Tag Archives: Grape Sense

Grape Sense Column Expands Reach

07 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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In recent years, I have to admit I haven’t worked as hard at expanding the reach of the column as I did in the early years. There is no real excuse other than I’ve been doing this eight years. At one point, I had hit 23 newspapers in three states and circulation in more than  300,000 homes.

It’s hard keeping  track of who is and  isn’t running it – I just send it out. I know a few papers have dropped by the side but most of those 23 still run the column. A few of those papers regularly post Grape Sense to their websites.

I got a real boost this week when  I learned CNHI, a newspaper ownership group with a dozen or more Indiana  papers, is posting the column to their papers’ websites. Some of those papers download the column for print but some just let it run on  their web presence. I was urging papers to run the column as an “online extra” years ago.

But this week’s news was Kokomo, Terre Haute, Goshen, Jeffersonville, Logansport, Greensburg, Batesville, Hendricks County, Zionsville, Anderson, and Lebanon all have the wine column posted. (Those papers in  bold face were already running the column.)

Additionally, Grape Sense will be one of the features in a new Elkhart area entertainment weekly. The Hart will hit newsstands in the coming weeks.

The column, in many ways, has far exceeded some of my hopes from when I started in 2007. The reach across the Hoosier state has given me a platform I never dreamed possible.

Thanks to all of my editors and newspapers for sharing Grape Sense.

 

 

 

 

 

Grape Sense Column Grows Again!

19 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2013

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NT bigger logoThe News-Tribune in New Albany and Jeffersonville has become the 23rd Midwestern newspaper to carry my wine column, Grape Sense.

The river city daily is a combined production of the old New Albany Tribune and Jeffersonville News. I’ve been after them for awhile with their close proximity to Huber, Turtle Run, and Best wineries!

That brings my newspaper count to 23 papers in three states, and reaching more than 310,000 homes each month!

Thanks to editor Shea Van Hoy for picking up Grape Sense!

Wines to Go; Summer Sippers Abound

25 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in Newspaper Column 2012

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Wine by the glass is a novel concept that has nothing to do with that expensive pour you recently had at a restaurant.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the displays in your local town’s pharmacy. Single-serving wines are now available at some of the major drug store chains.
The Oregon based company behind the little glass to go is Copa Di Vino, or wine by the glass. The glass is made of recyclable plastic. It has a plastic cap and a foil seal.
Founder James Martin got the idea while in France, according to the product’s website. Martin was traveling on a high-speed train in when he first saw wine bottled by the glass.
Locally, the pharmacy had the Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Merlot. But the company also offers Riesling, and White Zinfandel. You can buy it by the case for around $36 or individually for about $3.
I tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio for this column. The Cab was a typical under $10 a bottle Cabernet. The wine was varietally correct with a bit of unpleasant astringency. But it also was not unlike many under $10 Cabs I’ve tasted. The Pinot Grigio was equally okay. I thought it was a bit on the tart side for the normally mild mannered wine .
Would I recommend either strictly based on taste, no way. But for convenience knowing, what you’re going to get, perhaps.
Obviously, the idea is to enjoy a fresh glass of wine without opening an entire bottle. You can do the same thing though with the much-improved boxed wines now available.
But who is the target audience for this product? If the family is headed out on a picnic and you don’t want to mess with cups, glasses, a bottle and opener then it makes some sense. Do we need wine by the glass at the corner drug store? I’ll leave that for consumers to decide.
Great Summer Sippers– Summer time is white wine and Rose time. Here are a few I’ve sampled lately that are widely available and very affordable: Santa Barbara 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, $12, light wine with good acid; Clayhouse Adobe White, $14, a rich smooth blend ; Arona Sauvignon Blanc, delightful with crisp acidity; Gerard Bertrand 2010 Gris Rose’, $14, wonderfully dry Rose’, Bieler Pere et Fils Rose’, $11-$14, Southern France blend that tastes like expensive wine.
Off to Bordeaux – Check out my wine blog (www.redforme.blogspot.com) between June 27-30 for updates from France during the Bordeaux Fete le Vin or Bordeaux Wine Festival. I’ll be there as a guest of Bordeaux producers for the every other year celebration of the world’s most famous wine region’s wines. I usually blog each night during such trips and try to post lots of photos. This festival draws more than a half million visitors. Our press group will be visiting a couple of Chateau in the Saint Emilion region near Bordeaux and learning about the burgeoning wine tourism.
Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, IN., writes about wine every other week for 18 Midwestern newspapers.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com