Here’s a video summary of the great Pinot Noir event we had here in Atlanta at Paul’s Restaurant with special guests Andrea Robinson, MS and Richard Groves of Boisset Family Estates.  As you can see, it was a lot of fun with a lot of wine.

… It’s The Only Thing.

If you ain’t first, you’re last.

Shake. And. Bake.

That.  Just.  Happened.

Ladies and Gentlemen… The wine world will have its eyes on Pinot Noir and the omnipresent Twitter tasting community this coming Thursday, July 15th folks and you won’t want to miss it.  Between the hours of 5-7p PT/ 8-10p ET it’s a full-on cage match between all comers brandishing nothing but a stem and a bottle of their best Pinot Noir as they swirl, sniff, slurp and spit TO THE PAIN.  Whose juice will reign supreme in such a format? Will the veteran stalwarts from #BU outlast the pack and rub terroir in everyone’s mug?  Maybe the brash ‘tweeners from #CN will crush some skulls with their delightful cool-climate juice?  #WV is always up for a fight and will throw cloves and cola in your eyes while the All-Blacks from #NZ will eat everyone’s lunch, er, breakfast since it will be 11AM in the South Pacific.  You can register here to witness this magnificent mayhem: http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com

Your guess is as good as mine, folks.  Step right up!  It’s up to you to decide!  Get a glass and get a’ twitterin’!  Thanks to you , some lucky Pinot-producing region is walking away with, well, a whole lot of pride and bragging rights for boasting the most favorite Pinot Noir of the night.  Votes only count if you use the appropriate regional hashtag in addition to the #PinotNoir tag!  See below to refresh your memory and for current odds on potential favorites.  Vegas will certainly want to get in on this action.  Shooootaahhhhh! (p.s. I have no idea how to produce odds… but it seemed cool)

These are based on tweets from July 1 – July 12.  Remember, only tweets between the hours of the event will count for the final tally.

(UPDATED) based on tweets from July 12 – July 15 10:52 am ET:

based on tweets from July 1 – July 12:

Join the Twitter Tasting with Halleck Vineyards!
Open any bottle of your Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir on July 15 th at 5 – 7 pm PST.   Taste.  Tweet with others all over the US.

Ross and Jennifer Halleck are hosting a Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir tasting at:  
        Aubergine Café and Bar
        755 Petaluma Ave.
        Sebastopol, CA 

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They will have the big screen wired to follow tweets around the country. And they will be adding theirs too. Please join them!!

For those new to the medium, including the Hallecks, Twitter is a mobile application for passing short news messages to anyone interested from your phone or computer.

We hope you gather your friends and break out your Halleck Vineyard Pinot for this ground breaking event. Then log on with your phone or computer to Twitter. Type in your comments and include “#pinotnoir” (no quote marks) at the end plus “#SN” for Sonoma Coast to “vote” for our region. This will allow your comments to appear on the Twitter Tasting and Smackdown thread.

If you write a tweet about Halleck Vineyard Pinot, they will give you a 15% discount on a bottle of Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir!  Get tweeting!

For more information and to register go here: http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com/

If you are a winery and want to know how to take advantage of a fun event like this, please check out this link.

Halleck Vineyards

With less than 10 days left until the hammer drops on what promises to be the most entertaining Twitter wine tasting extravaganza with regional bragging rights at stake, do you know where your Pinot Noir is?  If you are in the Atlanta metro I sure hope you were able to RSVP to our local venue, Paul’s Restaurantin Peachtree Hills and I look forward to meeting you.  It took all of 3 days for the event to sell out, but I guess I should not be so surprised.  Check out this line up of wines and the specials provided to participants — by the way, I know everyone is coming really to see Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier, who will be with us at Paul’s.  She’s way cuter than me.

WINES:

• Simonnet Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Brut
• Latour (Marsannay)
• Domaine de la Vougeraie Gevrey-Chambertin “La Justice”
• Robert Skinskey (Carneros)
• Halleck Vineyards (Sonoma Coast)
• DeLoach Vineyards (Sonoma Coast)
• DeLoach Vineyards (Green Valley)
• Hahn Estates (SLH)
• Belle Glos Las Alturas (SLH)
• Mudhouse (Central Otago)
• Hahn Estates (Monterey)
• Laetitia Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara (Arroyo Grande)
• King’s Ridge (Oregon)

SPECIAL OFFERS:

1. Enjoy Paul’s for dinner prior to the event and receive 10% off your meal
2. Receive a FREE red wine stem from Andrea Robinson’s The One™ collection, provided by Macy’s, that will be used during the tasting
3. Receive a free 2010 wine buying guide if you purchase a 4-pack box set of The One™ stemware at North point, Lenox or Perimeter Macy’s locations
______________________________________________
If you did happen to miss the chance to RSVP to Paul’s, you can still take advantage of this sweet stemware deal if you are participating in the event via Twitter:  Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier and designer of the new The OneTM stemware collection, is also participating in this event and has a provided a wonderful offer to event participants: 50% off a 4-pack or single red stem of TheOne^TM

• 4-Pack ($24.96 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupBox
• Red Stem ($6.25 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupSingle

Order Here:  http://bit.ly/AndreaTheOne
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If you are a local wine shop, winery or someone who just a certifiable Pinotphile, then it’s not too late to put a gathering or event together to enjoy this wonderful grape and watch the Battle Royale ensue in cyberspace!  Here is more information to help you out!

Some wineries are offering special deals if you need some wine for your party… check out the #PinotNoir stream on Twitter for more on this!

The #PinotNoir Twitter Tasting & Smackdown can be a great opportunty for wineries. They allow you to expand your tasting event without having to bring any more chairs. A participating winery that maximizes the event can connect with their existing client base, engage with Pinot Noir lovers online AND generate hundreds (even thousands) of brand impressions in markets where they do business. The information below is intended to be a support tool for you to maximize connection, engagement and hopefully sales in the longer term.

#1 – Register

The first step is to register at the event site: http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com – This helps us to connect you to online participants and vice versa who may want to purchase your wine when they join us through Twitter or Facebook. We also keep an updated list of wineries that are participating including their Twitter handle to make it easier for people to connect with you.

#2 – Invite

At the very minimum you should send an invite to your email list or put the event in your regularly scheduled newsletter.  Other free means of communication include the following:

• Create a Facebook invitation. Doing this reinforces the message to people who are on your email list and engages people who are already adopters of certain social media channels. Make it easy for them to join by mentioning the Facebook Twitter Community Wine Tasting page http://facebook.com/tasteandtweet
• Put the event on all event calendars in your area (winery association, web site, local event aggregators, etc).
• Tweet the event. Use twitter to point people to your Facebook invite or your web site calendar page so they can know specifics about how YOU are participating. Make sure to use the hashtag #PinotNoir in your tweets

#3 – Communicate

Be consistent in your efforts. Many people have an aversion to over communicating and especially spam.  You will learn that social media is not like direct marketing, email marketing or mail marketing.

• Facebook and Twitter posts are chronological feeds that move quickly. What you say right now will only be seen by a certain % of your fans/followers. It’s okay to communicate the same message a few times throughout the day and at different times leading up to the event.
• Engage people who are coming into your tasting room. One idea is to create a flyer or brochure to hand out to every customer who buys wine or wants to take one.
• Remind people one or two days prior to the event. People want to participate and they want to drink YOUR wine. You just need to remind them.

#4 Engage Wine Writers, Bloggers, and Trade

In early July the eyes of the online wine world will be on Pinot Noir.  Additionally, the 3^rd annual Wine Blogger’s conference is being held June 24-28 where 300+ bloggers, PR, Washington wineries and other trade groups will be in one place and we emphatically encourage wineries to reach out to these committed bloggers.

• Review this list of Wine Blogger Conference attendees and reach out to see if they would be interested in participating in #PinotNoir and sampling your wine
• Be discerning about who you choose. If you are being distributed into a new region, select someone from influence there. Select a blogger who has a format or “voice” you and your client base can relate to
• Some wine bloggers will either be unable to participate due to schedules or they may have other tasting commitments
• If you need help or recommendations, email me: ethralls [at] winetonite [dot] com and I can introduce you to the social media influencers while I am out there

#5 Make it Easy To Engage

Do people know you’re on Facebook and/or Twitter? Similar to your phone number and web site, add these elements to your communication routines.

• Create a Follow us on Facebook and Twitter sign for your tasting room
• Create a contact us or business card (Phone, Email, Web site, Twitter, Facebook) that goes out the door with every customer
• Include Twitter and Facebook links to all of your email correspondence if you don’t already do so
• Tweet fun, relevant, informative content. Don’t always sell.

#6 Offer a Special

People will be coming to your tasting room between now through the event. Whether or not they can join you in person, many will join in online. Offer them a special on a new release, a #Pinot Noir three-bottle “taste” pack, etc. Even if they can’t join in person or online, they can still drink YOUR wine on July 15^th! You can periodically Tweet or Facebook your special too, but remember to avoid over selling.

#7 Be Creative

Each of you brings something unique to the wine business. Some of you have significant contacts in the traditional media world. Many of you are just looking for an excuse to throw a party. Make this your event. Take #PinotNoir and leverage the collective buzz and promotional efforts of social media influencers.

• Contact media in your area
• Throw a huge party
• Invite a group to join you (women’s group, painting group, musicians, Hell’s Angels)
• Put your own spin on #PinotNoir and have fun!
• But, don’t forget this is a competition too — the Smackdown factor is in effect and you will want your region to win!

As always, you can reach me at ethralls@winetonite.com.  I am dedicated 100% to making this event a success.  Thanks to Josh Wade of www.drinknectar.com for providing this template also successfully used at #WAWine

Cheers!