What is #WAMerlot, Exactly?

Has the staff at The Oregon Wine Blog turned its back on the future?


Social media seems to be the cutting edge. Just when you think you've got this whole blog thing down, you have to learn the twitter machine. Then, you think you've figured out the best content for your wine-centric readers, and you look around and realize you're the only Northwest wine blog not dripping in sexual innuendo. (We gotta do something about this, fellas.) And me, being the old man of the blog, I've got enough to overcome just to learn the lingo of these young punks. So here I am trying to take The Oregon Wine Blog one step into the technological future.

Next Thursday, before the madness of Taste Washington begins in earnest, a twitter event of spectacular proportions will be taking place. The event, organized by "Look Out! There's a guitar behind you!" Josh of the wine blog DrinkNectar, is a spin off of a #CaliCabs event that took place earlier this year. (Or so I've been told.) #WAMerlot is an opportunity for you, the drinker who uses the twitter machine, to taste and tweet about it all at the same time. The event takes place on Thursday March 25 and it can really happen anywhere. Granted, you need Merlot (from Washington), a mouth, and the twitter machine. (You should probably have some way to open the bottle as well.)

What you do next is simple and fun: you drink the Merlot and you tweet about it. (Tweeting is what you do on the twitter machine.) In order to fully participate you should also end your tweet with the following: "#WAMerlot" (the young people tell me this is called a hash tag). There are several Washington wineries, about 80 or so (the goal is 100) participating and several of the twitterati (the goal is 1,000) will be tasting and tweeting from living rooms, tasting rooms, barrel rooms, all sorts of rooms. The hope is to have the "largest simultaneous tasting of Washington wines ever."

In addition to the wineries and twitterati there are ten "prominent and influential Washington wine writers/bloggers from across the state." We didn't make that list, either. While it's clear we have some work to do here at The Oregon Wine Blog, it'll have to wait, because yours truly is participating in #WAMerlot, tweeting from Full Pull Wines in Seattle and then there's Taste Washington to go to. In an effort to redeem us I am currently campaigning for "Most Handsome Wineblogger" at the World Wine Blog Awards of the World. Hell, I'm not getting any younger.

To participate in #WAMerlot, register here.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

HA! Clive, you have my vote for most handsome wine blogger named Clive!

Hope your feelings aren't hurt we didn't consider you to help sponsor the event but I think the name Oregon Wine Blog threw me off.

Thanks for helping promo the event and have fun. I'll see you in Seattle for Taste WA. I'll be the handsome one with the guitar!

Josh

Sip with Me! said...

I'm pleased to see you coming around to embrace technology and adequately report on social marketing. You've done a fine job and I know Washington appreciates your support of this exciting event (#WAMerlot). For that I say thank you.

However, I must say, I'm sorry Clive, but you seem to have lost your sense of humor when you became an old fuddy duddy. I took a reprieve from winery reviews and had a little creative and original fun with wine in a very homogenized market. Yes, I stepped outside the box a bit, but really? You think you guys need to do something about this? Did I really offend you? My apologies if I did, my intentions were purely to engage my readers.

Anonymous said...

Tamara - not to speak for Clive, but I think he was being fun and snarky.

Personally speaking YOU have me all hot and bothered with your new posts!

Josh

Clive said...

This whole thing was a joke. Except the event, #WAMerlot, is I think a really great event, and I commend you Josh on your work on it and I hope to see both of you at Taste Washington. Or at least you Josh, and your guitar.

Tamara, I do enjoy your posts. I'm just apparently not as funny as I thought I was.

Josh Gana said...

For what it's worth, Rick and I were laughing :) We're going to fire up the twitter machine and find a good WA merlot off of the rack...

Paul Zitarelli said...

Clive - looking forward to meeting you in person! We have a great collection of Washington Merlots lined up.

Seattle Wine Gal said...

Awesome dude. I'm with Josh... Clive's the most handsome wine blogger named Clive. I'll see you at Taste Wa too! Rock on..

Sean P. Sullivan said...

Personally, your posts always make me randy but reading about Washington wine always does.

Bean said...

I need to go on the record that it was Ed's idea to assign our second highest ranking as "will trade sexual favors" for the wine.
I also have to say that he is the most handsome NW wine blogger because he is Sicilian and I don't want to wake up next to a horse's head!

Micheal Seraphin said...

I don't tweet. Does that mean I am automatically out?

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Unknown said...

#WAMerlot is the answer to a lot of people's dreams-- drinking excellent wine in your pajamas with lots of people and yet you don't have to clean the kitchen after they leave or fret over the empties in the recycling bin

Christmas Hamper said...

How often is organized #WAMerlot ?