Moving out of the luxury bungalow was tough- A 5 min walk to the square, easy access to restaurants, bars, and tasting rooms- A 500 sq ft, 1 bed room apartment was my likely move, until my friends at Michel-Schlumberger swept in with a plan-- Live at the winery.
Say What?!? Yep, make a trade for some consulting and projects, and live like a king on a 100 acre wine estate in Dry Creek Valley. Sweet mother of biscuits!
This is going to be insane. An MTV Cribs inspired video is in the works...
It had been about
16yrs since I was last in Bolinas CA. The last time I rode down that windy, cliffy, eucalyptus, lined road I was laying flat on
the floor in the back of a purple school bus that was blasting "I Want To Take You Higher" by Sly and the Family Stone,
as our dreadlocked driver took the coastal turns at what seemed
liked light speed. This time the bus was a car with driver, and we were off to see wine-maker Sean Thackrey, but somehow the vibe was not that far off from my last trip in 1994. (Though the percentages of nervousness and excitement may have been inverted)
We spent the afternoon having lunch, listening to stories, and sampling a few of Sean's wines. His 2006 Sirius Petite Sirah was a clear favorite of mine. (no notes taken, except a mental "Boom Y'all!")
The most amazing part of the trip was listening not really to Sean's methods, or wine philosophy, but in feeling how passionate he is about it. It wasn't strings of buzz words or marketing, just a guy telling stories over lunch, in the middle of nowhere, with a couple of open bottles of wine.
It is tough to explain how amazing that really is...
As most of you know, I was hired by Murphy-Goode Winery to be their "Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent". Thanks to the efforts of many Dirty South Wine Fans, I got the job and am packing up to move to Healdsburg, CA. for at least the next six months. (THANK YOU!)
In the past few weeks, a number of posts have been written regarding what will happen to Dirty South Wine, my credibility, and if I will continue to bring the crunk.
Dirty South Wine is going to keep on keeping on. Out of respect for readers, I intend to keep both outlets as separate as possible. I will have time in Sonoma that will be off the clock, and I intend to explore, taste, and keep the Dirty South flavor going during my stay in Healdsburg. The only spots I may cross post are if I am going to do an appearance, interview, or something where I'd love to catch up with people.
But, Murphy-Goode drinkers or not, I hope that you visit, interact, and read my content at Murphy-Goode. I intend to devote countless hours developing some of my craziest, most creative, and off the wall content for this opportunity. I won't let you down.
My current Murphy-Goode page is just a shell, and it will go through some major development and transitions over the next few weeks-- it will be rockin'! I'll also be taking over the Murphy-Goode Facebook Fan Page
I can't wait to get started at Murphy-Goode and to also keep the Dirty South rocking in Sonoma.
Ahh Yeah! 10 days until the 2nd Annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference!
For 3 Days, Sonoma and Napa will be overrun with 250 tweetin', blobbin', flippin', streamin', guzzlin' and spittin' wine bloggers.
More than a three day social event, it is a three day social media event-- If you can believe it, there is a pretty rigid and serious agenda.
Going last year as an attendee, I'm proud to say that this year, I will be a panelist-- On Video Content... Frightening, huh?
Beyond Words: How Video Content is Changing the Wine World: The wine business has been slow to embrace video for blogging,
branding, marketing, or entertainment. In this panel we’ll assess the
state of video content in the wine world with people in the know. Then
drawing on examples from other sectors, we’ll predict where we are
heading. Panelists include Bob Asher, TV Producer and founder of
ChilmarkMedia and DrinkThisTV.com; Lisa M. deBruin (Hahn Family Winery and www.hahnwine.tv); Hardy Wallace, Dirty South Wine; and John McWeeny, TurnHere.com. Sponsored by the Wine Growers of Dry Creek Valley.
Was it this one that made them say "We need Dirty!"????
I'm a firm believer that video content is a key component in the future of wine media. I'm from the school of thought where you don't need to be a filmmaker to produce great video (sometimes referred to the school of thought that has no talent)- You just have to do it, and be able to do it quickly (both in production speed and in short videos).
As fast as blogging has changed the voice of wine criticism, I think video is going to change they way we blog.
Video has yet to take a firm hold in Wine Blogging. Along with the epic Gary Vaynerchuk who has been doing video since day 1, here are two wine video blogs I view regularly and really enjoy.
Kool-Aid pickles! These sweet, sour, salty, treats are a hidden gem in the deepest South. Take dill pickles, dump the juice, and fill the jar with double strength Kool-Aid (pick any flavor). I like to take it to a whole 'nother level, and throw some habanero pepper in for some heat.
Not necessarily a great food for wine, but pair these with an ice-cold shot of Vodka and we're talking "Hells Bells!"
With the loss of Popcorn, one thing is for certain, there is a lot less character up in them thar hills.
The following link is NSFW and contains vulgar language. If some foul-talk don't scare you- pour yourself a stiff one and recognize a lost part of the Dirty South.
(To watch the video, click the image below to go to Johnny Knoxville's video)
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