Eric V. Orange of LocalWineEvents
Ξ September 23rd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Interviews, Wine History, Wine News |
Want to know what wine event will be happening in Tokyo, Sydney, Barcelona, the Sierra Foothills, or your neighborhood? Want to list one? Then Eric V. Orange has the solution. LocalWineEvents is among a small number of wine-related websites that have made a real difference in the lives of folks on Main Street. It is a free service that, very simply, lists primarily forthcoming wine events from around the world. Not just for the public, the site is used as well by wine professionals, retailers, restaurateurs, and wineries. In fact, in addition to the compiling of events done by LocalWineEvents staff anyone and everyone is encouraged to upload an event, all easily done in a few simple steps.
And the content of the listing need not be limited to wine. The site’s events category options include Spirits, Beer, Food and Other.
The LocalWineEvents interface is very consumer and user-friendly. But the option I most often use is the email service offered. You may choose to have sent to your email the events of a country, region, or city. Joining a thread is a breeze. The data base is constantly updated.
I must say I have had alot of fun tracking events in Champagne and Catalonia. As a practical matter, for the following of activities here in Cali, Eric’s site has become indispensable.
Without further ado…
Admin My understanding is that LocalWineEvents was realized in Colorado, 2000.
Eric V. Orange I had the idea while in Colorado, but I started it from Houston.
Can you tell us a bit about the kinds of wine you helped import at that time? And something of the dinners you supplemented?
EVO In Colorado, I worked for Paterno Imports (now Terlato Wines International). We had an incredible book of wines, in my view.
One of our biggest brands was Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio but we also marketed,
Cuvaison
Chapoutier
Markham
Freemark Abby
Torres from Spain (Mas La Plana ranks top notch Spanish cab)
Masi (Amarone!!!)
Ruinart Champagne (Practically unknown in the big world, but a stellar champagne).
Rutherford Hill
Rochiolli
And more.
They were all great wines and to this day many are still regulars in my cellar.
Were you concerned about prognostications of the immanent collapse of civilization at the turn of the century? (Evidence would suggest not!)
EVO Indeed, to some degree. The millennium bug was so hyped at the time it was wise to consider the what if’s.
What was your job before working for an importer?
EVO I was a wholesale rep for Famous Brands in Wichita Kansas. Prior to that I was wine steward/bar manager of a private club. And previous to that, I spent 6 years at a winery in the Mid-Hudson Valley, NY.
I have come to depend on LocalWineEvents. But that was not always the case. Can you tell us why your site has enjoyed such a phenomenal growth? How have you made your site known to others?
EVO I think that a number of factors have gone towards the success of the site.
I had recognized that folks in the wine and spirits business are looked to from their friends, as a source of reference for “what’s happening”.
I came from within the industry and I used my experience to target the industry with emails about the LocalWineEvents.com.
I emailed the heck the out of the industry. I had amassed a database of 30,000 industry emails and every couple of months, I sent them updates about the site. Like the time US News and World Report mentioned LocalWineEvents.com in their magazine.
In today’s world, it would be considered “spam”, but even then I had rationalized it this way; I was completely neutral and I wasn’t trying to sell anything.
My idea was to simply create ONE place where we all put the events and ONE place where folks could find them.
All I was asking of them was to post their events.
After about three years, “spam” became more intense so I retired the list. Since I had not really asked anyone if they wanted to be on my list I would quit using it. I said goodbye with one last email and suggested that they sign up on LocalWineEvents.com if the wished.
Fortunately by that time, I had pretty good traction going.
Another factor was “reciprocal links”. I went after links from the simple premise that, if someone is surfing a “wine” site, then most likely they will be interested in wine events. In the early days I could email just about any food/wine/spirits/beer related site and trade links. Most were willing to give me links because, again, I was not competing with anyone. We currently have something like 50,000 links to LocalWineEvents.com.
Then it became known that Google used links as a measure of a site’s relative importance (part of an algorithm secret sauce called Page Rank) and all sites were flooded with “reciprocal links” requests by the millions as people tried to game Google’s Page Rank.
Like watching the Travel Channel, I subscribe to many (10, I believe) threads, some exotic, on LocalWineEvents for info on tastings in places I’ll not visit in the near term. Do you plan to add a user feedback function to determine whether a given visitor actually went to the Event they clicked on?
EVO We do have in the works a feedback plan, but like much of my site, what seems a simple idea is quite more complex when you dive into the details.
Like wine, an event experience is pretty subjective and I have no desire to moderate a “forum” type system where folks post their opinions. The constant monitoring to keep it both active and civil is not my cup of tea. Also, with any “ranking” of something, there are those who will try to game it. But we are close. We will be introducing our own “Juice Rank” in the months ahead.
Does LocalWineEvents ask that notices be submitted in English?
EVO Not necessarily, but for the most part that is what we get. I have had French, German, Spanish events posted. However, we do monitor every event that gets posted.
Do you offer a translation service?
EVO Not at this time. I cut and paste into Bablefish to make sure it’s not pure garbage.
What percentage of your visitors are from outside the US?
EVO Not sure yet. Here are my top ten,
1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Australia
6. France
7. Hong Kong
8. Norway
9. Singapore
10. Italy
I’m looking for percentages.
Have you always depended on the submission of events from the ’source’ or have you sometimes performed a web search of a given region and then added the tasting event?
EVO We find and post events all the time.
Have you personally attended event(s) you would have not otherwise have known about but for your listing service?
EVO Sure, mucho. One of the first was in Houston when the chef of the Four Seasons called. He had used the site before and said that a “Duckhorn” dinner had just fallen in his lap. Dan Duckhorn was going to be in town in two weeks for the dinner and the chef asked if I could help get word out. I blasted a special notice to all the Houston subscribers and The Four Seasons comped my wife and I our dinner. Over half of the 35 people in attendance were there from LocalWineEvents.com.
I still get a lot of opportunities, but with two young kids, my wine and dine time is curtailed a bit these days.
You’ve recently added video, a very exciting upgrade. How has this innovation been received?
EVO Phenomenal. We have over 200 videos posted to date and they keep coming. We are fast at work on expanding and tweaking that service to make it better still.
I personally believe your website is by far the finest refinement in coordinating tastings and wine events currently on the web. Where do you go from here?
EVO Thank you for the kind words.
We are in the final testing stages of a brand new version of LocalWineEvents.com that will offer a number of improvements. One of the goals of this re-write is to produce a version in a “modular” format that will allow us to use the underlying software for other “events” sites. Our first test will be LocalBeerEvents.com as a sister site to LocalWineEvents.com, but focused more tightly on the beer side of things. From that experience we will then either produce our own stable of niche events sites or license our build.
Also, we will soon launch a new “wine” related site under a different domain.
What was the last great wine from a surprising producer you enjoyed?
EVO Believe it or not, I have just been floored by a home-made wine.
An acquaintance noticed a LocalWineEvents.com magnetic sign that I have. He told me of a friend of his who makes his own wine and “it’s pretty good”.
I am sure that most of us in this business have had the “pretty good” home-made wine experience and I expected no less than to smell it and dump it down the drain without it ever touching my lips. The sniff I took gave me pause and I tasted it. I can honestly say I was stunned. I doubted my own senses. Without telling my wife who/what/where, I asked her to sip it. When her eyes lit up, I knew it was not just me. The fellow apparently buys cabernet and merlot grapes in Philadelphia and makes it in his garage. I told him I would buy some.
Thank you, Eric.
EVO Thanks for your time Ken.
Admin
