Wine Writer Diana Combs Announces Launch of ‘Writing on the Vine’ Brand Identity, Logo, and Website
Brooklyn, New York – February 1, 2013

Wine writer Diana Combs is proud to announce the wholly new brand identity Writing on the Vine, a community for wine amateurs and enthusiasts looking to understand wine and wine culture through Diana’s writing and from one another.

The newly launched WordPress website [http://writingonthevine.com] and social media pages have been designed to attract and educate this audience, as well as to inform editors interested in soliciting pieces from an established writer with a passion for wine and a keen awareness of her audience.

Diana has over 10 years’ experience writing for journals, newsletters, and magazines, for non-profits, corporations, and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security. She began exploring the world of wine several years ago and has taken wine classes from the American Sommelier Association, the Institute for Culinary Education, and Astor Wines. She shifted her writing focus to wine while working in a wine store that sells wine from around the world.

Writing on the Vine originated from a study of the 2012 Writer’s Market, from which Diana learned the importance of using online technology to attract potential editors, showcase her work, and establish her credibility. Through an online writing forum, she was referred to online marketing and branding specialists Enve Creative [http://envecreative.com], with whom she began a discussion about developing a simple website that she could maintain on her own.

“After hearing Diana’s ideas, I saw great potential to make her website not just a place for editors to find her but also a forum for building a wine community while positioning herself as an expert wine writer,” says Sarah Espano, co-founder of Enve. “She had identified a niche market—people who want to understand wine but who had perhaps found traditional wine publications and websites to be exclusively targeted at the wine connoisseur—and that’s a rarity. I posed the idea of taking it a step further: crafting an entire brand. I was delighted when Diana enthusiastically agreed.”

The Enve team has developed the name, logo, website, stationery, and business cards, as well as artwork for the Facebook [http://facebook.com/writingonthevine] and Twitter [http://twitter.com/writingonvine] pages. With some preliminary guidance from Sarah, Diana immediately began actively contributing to her social media pages, quickly attracting a captive and passionate audience of wine enthusiasts.

“Sarah at Enve Creative immediately understood the look and feel I was going for, and created a site that reflected my style with ease,” Diana shares. “I am delighted that I have a quickly growing Facebook following of people from around the country! I am hoping that these fans will come to my website to learn from my blog posts and discussions with others.”

The new website [http://writingonthevine.com] features Diana’s wine blog, a wine discussion forum for all levels of wine enthusiast to meet and collaborate, past samples of her writing, and biographical information. It’s designed to distinguish Writing on the Vine from more standard wine blogs and wine writers by stressing the importance of collaboration, education, and sharing of ideas.

The Enve team will continue to support Diana along the way, but has largely placed her in a position to run with her new brand and have fun with it. “We actively seek out clients who have what we call ‘vibrant purpose,’ who are enthusiastic about their ideas and want our help taking them to the next level,” Sarah relates. “We’re honored to have had the opportunity to work with Diana to form her new brand identity. Her passion is infectious, and we can’t wait to see where she takes Writing on the Vine.”

Diana is hopeful about the future of her new brand. “I am hoping that Writing on the Vine will become a place where my readers can discuss my writing with me, but also discuss wine together. As a voice of the down-to-earth wine drinker, I want my website to be a place where people can learn and talk about wine without sensing pretension.  My goal is to introduce every reader to several white, red, rose, and sparkling wines that become his or her ‘house wine’.”

###

For more information, contact:
Diana Combs
Writing on the Vine
diana@writingonthevine.com

347-529-3899
 Sarah Espano
Enve Creative

sarah@envecreative.com

860-626-5004

Italian Reds: More Variety than You Imagined

Italy produces more wines from different grapes than any other country.  If you can't find a white or red wine from anywhere else that makes you happy, then give Italian wines a try.  Below are some reds for $20 or under that you can choose from.

Dolcetto D'Alba, Verduno Italy, 2010 - Dolcetto is supposed to be a light wine, so this one surprised me with a heavy cedar/wood flavor. It is from the Piedmont region of Italy, which produces many of the nation's well-known and loved wines.  People typically describe this wine as grapey-spicey and bitter-chocolate, so I decided to let this wine breath a little before trying it again.  Then the grapey flavor was there, but still with a strong bitter-wooden finish.  Remembering that wine is better with food, I finally drank the wine when eating, and the bitter finish was gone. 

RossoCube, Umbria Italy, 2009 - This wine is made from 60% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, and 20% Ciligiolo.  It is medium bodied and light flavored, probably excellent with pasta or lasagne.  It is a good table wine that will pair easily with the right foods.  I liked it with creamy soups! As long as your food's flavor isn't stronger than the wine, you'll enjoy the wine.

Where there's Sangiovese, there is also Chianti, so I also tried...

Sorelle Palazzi Chianti, Colline Pisane Italy, 2009 - In a word, YUM.   I chose this Chianti, which is one of many in the $15-20 price range, because it is organic.  There is a small but devoted number of organic wine drinkers, so it is worthwhile to include an organic wine in my writing when I can.  That said, this Chianti is outstanding, I loved it.  I'd drink it with cheese, pasta, soup, or by itself.  It is 85% Sangiovese, 10% Malvasia Nera, and 5 % Canaiolo.  The grapes are grown on old vines, which could be what gives this Chianti such intense and great flavor.  This is an Italian wine that I would easily make my medium-bodied table wine.  Give it a try!

Note: There is Chianti Classico, and then there is Chianti from other regions.  The distinction is not necessarily in the name, but the Classico wines are distinguished by a black rooster somewhere on the neck.  Chiantis made in Classico regions are made from vineyards that were included in older, more "original" Chianti regions.  In the days when those regions were selected, Italy was more particular about what is the Chianti region.  Over time, more people wanted to grow grapes for Chianti, so the Chianti region expanded.  Some people think that Chianti Classico tastes better than other Chianti.  This is up to each individual to decide, I am letting you know so you are more familiar with what you're buying.  A decent wine store will have the same prices for both wines, so you should not be forced to make the decision based on price.  Good luck!

Burlotto G.B. Comm. Verduno Pelaverga, Italy 2011 - Recommended by three different people, this wine is under $20 and is a table wine for one colleague.  It has a light mouth feel, light red color and is full of a flavor and very balanced.  Some wine professionals would say that the wine is elegant or delicate. What they mean is that this wine strikes you as being delicious without having the strong, blunt flavor that other Italian wines have.  I drank this wine while eating a spinach & cheese lasagne, and the two went well.  Elegant chicken and pasta dishes would pair well with this wine.  If you want to pair food with this wine, think of foods that have flavor but not in a blunt way (such as sauteed food and not grilled food.)  An excellent wine for not much money, I'd especially recommend it to red wine drinkers who crave flavor and complexity in lighter red wines.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Italian wines!!

Affordable Bordeaux Region Red Wines

There is a lot of talk about Bordeaux wines.  Why?  There are many reasons.  Some people believe that Bordeaux region wines are much less fruity than California wines, other people buy into the status that Bordeaux has lent itself for higher quality wines that earn 90 -100 (out of 100) points.  The grapes most commonly grown are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but other grapes grow there are well.  In the Bordeaux region, there are wines that are extremely expensive and rate something like 95 out of 100 points, but most of us can be just as happy with the affordable (less than $20) wines from the area.

Mademoiselle L, Haut-Medoc France, 2009 - As promised, the wine packs a punch!  Beginning with dark fruit flavors such as cassis, the finish goes into lighter fruits like cherry.  The wine is remarkably smooth in the mouth and medium bodied.  As usual, the wine label doesn't indicate the grapes.  If you're a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot drinker with a longing for Syrah, this wine is for you.

Clement Saint-Jean, Medoc France, 2010 -  Less fruity and more deep than the last wine, I really like this wine and drink it faster than the last.  I can taste the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but the Syrah much more.  All the great flavors of Bordeaux wines are more subtle in this wine than the last.  I recommend this wine with chocolate cake or brownie!

Chateau Couronneau, Bordeaux France, 2010 -  It smells like Cabernet Sauvignon but definitely has the spices of Syrah.  It is in fact 100% Merlot, as most (if not all) wines from "Bordeaux Superieure" are.  Full-bodied and fruity with tannin giving it an edge, I liked this wine with meat.  Will it scream "Bordeaux" when you taste it?  Probably not, but its still delicious!

Chateau Greysac, Medoc France, 2008 - I found this wine when I was reorganizing my wine cabinet.  I had been looking for it when I first wrote this blog!   This wine sells quicker than any other Bordeaux region wine in the store, so I was curious to taste it.  It has aged more than any other I have tasted, and the fruit flavor is tempered with more flavor of the "terroir" -- it is a better wine for food than probably the rest.  It is made with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon.

In discussing these wines with a mentor, I mentioned that I don't like Cabernet Sauvignon.  He talked me into buying Chateau Fonbadet, Pauillac France, 2009.  I buyed it, and tried it.  It is good, full of dark red fruit flavor that I have come to associate with Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is also more than $20.  I was told to buy this wine again, and let it age in the bottle -- and then try it!  Something to consider.


<a href="http://linkfromblog.com/#11665"><img border="0" alt="Buy blog reviews" src="http://linkfromblog.com/img.002.019995.jpg"/></a>