Able Grapes and Garbled Peas

Optimizing your Blog or Winery Website: WBC 2009 Presentation

ablegrape — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:14:51 +0000

Thanks to the many of you who attended my talk on search engine optimization at the 2009 Wine Bloggers’ Conference, in Sonoma. As promised, here are the slides from that talk.

For those of you who weren’t there, I presented my view of search engine optimization (SEO), which I prefer to call “Search-Friendliness.” I talk about how users find information on the internet, what the “long tail” means, and why you must understand it in order to connect with your potential audience, backing up my points with statistics from Able Grape users. I give a crash course on how search engines work, and what implications this has for how you design and build your site. Finally, I talk a bit about analytics.

I haven’t added audio yet, and there were a lot of points that I made or amplified verbally, so hopefully the slides make sense by themselves, but I wanted to post them earlier rather than later.

Happy Canada Day

ablegrape — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:40:45 +0000

Happy Canada Day! A big thanks to Able Grape’s significant community of Canadian users, who have been dedicated supporters of our project. We really appreciate it.

For fun, a few links to Canadian wine resources, and related viticultural topics, on Able Grape. They’ll open in a separate window – please try them! As always, we welcome feedback. Is there something missing? Can we make these results better? Have suggestions for other examples we could include? Drop us a note.

(And yes, that is maple syrup in the wine bottle pictured at left. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.)

British Columbia

Okanagan
Fraser Valley
Filtered: producers of Sémillon in British Columbia

Icewine

Filtered: Reference sources on Icewine
Filtered: Official sources on Icewine
Filtered: Canadian producers mentioning icewine on their websites
Vidal Blanc
Seyval Blanc

A handful of random producers

Multicoloured Asian Lady Beetle
Cool climate viticulture or cool climate varieties

Able Grape Is Not Google

ablegrape — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:56:44 +0000

Pardon the silly title, but with all the buzz on Bing (“Bing Is Not Google”) I just couldn’t help myself. And please, no silly questions about whether or not I’m going to change Able Grape’s name to “Aging…”

It’s been unbelievably busy here at Able Grape central, and I’ve been quite remiss on my blogging. Hoping to get back to a more regular pace soon! In the mean time, here’s a quick update on recent changes.

This morning, I put live Able Grape’s largest — and, hopefully, best — database ever, clocking in at nearly 20 million pages of wine information from just shy of 41,000 websites. Lots and lots of new sites, and lots of improvements across the board.

Here’s a smattering of examples. Try them — they’ll open in a separate window — and compare to Google (or to Bing, for that matter) – I hope you’ll be pleased.

Lots of info on 2008 Bordeaux (page through the results – there are many pages of great references)
We’re doing an even better job of returning official information for wine terms and appellations like Wine of Origin or Beaune Cents Vignes or Ribera del Duero.
Hundreds of new producers, from K-J Thul to the Cave des Vignerons de Tavel. Nearly 200 new producers from Beaujolais alone, from Alain Passot to Clos des Garands or Domaine de la Ronze.
More, deeper scientific research content. For example, find research on Albariño (the query “Albariño” with the “Research” filter applied).
Improved language detection, and recognition of more languages – Catalan, Croatian, and Slovenian.
Better handling of Eastern European accents, so we return better results for things like the grape varieties Žilavka or Hárslevelű, or the producer Ščurek.
Lots of good new information on the wines of Herzegovina.
We’re doing an even better job of returning the producer’s own page as the top result for wine searches, always a key goal: try 1995 Ducru, 2001 Angélus, 1996 Veuve Clicquot Rosé, Hill of Grace, 1996 Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, or the hot hot 2004 Grange.
The default font has changed, and query terms are now highlighted in the titles of search results, making it (hopefully) easier to find relevant results, and also making the experience more consistent across Macs and PCs.

This is just a smattering of new stuff – there’s lots more “under the hood,” as it were. Should you find anything missing, or have suggestions, comments, or questions, as always, please let me know! I’d like to make Able Grape the best it can be.

Come see us at Wine 2.0 this Thursday

ablegrape — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:12:35 +0000

Able Grape is excited to be demoing our search engine for trustworthy, in-depth wine information this Thursday at Wine 2.0 in San Francisco, hosted by the fine folks at Crushpad.

Want to learn more about Able Grape? Want to learn secret tips and tricks for finding great, in-depth online wine information? Have feedback or suggestions about how we can make this an even better tool for your needs? Or even if you’d just like to hang out with a bunch of wine geeks and taste lots of wine, please stop by and say hi!

Mention the secret code nebbiolo at our demo table, and we may have a special surprise for you, if it hasn’t already run out…

WBW #54: ‘na passione per Piemonte

ablegrape — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:50:36 +0000

(yes, yes, this is a couple of days late, mea culpa… more like a “Venerdì del Vino” as I write this, or a “Sauce-Blogging Saturday” as I finally post it…)

The idea of a Wine Blogging Wednesday on Piemontese wines (see original theme posting) was at once compelling and daunting: compelling, because I dearly love Piemonte; daunting, because there are so many wonderful Piemontese producers, varieties, and regions, choosing just one, or even a handful of wines to even vaguely represent the region’s diversity is a great challenge. In the end, I settled on three off-the-beaten-path wines from small producers in three different areas.

Wine #1: 2001 Barbaresco “Rio Sordo,” Cascina delle Rose

Region: Barbaresco (Langhe)

I suppose it’s a bit predictable to include Nebbiolo in a post about Piemonte. Nebbiolo, like Pinot Noir from Burgundy, is famously finicky to grow and vinify, but at its best makes stunning, ageworthy wine that expresses its terroir, and the people who make it, like few other grapes. May I atone a bit for my predictability by choosing a lesser-known producer whose wines I very much enjoy. Giovanna Rizzolio and her family have a small agriturismo with three hectares of vineyard in the excellent cru of Rio Sordo, and in the several years I have been visiting their cantina, I’ve always found their highly traditional Nebbiolo to be an elegant, authentic expression of the grape, their vineyard, the character of each vintage, and the character of Giovanna’s family itself. The 2001 was a particularly good example. Medium ruby in color, with just a hint of orange at the rim, it gave off a developing aroma of sour cherry, redcurrants, and violet candy, with hints of dried leaves, truffle, and orange peel. What I particularly like about the wine is its beautiful focus in the mouth: though it’s powerful, it’s only a little more than medium-bodied, with a healthy dose of slightly hard tannins on entry, medium-high acidity, and a long, beautifully complex finish. It’s got a core of ripe fruit, but I’m struck more by the floral and tarry notes, and by a certain austerity — and that is the point of Nebbiolo, expressed nicely in this classic vintage. It’s just starting to come around, and with this concentration and structure it will be better in 3-5 years, and last 5-10 more past that.

This Barbaresco reminded me that every wine has a context: where it came from, by whom it was made, and where, how and with whom we enjoy it. Giovanna and her husband Italo are friends and are wonderful people, and every bottle of theirs I enjoy reminds me of them. Moreover, I enjoyed this wine with Rachel, my girlfriend, another ardent lover of Nebbiolo, over a homemade risotto ai funghi, with which it paired beautifully. I can (and did!) talk about how much I loved the wine, but really, it’s the context that makes a good wine truly special. Let’s not forget that as we drool all over our point scores, shall we?

On Able Grape:

Wine #2: 2005 Freisa “Monfiorenza”, La Casaccia

Region: Monferrato

Having already tasted a Nebbiolo, the predictable next varieties would be Barbera and Dolcetto, both worthy grapes native to, and widely planted in, Piemonte. I thought it would be fun, however, to go further afield. Much of the vinous attention in Piemonte is focused on the Langhe, but nearby, in the lower, broader hills of the Monferrato, there are good things happening with the native Monferrino grapes Barbera, Grignolino, Ruché, and Freisa. I’ve already done a recent post on Grignolino, so I thought I might dive in with a nice Freisa I found in the cellar. The gracious Giovanni and Elena Rava have a beautiful underground cantina in the tiny hilltop town of Cella Monte (see photo; my friend Maurizio Gily is at left, with Giovanni Rava), where they are making very good (and, I might add, reasonably-priced) wines. Much of the Freisa made is in a dry, lightly sparkling (frizzante) style, which I’ve often enjoyed as an accompaniment to rich food, but this particular example is still (fermo). Medium-deep ruby with a hint of purple, the Monfiorenza gave off aromas of cherry pie and black pepper, with an almost clay-like earthy note. On the palate, the wine was juicy, medium-bodied, and moderately complex, with medium, slightly hard tannins, and a medium-length, bitter almond finish. What I liked was the balance: though there’s a nice dollop of juicy fruit, it wasn’t overripe, and was offset by fairly high acid and the fruit’s own spicy character. This is drinking perfectly now, and is a great food wine; I can imagine it pairing perfectly with a good pizza. In fact, it’s making me hungry just writing about it.

On Able Grape:

Wine #3: 2006 Timorasso “Derthona,” Vigneti Massa

Region: Colli Tortonesi

I’ll say it, and I won’t mince words. Timorasso is my favorite white grape from Piemonte. Arneis and Cortese (or see Gavi) are worthy white grapes, and can make very enjoyable wines, but historically the quality of Piemontese reds has been so much higher than whites that there is a local saying: “il vino è rosso” (“wine is red”). Arguably, Timorasso challenges that. It had nearly disappeared from the vineyards of Piemonte, when a handful of growers in the Colli Tortonesi, notably Walter Massa, began experimenting with it, with some fascinating results. It often doesn’t taste like much when young, but after several years of bottle age can develop a stunning minerality (I remember running around like an idiot at Vinitaly a few years ago to share a taste of an older Timorasso from Claudio Mariotto, because I found it so intriguing). So when I saw a bottle of Walter Massa’s 2006 Derthona at Biondivino this morning, I couldn’t help myself, and bought it. And I’m glad I did; the wine was just what I expected: on the nose, I got medium, developing aromas of petrol, lemon peel, and hints of red apple and white flowers. Nor did the wine disappoint on the palate. It’s got nice, mouth-coating extract, yet it isn’t at all heavy; it’s medium-bodied, with fairly high acidity to more than balance the wine’s weight. And finally, it has a long, minerally, satisfying finish. It’s not a blockbuster wine, and it isn’t ridiculously complex, but it’s delicious, and has character and interest. I often prefer it to Massa’s higher-end Timorasso, Costa del Vento, but that may simply be because the latter wine takes longer to bring out the yummy dieselly minerality that I so dig.

On Able Grape:

Finally, many thanks to David McDuff for hosting this month’s WBW on his excellent blog.

1997 Cantina Terlano Pinot Bianco ‘Vorberg’

ablegrape — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:31:54 +0000

Sometimes one tastes wines that seem to redefine what a particular grape from a particular place can do. Such was the wine I tasted tonight, the 1997 Pinot Bianco ‘Vorberg’ from Cantina Terlano. I bought a few bottles of this a number of years ago, and I’ve tried a bottle every year or two. Each time I opened a bottle, the wine was closed, but I could tell there was something special there; it was like having someone almost smack me in the face with a gold brick, but stop short. I could feel the rush of air that somehow implied the weight of the brick, but I knew I had to wait.

Tonight that waiting paid off. I grilled a beautiful piece of swordfish, put it on a bed of rapini with garlic and chile, and pulled out one of the last bottles of the Vorberg. When I opened it and decanted it, the first whiff told me its time had come: pronounced, mature, yet still vibrant aromas of wet wool, lime, grapefruit, pear, honey, and a hint of diesel. On the palate, the wine was dry, minerally, full-bodied, almost unctuous, with a creaminess that bespoke malolactic fermentation, yet still with fairly high acidity and excellent focus. The wine has a long, wonderfully complex finish, and keeps evolving in the glass — so much so that I’m sitting here two hours later not wanting to finish the bottle so I can keep enjoying it.

The producer, one of Italy’s top cantine sociali (or see cooperatives), obtains the fruit from member vineyards at 500-900 meters above sea level, with sandy, porphyrous soil. After temperature-controlled fermentation in large oak vats, the wine stays on its lees for one year, which explains the wine’s evident honeyed note. The winery itself suggests the Vorberg will last 8-10 years; usually I take these things with a grain of salt, but in this case they’re spot on.

The moral of the story? Some wines are worth the wait, and they’re not always the one’s you’d think. This not particularly expensive white has stood the test of more than a decade in bottle, and it just keeps getting better. Signing off now to go enjoy the last glass.

More references:

Pinot Blanc

Alto Adige

Cantina Terlano

Calling all of you in the wine trade!

ablegrape — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:25:59 +0000

I’d like to help you, your colleagues and your customers find more trustworthy, in-depth wine information on the Internet. And I could use your help getting the word out about Able Grape:

• If you’d like a stack of Able Grape postcards (see image at left) for display in your store or restaurant, or to give to your trade clientele, please drop me an email with your address, and I’ll gladly send some to you.

• If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, get in touch and I’d be happy to come out and demo Able Grape for you and your colleagues, and show you some tips and tricks for finding great, in-depth wine information (some of which is very difficult or impossible to find via Google!). I’d also appreciate the chance to talk with you and learn how I can make Able Grape an even better tool for our community. Have thoughts or suggestions about what you need when looking for wine information? Get in touch, I’d love to come out and meet you. (If you’re not in the Bay Area, get in touch anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and who knows when I may be in your neighborhood…)

Able Grape Turns One!

ablegrape — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:10:37 +0000

This is a short post for a momentous occasion, but I’ve been so busy working on the new version of Able Grape that I almost forgot: on January 28th, Able Grape turned one year old! (That’s not counting the three year gestation period prior to launch, of course…) I wanted to thank all of you for your incredible support during the past year. It’s been quite an adventure.

On a separate note, some of you may have noticed that I’ve been quiet for the last few weeks, and database refreshes have been delayed a bit. This is because I’m hard at work on new infrastructure to handle the incredible growth Able Grape has been seeing. Early tests have been going well, and I hope to crank up the new system to full scale as soon as I finish testing. The new database should come in at about 17 million documents, with 40,000 sites worth of trustworthy wine information. Thanks for your patience, the new database is going to rock! And when it’s up and running, it’ll be time for a proper birthday party. Looking forward to bringing lots of great things your way in this, Able Grape’s second year!

(P.S. that photo isn’t just a stock image, it’s a mille crêpe cake a friend and i baked recently for another friend’s birthday; 20 layers of crêpes (well, almost; we ran out of batter) with pastry cream in between, and a brûlée top. A “mattone,” as the Italians would say, but oh, so good. And so much fun with a kitchen flamethrower making it)

Spiffy new language features!

ablegrape — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 02:21:06 +0000

Hi, folks, just put live a new release with some significant improvements in how Able Grape handles languages. Here’s what’s new:

Language detection (the accuracy of those little flags on the results) is vastly improved.
You can now change your preferred language from any page. Just use the pull-down menu at the far upper right.
Results are now slightly biased towards your preferred language. First, set your preferred language in the user preferences or change it using the pull-down menu. Now Able Grape will still show you the most relevant results in any language, but in the case where two similar results are available, and one is in your language, Able Grape will prefer the one in your language. You can see this, for example, in the results for Taurasi in Italian, and the results for Taurasi in English, or between Côte Rôtie in English and Côte Rôtie in French.
The Yahoo and Google search facilities (to the right of the search box, try them!) will now use your preferred language. In other words, if you’re using Able Grape in French, the Yahoo and Google links will search in French as well.
Last, and most exciting: Able Grape’s Spanish version, courtesy of the fantastic translation services of Carolina Ramos, is up and running. There are a couple of small glitches we’re still working out (my fault, not Carolina’s!) but it should in general work very well.

Able Grape beta 3, coming soon, will have additional sophisticated language features, by popular request. In the mean time, as always, don’t hesitate to let me know should you have comments or suggestions!

Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noël / Buon Natale!

ablegrape — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:00:14 +0000

Just a quick note to all the people who have stopped by to visit Able Grape in this, our first year. I hope we’ve been able to help you find lots of useful, in-depth wine information. Thanks for using Able Grape, thanks for helping us get the word out, and thanks for all the great suggestions and ideas. Please keep them coming!

It’s been a fantastic year meeting all of you — even if virtually — through our shared love of wine.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to serving you even better in 2009.

Doug Cook