're in the wine business and have an event to announce, drop by www.localwineevents.com. And if you're a wine consumer, you might tell your favorite wine shops and restaurants about this site.
San Francisco Examiner
by Catherine Fallis
Here is a new Web site that specializes in consolidating wine events: http://www.localwineevents.com.
San Francisco Chronicle
Local Wine Events.com http://www.localwineevents.com The new site provides listings of local wine and spirits events, classes, dinners and other wine-related activities.
