1. Myth: “Reserve” wines are better

Fact: The term “reserve” is meaningless, and consumers should know this. In fact, there are no rules or regulations whatsoever regarding the use of “reserve” on a wine label. Its meaning is up to the customer’s interpretation. Many wineries do put their best wines in the “reserve” tier, but make sure that’s the case. If you’re visiting a winery, ask the tasting room team. Trust your local wine retailer’s input as well. Don’t spend more money, or believe you’re getting a better wine, just because the label says “reserve.” Here’s a more detailed explanation from Wine Folly.

2. Myth: If a wine costs more it must be better

Fact: While this is oftentimes true, it’s not always the case. Sometimes a wine is priced based upon where it comes from, its pedigree or scores from critics it has received for past vintages – none of which are a guarantee of quality in the wine you’re considering to purchase. There are many low- to moderately-priced wines, both domestic and imported, that are sure to please if you take the time to do a bit of research and trial. Utilize online resources that specialize in reviewing and recommending affordable wines that over-deliver on quality. Check out cheapwineratings.com.

3. Myth: Large corporate wine companies don’t make great wine

Fact: Many well-known and highly-regarded wineries are commonly owned by large wine conglomerates, and they continue to produce outstanding wines. In many instances, the founding winemakers stay on board continuing to craft the same wines that made them successful in the first place. This is the case with Jackson Family Wines recent purchases of boutique producers Copain and Brewer-Clifton.  If anything, being part of a larger company affords many wineries more funding to improve winemaking facilities and, in many cases, benefits the consumer by offering wider distribution opportunities.

4. Myth: Single-vineyard and “small block” wines are always better

Fact: Certainly there are many acclaimed vineyards that all but guarantee quality, and the resulting wines bearing these vineyard names on the label command high prices. Likely the most well-known vineyard, Napa’s To Kalon, is a great example.  Sonoma County’s Ritchie Vineyard and Heintz Vineyard are known for outstanding Chardonnay, both selling their fruit to many A-list producers, who also know they can charge a premium for these wines. However, many wineries produce single-vineyard wines or “small block” wines that aren’t necessarily of any higher quality (of course this is subjective) than their other wines. The “standard” wines are blended from several blocks within one vineyard or are sourced from several different vineyards. Look no further than Lynmar Estate’s Quail Vineyard Chardonnay, blended from numerous blocks (or parcels) throughout the estate’s 45-acre vineyard. The Quail Vineyard Chardonnay happens to be my personal favorite among the Lynmar Chardonnays.

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Two post-Katrina homes in the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity’s ninth ward

In October 2007, two years after Katrina, my agency was called upon by our then-client, outdoor deck manufacturer Trex Company, to help develop and implement a cause marketing campaign to benefit under-served communities in New Orleans. Together, with our New Orleans IPREX public relations agency partner Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald (BMF), we put an initiative together with BMF-client New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, an organization in the throes of reconstructing the housing and communities to which the mostly impoverished area residents were still hoping to return.

More than 150 Trex executives and staff volunteered to help build houses in the “Musicians Village” section of the Habitat development. In addition, Trex agreed to supply the community with more than $100,000 in low maintenance, high performance, outdoor decking for the community’s centerpiece, the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, a 17,000 sq. ft. facility that would provide space for performance, education, recording studios, community gatherings, and cultural inspiration.

In 2007, more than 150 Trex Company volunteers put their efforts towards building homes for Habitat for Humanity

Last week, while visiting New Orleans, I jumped at the opportunity to tour the area and see the progressing community. It was inspirational and gratifying to witness the good that came out of our public relations efforts, even if we were only just a small part of the huge Habitat undertaking.

We walked by the houses that were built, in part, by the Trex volunteers including the house on which I worked.

The real reward, however, was my tour of the Marsalis Center for Music. The approachable and communal design was beautiful in its utility. Its exterior and courtyard were completely decked with Trex materials. I was told by the Center’s Executive Director, Michele Jean-Pierre, that New Orleans had a terrible termite problem which the Center was able to avoid because of Trex’s wood-alternative, eco-friendly composite decking. Michele, graciously, praised the work and contributions of Trex and of my agency’s work in helping put it together.

Trex decking in New Orleans’ state-of-the-art Marsalis Center for Music

The tour was emotional for me in being able to see, first-hand, some of the positive effects of my own profession. So often our public relations work is drop-and-move-on to the next thing. While we profess to the long term benefits of what we provide our clients, we rarely track the long term effects.

The Marsalis Center for Music includes an impressive 170-seat performance hall, state-of-the-art lighting and sound, recording studios, computer center, listening library, dance studio and teaching facilities. Each year, more than 200 neighborhood children are instructed in music, dance, academics, and social and cultural responsibility in a safe and positive learning environment. The surrounding community is especially tailored to facilitating an approach of having older musicians mentoring the young. According to the Center’s website, “72 single-family homes, five senior-friendly duplexes, and a toddler park were all built by approximately 70,000 volunteers, donors, sponsors and low-income families.”

Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans “Musician’s Village” built by Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina

I saw children in the classroom, hands-on caring and dedicated teachers and executive staff working with great pride in fostering achievement. A gifted sound engineer and teacher at the facility, Daryl Dickerson Ed.D, told me that his objective was – beyond performance – “to help the kids build a skill for longevity” and that the long term career skills were often learned “behind the scenes” of performance. And, of course, highly visible throughout was the handsome Trex decking, now an essential part of the facility that makes these efforts possible.

This kind of initiative is certainly not the only time in which I have seen and participated in public relations implemented for a greater good, but it is another heartwarming and inspirational example for all my fellow practitioners to keep in mind in working day-in and day-out for the good of our respective organizations: our counsel can bring real and palpable benefits to business, communities and families.

The post Revisiting New Orleans 9 Years After Trex & Habitat for Humanity Collaboration appeared first on Fineman PR.

In public relations, it is our job – or perhaps calling – to be observant arbiters of emerging processes, especially in the way consumers interact with and discover new brands or products. So when it comes to a new service meant to enhance, enrich and accelerate the shopping experience, the PR and Marketing world watches with bated breath.

Enter Google Shopping Express – a new service now in beta test in San Francisco which offers same day delivery from local retailers. The current king of rapid, non-emergency transfer of goods-to-human delivery is Amazon Prime’s two day service, which is not to be undercut by Google’s recent attempt. Nor is any other unique delivery vehicle that has enlivened product awareness in cluttered markets: what the monthly subscription of Birchbox did for beauty brands has been so successful, spin-offs are multiplying like rabbits in spring time [while there is no Birchbox counterpart tailored to rabbits (yet), there is Barkbox, a monthly delivery of goods for your pooch].

As we continue to bask in the whimsical trend of pop-up services and offerings, it’s hard to imagine things slowing down anytime soon. You want it? Now it can be there in a matter of hours, hand-delivered by a gentleman or woman sporting a Google-green polo shirt and a smile. It’s evocative of a 1950’s era Milk Man. Technology has moved us forward to get us back to that level of customer service.

The quickening of the consumer lifecycle inevitably leads to trend forecasting and social media campaigns meant to rise to the occasion; to be as quick-witted and accommodating as the delivery service itself.  And what better way to learn a language than to be immersed in the culture?

Fineman PR decided to play house with Google Shopping Express as beta users. The infographic is a snapshot into our first beta-test experience, and we’ve since continued to shop up a storm.

While it may be too soon to make any major leaps and projections for PR implications, what perhaps is most notable about this service is the inclusion of smaller, local, artisan brands like Blue Bottle Coffee into the mix, and what it means for awareness building. But for now, we’re shopping from our desks with abandon, enjoying the immediacy of our deliveries and becoming more fluent in consumer processes – and all for the sake of research.

Calendar note: For San Franciscan’s interested in Google’s continued global/digital domination, Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen will be speaking June 4^th here in the city, brought to you by the Commonwealth Club.

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