With WineMcGee, users can quickly and easily find a wine tasting this Saturday where they live, locate an Italian BYOB with no corkage fee, and communicate with friends about events or retail wine specials. We believe our website also offers the most comprehensive wine review functionality available on the web. Casual wine drinkers will understand simple and logical review graphics toting each wine’s flavors such as “apple”, “mineral”, “oak”, etc. At the same time, seasoned veterans will enjoy the full-fledged tasting functionality including appearance, aroma, and taste attributes. We also offer a Question and Answer section where users can post wine-related questions that can be answered by others on the website – with experience levels ranging from wine beginners to sommeliers.We are also working to actively pioneer new technology to benefit the wine industry. If you work for a company that hosts wine events, you’ll be very interested in our new online marketing tools. We are finalizing our e-ticketing system that will allow to you to promote your event online and collect ticket sales directly through your PayPal Business account. Submitting an event to WineMcGee will also automatically push the event to other popular networking and marketing sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Eventbrite, and Eventful. This will dramatically cut down on the time it currently takes you to promote your event all over the internet, one step at a time. We will also manage your mailing lists for you, and actively monitor email bounces and unsubscribe requests for free.Through integration with Twitter, we are working on developing online wine tasting technology to compliment traditional live wine tastings. Wine lovers online will be able to join in on the live event experience from anywhere in the world. Lastly, we plan to work with wine.com to integrate their brand new API into our website to provide our users with a complete database of wine information. This data will enhance WineMcGee reviews that already exist, and provide an easy way to purchase wine online.
Our readers are constantly asking for more inside information from people involved in the wine world. In this section, Michael discusses his thoughts on tasting, the wine business, regions he is excited about and other fascinating topics.
Q: What school (if any) did you attend to learn about wine? Where did you find your most valuable training on the subject?
A: I find that I learn the most about wine the old fashioned way – by drinking it and being genuinely passionate about it to the point where I want to learn more. My fascination started in college at Purdue University, where I took a course in Wine Appreciation. At the same time, my parents and family friends always loved wine. As soon as I was old enough, I joined them frequently whenever they went to wine-tastings. Once I started to attempt to distinguish aromas and characterize all aspects of the wine tasting experience, the learning happened on its own. Like our target audience, I also find that the internet has a tremendous amount of great wine-related information. Watching videos by Gary Vaynerchuck, reading wine blogs, comparing wine reviews from other people across the internet – all of this can help you learn about wine. I don’t consider myself a wine expert by any means, but I know a heck of a lot more than I did five years ago, or even five months ago. Like anything, as long as you continue to ask questions and seek answers, you will continue to learn.
Q: What is your favorite wine website or blog?
A: WineMcGee.com, obviously. :) I find something valuable in almost every wine website or blog that exists. Cellartracker has a large database of reviews and great functionality for those hard-core wine lovers with large cellars. Wine.com has a huge database of wine information. Snooth has some nice food/wine integration. But I believe there are also big problems with these sites, specifically for the types of wine lovers we are targeting. While we aren’t there yet, I think we have the vision to become the most useful and exciting wine website around.
Q: What appellation do you see as a front-runner for the 2010 vintage?
A: I don’t know about front-runner but for me the best value wines are coming out of Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Chile. It’s amazing how many great choices there are in the $15 range coming from these countries.
Q: What are your favorite wine tools?
A: I love the Vinturi Aerator, old fashioned cork screw, Riedel Bordeaux glass, vacuum pump with rubber stopper, the refrigerator, glass charms, and name tags.
Q: Please share your most useful and interesting tasting procedures.
A: To start, I like a big glass. A desk lamp and a white piece of paper can help if you are inspecting appearance. Swirling is vital and really helps release aromas. A tip I recently received was to smell the wine with your mouth slightly open to help circulate the aromas, and I’ve found this to be quite helpful at times. When tasting the wine, I like to swish it around my entire mouth and roll it over my tongue to get a feeling of the weight, tannins and various tastes. Breathing in (or slightly sucking) the wine while in your mouth can also help determine the alcohol level, tannins, and acidity. When I’ve swallowed the wine, I focus on the aftertaste and mouthfeel and think about whether my mouth is watering (acidity level) or feels dry (tannins).
Q: Do you have any wine idols?
A: I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Gary Vaynerchuck. I think his unpretentious, informal approach to wine, coupled with his intense passion and knowledge for the subject really is changing the wine world. Most wine drinkers are not experts. The historical presentation of wine through publications like Wine Advocate or Wine Enthusiast simply does not appeal to the masses. However, when an expert goes out of his way to tell you to trust your own palette, drink what you like, try new things, etc, it is very empowering for the casual wine drinker and wine becomes much more approachable. His rise also speaks volumes about the potential of the internet, and its impact on the wine industry. The internet is changing the wine world – people are buying wine online, bloggers are becoming as important as Robert Parker, and the movement for free wine trade is gaining ground.Gary is also incredibly motivational and tells a story about following your own passion and making time to do what you love.
Q: What region do you most look forward to visiting?
A: I’d love to visit northern Italy in Lombardy and Piedmont, to experience the wine and the country. Growing up with a Grandma who is 100% Italian meant that I grew up with just about 100% Italian culture, so it would be a great experience.
Q: Do you know of any wine people participating or promoting a great cause through wine?
A: While in Napa recently I visited an outstanding winery that operates with a great cause. Ehlers Estate is an old, organic and biodynamic winery that donates one hundred percent of their profits to Leducq Foundation, funding research for cardiovascular disease. Upon his passing in 2002, owner Jean Leducq left Ehlers Estate in trust to the non-profit organization he had started in 1996, and they continue to operate with “a unique sense of purpose and mission that combines the pursuit of excellence with a sense of social responsibility”. Aside from the great cause, they also have exceptional wines and a very nice tasting room experience. 
