Deal Alert: $50 JJ Buckley Gift Cards for $25 (plus $1 shipping)

As is being discussed in the Smoking Deals at Wine Retailers thread on the CellarTracker Forums, JJ Buckley Fine Wines is offering $50 gift cards for $25 - limit 3 per person.

You can give these as gifts (via email or USPS), use them to buy gifts, or use them to buy wine for yourself.

Stack it with $1 Ground Shipping on new orders through the end of December 2011 and this might be the best wine deal of 2011.

They've got good pricing on their website but the best deals come through Preferred Customer Pricing offers delivered via email. Place an order with them to be included on these offers -or- drop me an email if you'd like a referral.

Once you're on their list you're assigned a salesperson you can email with parameters of what you're looking for. They'll scour their inventory and come up with a list of wines that meet your parameters. Regardless of how you choose to order, you can build up to a straight case over time (to minimize per-bottle shipping costs) and then ship your order when weather conditions are optimal.

Visit the JJ Buckley website through this link and look for the yellow banner at the top of the page:
 
http://www.jjbuckley.com/2011_Welcome_Back

Like all out of state retailers, they unfortunately can't ship to Massachusetts.
Disclosure: JJ Buckley ran an ad on the WWP the past few months which this post isn't related to.

Thanks to friend and reader SB for the heads up!

Question of the Day: What do you see in-stock at JJB right now that you'd recommend?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/7AtP2am__1c/deal-alert-50-jj-buckley-gift-cards-for.html

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A Wine for Tonight: 2009 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won?t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week?s selection, the 2009 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State. Our [...]

A Wine for Tonight: 2009 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/G-PlsUzHX60/

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Good Grape Goes on Hiatus

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” said a very wise John Lennon and that’s exactly what has happened with me.  My life has kept apace, even as I’ve made plans to be a respected wine writer.

By most standards, 2011 has been a very good year.  I was a three-time finalist in the Wine Blog Awards, earning notice in the Best Overall Wine Blog, Best Industry Blog and Best Writing categories.  I started contributing a wine column to Forbes.com.  This site was named the 2nd most influential blog (and most influential wine blog) out of 4,000 blogs in a 2011 Wine, Beer and Spirits study by eCairn, a software company specializing in community and influencer marketing.  I was a panelist at Vino2011 in New York City, I won a scholarship to the Wine Writer’s Symposium in Napa Valley, and I turned down enough worldwide wine trip offers to fill a two-month calendar.

Yet, wine writing has exacted a toll.  I approach anything I do with a zeal and fervor that ensures me the success that I want and I’ve treated my wine writing as a full-time second job, to go alongside the job that I already have that requires 50 + hours a week.

Balance isn’t something that I’ve ever been very good at—possessed of an unassuming mien, a Midwestern work ethic, and a mental make-up whereby I cast myself as the underdog means that I am continually trying to prove something to myself, often times at the expense of real, true priorities.

Even more challenging is the fact that my standards for myself have been raised even as I’ve honed my writing chops.  Instead of figuring out a system to find time shortcuts, the amount of time it takes for me to write has become more deliberate and expansive while my interest in writing has become more professional in nature – less blogging and more credible journalism requiring more work to exceed the bar that I’ve set for myself.

The net result of this, after full-time job plus wine writing, is the rest of my life has received scant attention for nearly seven years and I’ve created a nearly untenable situation for myself, a set of internal expectations that I can’t live up to, requiring a time commitment that I can’t manage.

However, most importantly, the expectations and time commitments that I have assigned to my wine writing isn’t fair to the other people in my life – notably, my incredibly supportive wife, Lindsay.  She has been a saint the past six years, my blogging encompassing nearly the entire duration of our 6.5 year marriage.  But, she is long overdue a husband that takes the trash out without prompting!

I’ll be around the Internets – commenting on wine blogs, doing the Twitter thing, staying connected on Facebook and I’ll probably start engaging more actively on CellarTracker and on the WineBerserkers message board, but I’m taking a hiatus from wine writing to recalibrate, shifting my time to the things that are the most important to me:  Family and career.

Jeff

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/good_grape_goes_on_hiatus/

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Engage or Get Out ? Don?t waste your time with Social Media

So you have a Facebook page? Great! And a twitter account? Bravo! Even posted a couple of photos, maybe uploaded a video? Good for you. What?? You say you even have a blog? You’ve posted an article or two and have comments enabled? Wow, great job! You’re on your way. Now just stick in there [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/ZDp26wYakG4/

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iTunes Now Includes All Podcast Episodes

This podcast predates iTunes so when it started only a portion of my shows appeared on the feed. After I posted my latest podcast I decided it made sense to consolidate all the shows into the iTunes feed with all future podcasts published in mp3 format. Down the feed to Winecast 33 are enhanced AAC [...]

iTunes Now Includes All Podcast Episodes originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/aa6lH_SXTNY/

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Two from Verasol

I first tried the 2008 versions of these two Spanish reds from Verasol about a year ago. I liked those then, but when I tried to find out more about the producer, there was precious little information available on the Interweb. Not much has changed during the ensuing months, as this is still the only [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/5YZ7HQLkzXE/two-from-verasol

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Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain

One of the most fascinating aspects of Ladera is the renovation of the original stone winery built in 1886. Irene W. Haynes describes it in detail in her book "Ghost Wineries" on page 61. It was originally called the Howell Mountain Winery and closed it doors during prohibition. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/ladera-winery-on-howell-mountain/

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Luxury Gift Baskets

Every year with Uncorked Ventures Matt and I want to make improvements in both the way we handle our business (the processes involved) as well as the offerings we have. On the wine, simply continuing to grow our customer base as well as continuing to build relationships with wineries and vineyard owners will do the [...]

Source: http://winewithmark.info/archives/651

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