Meet Madeline Puckette #withTownHall

By Leeann Froese It’s a new week to introduce you to one of the fabulous personalities in the world #withTownHall!

This does not mean they work as part of our team, or are our client (although sometimes they are).

We just interact with so many amazing people that we want to expand networks and introduce them to you, and you to them. This week #withTownHall, we introduce you to Madeline Puckette.

A true #winelover, Madeline is the talented genius behind Wine Folly. We choose to feature Madeline today as this week she released her #WineFollyBook aptly titled “The Essential Guide to Wine”.

Wine Folly is a culture site offering articles and videos that connect people to the world of wine. Madeline and her Wine Folly team are based in Seattle, but they travel the world over for wine.

Madeline’s roots as a graphic designer are very apparent with the website’s aesthetically pleasing and easy to consume infographics. This, paired with her extensive credentials as a wine expert and wine writer, makes Wine Folly an essential guide for the new generation of wine drinkers.

I first met Madeline in Portland at the Wine Bloggers Conference in 2012, just as Wine Folly was starting to be a thing of note. She has come so far in a few short years and her progress has been nothing short of amazing. She has won critical acclaim for her humorous and clever way of educating and demystifying wine, and is a person featured in the 2015 Wine Enthusiast magazine 40 Under 40 list. #gogetit Madeline!

To Madeline: I am hungrily devouring your book and I know I am with people all over the world when I offer you my heartfelt congratulations on the launch!

Everyone, please say hi to Madeline and congratulate her on the launch of the Wine Folly book.

Leave a comment below – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter.

Looking ahead to the Wine Blogger's Conference

By Leeann Froese We are looking forward to sending two members of our team (myself and Sujinder Juneja) to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Finger Lakes, New York this August. This will be my 4th consecutive conference, and Sujinder's third.

Being named Wine Enthusiast's wine region of the year in 2014 made me very curious about what this region has to offer, because as world wine regions go the Finger Lakes Region is still relatively unknown.

This is not meant as a slight towards the region because I feel like our own home wine region here in British Columbia is also off the radar, and this is something we have in common. That same Wine Enthusiast article also named Canada / British Columbia / Okanagan as one of the gems to discover in the world. What will New York have to offer? In my minds eye it's not as hot as it is here in the west, and I have never traveled into this particular area south of Ontario so it will be new territory for me

Adam Strum, publisher and editor of Wine Enthusiast, writes "The New York wine industry has made a remarkable comeback in the past 30 years in terms of the quality of wines, number of wineries, and economic impact."

The Finger Lakes Wine Country boasts over 100 wineries centered around the region’s four main lakes: Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka and Canandaigua.

British Columbia has more than 200 wineries, but like Finger Lakes, the Okanagan wine region is centered around Okanagan, Skaha, Vaseaux, Tuc el Nuit, and Osoyoos Lakes.

In both cases, these bodies of water offer a moderating effect to the landscape and allows for premium grape growing. Is this where the similarities end?

I am sure that both regions offer people who love what they do, and I look forward to learning what kind of tourism infrastructure and hospitality the Finger Lakes region offers. What other compare and contrast points will we find? I am feeling confident the wines will not be the same!

More on the Wine Bloggers Conference and the Finger Lakes region to come!