To make a long marketing story short, this ad campaign has been incredibly successful for a brand which most of us associated with something our grandparents were likely to buy.  Old Spice has been able to increase sales over the past 6 months by about 130%, given the size of the brand and how long they’ve been in business, that’s amazing.  It does make you wonder what kind of opportunities there are for smaller businesses, in areas which are not advertised as heavily as deodorant.

Oh, I couldn’t write an advertising post without including one of my favorite ads of the past few years, which I’m still surprised given Neil Patrick Harris career rejuvenation that it hasn’t increased in popularity, or hasn’t been re-released on television.  I’ve always wondered why actors and brands didn’t poke fun at the fictional characters they portray.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve done some writing in the past for Cork’d, which is one of the largest wine sites in the world and I was happy to add an article this week on Arizona wineries that I visited while on vacation.

Also, pretty cool to note that Wine Business picked up the article for their news feed.

If you’re interested in learning more about my wine company, or are simply interested in buying a single bottle of wine we have an online wine store up and running.

San Diego’s Union Tribune on Prop 8 Being Overturned

I realize this is an extremely touchy issue for people on both sides and although I generally would say that less government intrusion into people’s lives the better, I can understand why some people would say this is a dramatic change for culture in the state (and given past history where California tends to go culturally, the country often follows, if you need an example look no further than the green energy movement).

All that being said, especially when considering that marriages between people of different races was illegal in much of country only a generation ago, I have to think this shows some significant progress.  I’ll also point out that only in one case (alcohol, which was since overturned itself) the Constitution both on the state and federal level is meant to assure individual rights, not to take them away.

All in all, it’s a good day for the state of California and in my opinion a step forward for a group of people that have been unfairly marginalized for too long.  Frankly speaking our state and federal government have plenty of economic and political issues to deal with, let alone managing two wars so the less social involvement we have, in my opinion, we’re better off.

Lastly, as you might imagine, this opinion is strictly mine alone and not an official statement of my company Uncorked Ventures.  Thanks for understanding.

On part of my trip, I had the chance to stop and taste at two wineries with tasting rooms in Willcox Arizona.  Willcox is a small town about 5 miles south of the 8 Freeway, it’s a historic town with roots dating back to western times (which are more recent in ‘Zona than they are elsewhere).  Aside from the 5 tasting rooms which are currently open, there are a number of other tourist centered services including small boutique style stores, a movie theatre and of course a few restaurants.  One of which is a BBQ restaurant set in an old train car, which we didn’t get a chance to try, but the locals say it is always a hit with tourists both in terms of ambiance and the food itself.  Plus, you know you’re in a small town when the BBQ place doesn’t have an alcohol permit, but is willing to serve you in the saloon next door if you want an adult beverage with your meal.

The first winery and really the reason I wanted to stop in Willcox was Keeling Schaefer Vineyards which holds the honor of having the highest critically scored bottled of wine in the history of Arizona.  A recent vintage of their Syrah (priced at $18) was given 89 points by Wine Spectator.

My honest opinion, the wine is probably over scored by a few points as I think there is a significant difference in quality between their Syrah (which seemed very, very light in texture and flavors) and some of my more recent tasting trips at places like Blair Fox.

More on the other winery we tasted in Willcox as well as the land purchase by an Oregon wine juggernaut that shows the type of wine that industry insiders think can be produced in the region.

As always, if you’re looking for a wine club…..please give my wine clubs a try.

In the coming weeks we’ll be celebrating a family reunion in Texas, my wife and I fond of roadtrips will be driving the 1,400 miles from San Diego to Texas.  We’re stopping a few places along the way, but I’m looking forward to being able to visit a winery or two along the way in a region of the country which isn’t exactly known for fine wine production.  I am interested in some of the New Mexico wine being growing at 4,500 feet or higher simply because the desert air is so warm during the day and cool at night.  Not really a fit for any of our wine clubs as of yet, but the likelihood of a quality Zinfandel being grown in these desert conditions is probably higher then any other grape, so it is interesting.

As an example, I’ve made a few Hubpages over the past couple of months. For me, it’s allowed me to set up an easy example of some of the content I want to make for our official Uncorked Ventures site over the coming months.  I realize people wanting to learn about wine will be interested in reading about different grapes, winemaking techniques and of course the areas that produce wine.

At that end, I created a Hubpage based on a small area of Napa Valley, Spring Mountain.  A winery named Spring Mountain Winery contacted me through the Hubpage and invented us for a visit on our next trip through Napa.  A very generous offer and it opened my eyes to a winery which wasn’t otherwise on my radar during one of my next trips to Napa.  For the two of our businesses to get together, all it took was a little bit of time for both Uncorked Ventures and Spring Mountain Winery.

Over the weekend I had the chance to visit Cordiano Winery, which although technically is in Escondido, California is about 5 miles from my house driving on back roads. It’s the type of place that is largely locals only, owned by an Italian family it offers some of the best views I’ve seen in some time (if we could only take away one small hill so that there would be a view into the Wild Animal Park), good friendly hosts, a small dog more interesting in table scraps and drinking out of the fountain then being petted, hand made outdoor brick oven pizza and some solid wine using grapes largely (exclusively for some of their wines) from grapes purchased from Paso Robles. Judging by the gathering crowds late in the day, their method of work of mouth advertising has been working thus far.

To me, it was nice to see a local winery offering a nice tasting environment while not holding strong to producing only Bordeaux varietals which need (stereotypically speaking at least) to be grown in cooler climates then we have south of Santa Barbara. Of interest at Cordiano was their Sangiovese which paired well with a pizza and seemed to be the favorite of most everyone at the winery that afternoon. Long term I’d hope that the wine industry in Southern California could find a set of grapes that grow well in the incredibly hot and dry conditions that we have here, but until that time having winemakers whom are willing to purchase grapes from more established regions seems to be a good business model.

Grazie del tempo dedicatomi Gerardo y Rosa.

I’m already starting on my article for next month as I’ll be comparing two vastly different wineries that make wine in a similar style. One is a traditional French Chateau that has been around for well over a hundred years and the other is a Napa Valley winery which released its first vintage about 5 months ago. Please check it out!

Wine at MetroCitizen Magazine

This week brings a more hectic schedule (if that’s possible) as shipment start leaving the warehouse this morning and then we need to begin planning for the July shipment ASAP since we have a family reunion to attend which will take part of the month away from work in July.

Of course, please visit us online and see if one of our wine clubs would be a good fit for you and your family.