Twitter is a great place to share thoughts, listen, access news at light speed, and a smart way to promote your brand. Most importantly, Twitter connects like-minded people and leads to great ideas and developments.

Enter Catherine Liao, creator of Corkbin

We initially met Catherine thorugh Twitter, which then lead to a meeting in San Francisco at the Ferry Building for a glass of wine. Both parties had already downloaded each others app, loved them, and discussed the potential of working together.

Corkbin is a beautifully designed wine app that allows you to capture your adventures with wine by taking a photo, jotting down notes, and telling your friends about what you've uncorked. As of today, Corkbin not only shares the what, where, and when of wine...but now offers Hello Vino wine recommendations!

Here's how this all works
(in the Corkbin app)...

#1 Snap a picture of the label on the bottle

#2 Make notes about what you think about the wine you're trying

#3 Share your wine with friends

#4 Now check out what type of foods pair well with your wine (powered by Hello Vino)

We are excited to be working with Corkbin. Be sure to snap a photo, check out some wine pairings, and share your fun with friends.

Here's to LOTS of great wines being uncorked all around the world!

Cheers,

The Hello Vino Team

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As many of you know, we now include wine reviews in the free Hello Vino app. We are extremely excited to collaborate with a talented group of writers that include Certified Specialists of Wine (CSW), Certified Wine Educators (CWE), and sommeliers certified by the Master Court of Sommeliers. Over the next few weeks, we will profiling each contributing wine writer beyond the third screen so you can learn more about the author.

Ward is the West Coast Ambassador & Staff Blogger for WineLog.net.  By day, drXeNo works at Genentech developing drugs for oncology. Outside of work, whether he is DJing breaks or progressive house music to playing golf, Ward enjoys sipping and geeking out on wine. Growing up in Napa Valley, and Willing to try any and all wines, drXeNo tends to enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon or Meritage/Rhone red blends, any Sauvignon Blanc and vintage Porto the best. ward likes to write about the parts of his life that include wine (virtually all of it), and currently resides in the Bay Area which makes visiting great wine regions easy.

Recently Logged Wines / Reviews

When reading drXeNo's posts in the free Hello Vino app, there is a nice informative format that he provides:

Top level information includes:

• Price
• When to Drink
• Industry Scores (if applicable)

Nice and neat tasting notes include...

• Color
• Nose
• Palate

Personal notes and images accompany these logged wines as well.

A Credible Source

WineLog keeps a record of wines that you have tried. When you venture to try a new type or variety of wine, you are taking the risk that you will either love it or hate it. WineLog provides you with a free way to track your preferences on new wines, including the specific information about the wine, as well as personal and public comments and one to five-star ratings. Most people base their wine decisions on magazine reviews and ratings. WineLog's approach is to take your wine preferences into account and find similarities with it's users to introduce you to wines you may enjoy.

We are excited to have Ward Kadel / drXeNo involved with our wine reviews. Be sure to check out his latest posts within the free Hello Vino app, and on his blog on WineLog.net.

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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Summer is not over yet!

My mouth is watering right now. I had an odd craving earlier today for bbq ribs and Malbec, then I saw this recipe below. Steak, grilled pineapple, wine...score. We know this is the last weekend before Labor Day, and kids will be heading back to school, but the grilling season can live on as long as your want it too. Here's a grilltastic idea for you weekend...

This recipe of steak consists of Prime Rib Eye steaks, Pineapple, Teriyaki sauce, Roasted Garlic, Texas Pete.

Ingredients

• 4 Prime Rib Eye steaks
• 1 Pineapple
• 2 cups Teriyaki sauce
• 1 Roasted Garlic
• 1 bottle New Belgium 1554
• 1/2 cup Texas Pete
• 10 - 14 Kebab Skewers

Preparation

• Cut Steak in chunks and marinate in Teriyaki, Garlic, Hot Sauce and Beer for 4 hours.
• Cut Pineapple into same size chunks and put Steak and Pineapple on skewers
• Grill to medium rare

Wine Pairing

Due to the Teriyaki marinade, the perfect wine to pair with these skewers is a Bordeaux Blend.
Why Bordeaux pairs well: The sour / bitter qualities of a Bordeaux do well with the saltiness in the Teriyaki sauce.

Share your pairings!

Have you recently tried a food and wine pairing that tasted like perfection?  We’d love to hear from you, so we can share it on the Hello Vino blog for everybody to enjoy.  Please send an email with your food and wine pairing, along with a photo (if you can).

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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Do you love wine?  Will you be in the San Francisco bay area on Wednesday, September 8?  Then, you'll need to celebrate #WineWednesday SF-style at Nextspace (on 2nd St) as we...

Give a Little Love to the Blends

Both Corkbin and Hello Vino agree that there's not enough love for the beautiful red wine blends produced around the world.  From the classic red Bordeaux blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, to the rule-breaking Super Tuscan-style bold red wines, these blended wines are considered some of the most well-balanced and enjoyable overall.

So, Grab a Bottle and Join Us!

There is no admission to the tweetup, other than bringing a bottle of wine that you'd love to share your fellow tweeters.  While we're celebrating the red blends on this night, don't be afraid to bring any wine that you'd love to share.  After all, wine is social!

The Details

Who: You, along with hosts @Corkbin, @HelloVino, and @NextSpaceSF

What: Red Wine Blends Tweetup

When: September 8, 2010 (on #WineWednesday)

Where: Nextspace, 28 2nd St., San Francisco (view map)

Why: Do we really need a reason to get together and enjoy some wine?!?!

We're looking forward to meeting you IRL - Cheers!

Please RSVP Online

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Hey Everyone,

When I get in a groove with tortilla chips and salsa, my arm has a mind of its own and continues to scoop and scoop and scoop. I can not get enough of this "snack."

Some Salsa History

According to thenibble.com, "Salsa, which has been America’s favorite condiment since 2000—supplanting ketchup—actually has been a favorite condiment for thousands of years. The chile has been domesticated since about 5200 B.C.E., and tomatoes by 3000 B.C.E. both in Central America. The two were combined into a condiment, which the Conquistadors named “salsa,” or sauce."

Today, there are many variations of this delightful dip, and here's one you could whip up in 5 minutes. Add some corn to the recipe below if you wish...it's perfect over tortilla chips sprinkled with shredded cheese!

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine black beans, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl and mix well.
Chill, covered, until serving time.
Number of Servings: 5

Viognier - A dry white wine with peach & apricot flavor

Rosé - A fruity pink wine with flavors of wild strawberry, watermelon & cherry

Cheers!

Jim from Hello Vino

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As many of you know, we now include wine reviews in the free Hello Vino app. We are extremely excited to collaborate with a talented group of writers that include Certified Specialists of Wine (CSW), Certified Wine Educators (CWE), and sommeliers certified by the Master Court of Sommeliers. Over the next few weeks, we will profiling each contributing wine writer beyond the third screen so you can learn more about the author.

DrinkNectar.com is a wine and coffee journal reviewing Spokane wine, wineries, coffee and coffee bars. Josh takes to the streets for video reviews of local business and people on the street! The goal is to bring greater awareness to wine and coffee, specifically those found in the Northwest and Spokane. Concerning wineries, DrinkNectar provides wine reviews, video reviews, fun wine stories, wine challenges and Social Media tips that Josh is learning from on his journey.

Being a corporate executive by day, with a passion for wine at night, Josh states,"Life is meant to be shared together. There is no better way than to share a cup of perfectly brewed coffee and carefully crafted wine."

This blog chronicles the reviews of local coffee shops, wine bars, wineries, and Josh's travels to explore the worlds of wine and coffee. You can follow Josh on Twitter @nectarwine, or check out his YouTube channel

NectarViews are drafted to be informative and descriptive across the five senses of wine. Through the reviews, you will see the wine, smell the wine, taste the wine, and touch the wine (with your mouth). Some of the video reviews provide the sights and sounds with the winery, vineyard, and tasting room.

The NectarView System

Each wine is reviewed in the Stuff, Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Score method.

The Stuff: Josh tries to provide any details he can about the vintage, alcohol content, blending percentages, or any other pertinent facts.

The Swirl: This is a visual of what the wine looks like in the glass as it is swirled. Josh will attempt to describe the color, clarity and legs (slight residue lines left on the side of the glass usually indicating high sugar / alcohol)

The Sniff: Smelling wine is a big part of the experience. The sniff can be described as the foreplay to the experience of drinking the wine. It prepares the mouth for the joy to come. During the sniff Josh will attempt to describe the smells that come out of the glass (aka the nose).

The Sip: The sip describes the tasting experience. Wine has several different characteristics across your mouth. The sip will describe the flavor profile, tannin, alcohol, acid and finish.

The Score: NectarViews are rated on a 5 point scale with 3 and 4 having plus and minus scores. Price, flavor, complexity, and cellar storage are taken into consideration. An amazing tasting wine may score a 4 if the price is too high and a moderately good wine may also score a 4 if the price is only $8.

He's Got Cred

• Finalist for 2010 Wine Blog Award “Best New Wine Blog”
• Mentioned by Wine Enthusiast Magazine as one of the top three wine blogs
• Ranked in the top 50 wine blogs in Google traffic by Cellarer.com
• Selected Best Libations Blog in Spokane by www.spokanfoodblog.com 2009

We are excited to have Josh Wade involved with our wine reviews. Be sure to check out his latest posts within the free Hello Vino app, and on his blog for at DrinkNectar.com

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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Last weekend we attended a poolside baby shower that turned out to be a fun day. There was plenty of food, good friends and family, gifts a plenty, and one other item that caught our eye...a homemade sparkling cider and Champagne bar. Once you made your way over to the table, you immediately noticed that you were not just pouring yourself a glass of sparkling cider or Champagne. This table offered two carafe's filled with fruit puree including the flavors of wild berry and peach mango. Being your own bartender, you simply placed two teaspoons of your favorite puree flavor in a glass, added your sparkling cider or Champagne, and you were on your way to enjoying a flute of fizzy refreshment.

Everything was set, the weather was beautiful, and then we were hit with a 3 minute torrential downpour! However, the rain passed quickly and the sun was back in full force. The whole day was great, and to be honest, the sound of a couple Champagne bottles popping open was fitting in this celebratory setting.

The reason we're sharing this story is because the homemade sparkling cider and Champagne bar could easily please a lot of people at any event you may be throwing. The setup is fairly easy, and although the flavors we encountered were wild berry and peach mango, you can substitute fruits like the recipe does below.

Ingredients
(recipe credit: foodnetwork.com)

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peaches, thawed
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen blueberries or blackberries, thawed
• 4 to 6 (750-ml) bottles Prosecco or other sparkling wine, chilled
• Fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, for garnish
• Orange peel twists, for garnish

Directions

Stir the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Puree the peaches and orange peel in a blender with 1/2 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer and into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. In a clean blender puree the strawberries with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into another bowl. Discard the seeds. Puree the blueberries in a clean blender with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into a third bowl. Discard the seeds and solids. Pour each of the purees into clear glass bowls or small pitchers.

For each serving, pour 2 to 4 tablespoons of the desired fruit puree into a Champagne flute. Slowly pour enough Prosecco into the flute to fill. Gently stir to blend. Garnish with the whole berries, as desired, and serve.

Do-Ahead Tip: The fruit purees can each be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.

Pour. Sip. Enjoy!

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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As many of you know, we now include wine reviews in the free Hello Vino app. We are extremely excited to collaborate with a talented group of writers that include Certified Specialists of Wine (CSW), Certified Wine Educators (CWE), and sommeliers certified by the Master Court of Sommeliers. Over the next few weeks, we will profiling each contributing wine writer beyond the third screen so you can learn more about the author.

Introducing: Bill Daley

Needing no introduction, Bill Daley is a food and wine critic with the Chicago Tribune. He writes a weekly wine column called "Uncorked" for the Tribune's food section, Good Eating. In tackling the food and wine beat, Daley also covers chefs and food personalities, cooking techniques and trends. A weekly segment on food and wine airs on WGN-AM. He is active in social media, notably Twitter and Facebook.

A graduate of Manhattanville College, Daley also holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. He is a resident of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.

Ready. Set. Learn.

When reading Bill Daley's posts, you'll find yourself learning more about wine from topics surrounding a unique varietal to a particular wine region, or micro-climates to bio-dynamic wine. With his experience in food and wine, Bill also provides a number of delicious food pairings that you can try that match the subject of his posts. Buckle up for some fun titles such as "Don't Be Chicken; Try Riesling," "Pinot Noir Smackdown: Oregon vs. California," and "Don't Cry for Argentina's Wine." How could you not read those gems?

Helpful Recommendations

Many of Bill's posts have a nice section that includes helpful information about a handful of wines. Bill places his personal touch on individual products including...

• Wines that are easy on the wallet
• Complimentary food pairings
• Tasting notes
• Price

He's Got Cred

Prior to joining the Tribune in 2004, Bill was a food writer and restaurant reviewer with the San Francisco Chronicle and spent 11 years at the Hartford Courant, where he ultimately became the Sunday magazine's restaurant reviewer. Daley has been recognized twice for restaurant criticism by the Association of Food Journalists and has served as that organization's president from 2002-2004.

We are excited to have Bill Daley involved with our wine reviews. Be sure to check out his latest posts within the free Hello Vino app, and on his column for the Chicago Tribune.

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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Exactly 14 months ago, our free Hello Vino app went live on the iTunes app store.  Since then, the app has delivered over 6 million wine recommendations to consumers who need help choosing a wine.  But, we're just getting started.

Never Settle. Never.

Within weeks of version 1.0 going live, we were working on version 1.1, which included additions and improvements requested by our friends on Twitter, Facebook, and other consumers who provided feedback.  Today, we are excited to announce the release of version 1.4, which now includes recommendation badges to help provide wine suggestions for everybody.

Acclaim - For the wine shopper who is interested in wines with high point scores and accolades from wine publications.

Random - For the wine shopper in the "discovery" mode, where they want to try something a little different.

Value - For the wine shooper who doesn't want to spend more than $10 on their selection.

Badge Fever

These first three badges are just the beginning of a new way to help you choose a wine when you find yourself stuck in the aisle at the store.  You'll also be able to earn badges in the very near future.  We will be rolling out new badges on a consistent basis, and you'll even begin to see popular wine bloggers use their own badges to help you discover wines.  These badges will soon appear in the Wine Reviews section of the Hello Vino app.

Getting Closer to the Big 2.0

Over the next couple months, you will see a major update to the Hello Vino app - our version 2.0.  It's still under double-secret development, but here's a small hint: You'll only need one app to do the job of 3 or 4 different wine apps.

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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As many of you know, we now include wine reviews in the free Hello Vino app. We are extremely excited to collaborate with a talented group of writers that include Certified Specialists of Wine (CSW), Certified Wine Educators (CWE), and sommeliers certified by the Master Court of Sommeliers. Over the next few weeks, we will profiling each contributing wine writer beyond the third screen so you can learn more about the author.

Introducing: Steve Paulo

Starting on October 12th, 2009, without a wine to review and barely a descriptor to wield, Notes From The Cellar has grown steadily, and is fast becoming a go-to online source of information and opinion for many wine lovers.

Notes From The Cellar is a journal of tasting notes and wine reviews written and maintained by Steve Paulo. Steve is a rogue wine reviewer, software developer, baseball aficionado, and native son of California.

The Notes slogan is, and has always been, "Tasting notes and wine reviews, posted without regard for timeliness or punctuation." To be honest, Steve’s punctuation is pretty good, and unless Real Life™ interferes, you will find a new wine review posted to the front page every weekday...of each week (and we love the pace).

Steve's reviews on NotesFromTheCellar.com have personality, are an quick read with good descriptions, and a perfect fit in our app.

Changing His System, Hopefully For The Better

Instead of the Robert Parker 100 point style (which is a 50 - 100 point system), Steve uses a tried-and-true system that, at the very least, should make perfect sense to anyone who went through just about any schooling in their lives. The Notes scores wines with the A-through-F letter grade system.

Steve's Grading System:

Here’s a little key Steve uses to describe what he means by each level of grading. While you might be tempted to translate these letter grades into
their Parkeresque score (90-100 being an A, 80-89 being B, etc.), it doesn't quite work that way.

A+ This is fan-friggin-tastic wine and you need to, need to be drinking it. Whenever possible. My highest possible recommendation.
A  Excellent wine. I really loved it and am definitely recommending it. Go track it down.
A- Loved it, recommending it without hesitation. Something kept it from the A/A+ realm but it’s still fantastic.
B+ Really good. Recommended. Thoroughly enjoyable.
B  A good wine. Recommended. I’m basically saying go for it if you like the varietal or if it’s exceptionally priced. You would never be embarrassed to serve it to company.
B- Decent wine. Probably not really for special occasions, but still basically a recommendation. I’m not excited about this wine, though.
C+ Something about this wine turns me off. Something’s missing. Recommended only for fans of the producer, varietal, or region.
C The wine has real flaws. I can’t recommend it.
C- More flaws, less reason to pick up the wine. The fact is there is better wine out there, regardless of this wine’s price point.
D+ Probably avoid.
D  Avoid.
D- Avoid even if it’s being served to you by a close friend or family member.
F  Avoid like the plague.

Some Recognition:

• Steve Paulo was a finalist for the Wine Blog Awards 2010 for Best New Wine Blog.

We are excited to have Steve Paulo involved with our wine reviews. Be sure to check out his latest posts within the free Hello Vino app, and on his NotesFromTheCellar blog.

Cheers!

The Hello Vino Team

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