Friday, April 1, 2011 at 2:52AM I thought I'd give you a round up in pictures of the people and places of my Europe Social glue workshops where I interactively teach people to use social tools to market themselves and their brand better.
Contact me if you would like to be included in your city. Upcoming Zurich, Milan, Lisbon. sign up on the facebook page
<
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 8:04AM 
The Duke of Portugal and Count Calheiros
It has been 4 days now that I pinch myself as I wake up and rub my eyes. I am in Northern Portugal>
First the 1st anniversary menu experience of Rui Paula's inspired menu at DOP in Porto where I interviewed him and did a wine tasting of Quinta Nova Duoro wines. Menus and videos to follow.
At the Gorgeous Calheiros Manor house, I woke first to the splendor that is Lima Valley. Played with the new baby foal, discovered Ponte de Lima, and the delightful Calheiros Family my gracious hosts for a Wine Weekend In this undiscovered gem of NW portugal up near The Santiago Compostella Camino.
Today I'm in Duoro Valley, at the Wine house and family vineyard of Pacheca brand the wine family Serpa Pimental and winemaker Maria have given me much pleasure with their wines. The latest crisp 2010 white released just two days ago, is a lovely passion fruit, tropical fresh dream perfect for patio dining.
Anyway you'll have to watch the tastings.
Then comes that golden moment that often happens with wine.
After filming wine reviews, I get offered by Caterina, A mystery port wine...
It is a Vino Velho do Douro Frasquira Particular From 1880, yes 1880!
It's a little medicinal and heady with definite balsamic eucalyptus notes but I'm enchanted by its long legs.
This is why I love wine journeys......
The menu of grilled octopus fillet and Val Abrao wine followed by 2000 and 2006 vintage port wine from Pacheca was inspired, our chef served it with the best chocolate cake in the world and home made pistaccio icecream........last night almost reduced me to tears of happiness.
I was up in the vineyards at 7am with the sun just cresting the hill and seeing the first leaf buds made me so thankful to be here. Words fail me for once in expressing how inspirational this part of Portugal is for me. So perhaps as a picture speaks a thousand words I should get busy uploading videos and interviews.
Im in Lisbon for some interviews from Monday...
Sunday, March 13, 2011 at 10:25AM Social glue what it is it ....... Wine of course.
Wine is very tolerant - as are wine drinkers.
Beer drinkers are very brand conscious and loyal, so are whisky drinkers.
But #Wine drinkers are experimental and that's why I enjoy so much working in the Wine Camp.
Fights break out over which beer is best, but not over wine, there is a wine for everyone as I always say.
My last post focused on The Fonseca Reis family in Portugal, and other winemakers in Portugal like Pedro at Quinta Ameal, Vosco Croft at Afros and Quinta Nova in Duoro, Fonseca-Croft the Port champions.
They make wine for different price points and palates and nobody doubts the wisdom of this strategy.
In the past year I've travelled for wine and interviewed winemakers from the four corners of the earth.
Argentina, Chile, Italy, France, Austria, South Africa, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, UK, USA. New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Greece.
It's the same wherever I roam. WINE PEOPLE are so ready to share.
So just why is Wine social glue, *the subject of my social for wine workshops that I am running all over Europe. Subscribe here to get the announcement of when ill be in your town and book your place when announced.
10 Reasons why wine is Social Glue
1. We arrive into the world with wine *small bubbles are poured into glasses clinked together in our honor. Probably the first word we hear after we are born is CONGRATULATIONS!
2. We graduate with wine
3. We go on dates with wine,
......and if we are lucky, We lose our virginity with a glass of red wine in front of a fire.
4. We cook romantic meals and spend hours combing the wineshop /supermarket shelves for the perfect wine to pair with it.
5. We get promoted with sparkling wine - or Champagne - if the French have their way, which they often do.
6. We recover from breakups in the bath with a glass of wine and an iphone, to tearfully send sms and sos to our friends on.
6. We all get acquainted with wine sooner or later..
7. We get married with wine, divorced with wine, insolvent with wine, sign contracts with wine,
Get the courage to face our tax returns with wine.
8. We toast each other's success with wine. trade wine, invest in wine , collect wine, spill wine.
9. Even Jesus Christ found the need to turn water into wine.
10. Wine is as old as that other four letter word Love
and it binds us together through thick and thin.
To WINE ....... the social glue.... !
Sends me your thoughts here in a comment always welcome.
Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 9:32AM
here the winery of Anas family, if you want to visit.
This is what Gary Vaynerchuk said about the wine from this family! Watch
BIG C
Ill be loading Winemaker interviews all this month.
Donna Jackson.
Changing the wine world one wine at a time.
Friday, February 4, 2011 at 7:07AM 
We wound our way up those twisty winding roads clinging to the side of the mountain and then descended into the Douro valley. We were on the press tour after #iwinetc.
We were the guests at Croft/Fonseca and the CEO Adrian Bridge was waiting to meet us and showed us around the winery near Pinau Douro. Then in the vineyards we met the team ; winemaker Antonio and the viticulturist. The tour was one of the most informative and interesting I've been on. Port wine is some kind of an affair and I was falling in love with it.
We all walked and talked in the vineyards as Adrian plucked oranges and lemon leaves for us to sniff and taste under an impossibly blue sky.We then drove up another road that the bus barely made it up to view more terraces tumbling down to the river.
We went up to their guest lodge perched high above the river and with our fabulous lunch tasted all those lovely ports First extra dry Sirocco, then Vintage Port 2008 my favorite, then twenty year old Tawny and then finally the organic port made by Fonseca terra prima. As Adrian and his team stood in the road waving at us while we set off to decend those steep terraced curves, I was not the only one on that wine bus to be feeling envy for those men who live this dream at Douro.
Watch my updates on the amazing places we stayed and the winemakers I interviewed.
@wisequeen on wine from Portugal.
