Terry and Kathy Sullivan (center)
and some photos from their recent
trip to Colorado wineries, all of
which you can find on their site.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
He wrote: "We were totally amazed with Colorado and the wines. Vineyards were between 4000 and 6500 feet high and I expected cold climate grapes. However they have more degree days in some of their areas than Napa. Many of the wines we tasted were in the 14 to 15+ % alcohol area. Although they have their challenges, they do not have the humidity, diseases and insects that we have on the East Coast. I don't believe that I ever had a 15% alcohol wine from anywhere on the East Coast."
He wrote: "We were totally amazed with Colorado and the wines. Vineyards were between 4000 and 6500 feet high and I expected cold climate grapes. However they have more degree days in some of their areas than Napa. Many of the wines we tasted were in the 14 to 15+ % alcohol area. Although they have their challenges, they do not have the humidity, diseases and insects that we have on the East Coast. I don't believe that I ever had a 15% alcohol wine from anywhere on the East Coast."
-
Terry Sullivan said earlier this week that he and his wife Kathy created Winetrailtraveler.com back in 2006 to educate others. But it also has taught them a thing or two about wine as they’ve traipsed around the country reviewing wineries.
“I would have to say my tastes have broadened,” said Terry. “Definitely. I now really enjoy dry reds, but on a day like today give me really pretty cold Pinot Grigio, and I’m happy with that. When we were in Canada earlier this year we tried so many different ice wines. I’m not a Cab Franc fan [not as a varietal], but the Cabernet Franc ice wines were just some of the most delicious things I’ve had the experience of trying. [And] I like my sparkling wines. I think sparkling wines probably are the best food-pairing wines that are out there because of the cleansing. They go with any kind of food you can think of.”
Their site and subsequent blog leaped up at me earlier this week as I was doing some research. Terry said both of them were wine aficionados for years before bringing their knowledge and passion to the Internet; they would take day trips to various wine festivals within a day’s drive of their home in Maryland and stop at various wineries. Then came the tipping point; it took place at a doctor’s visit in the fall of 2006. Hearing what they do, he blanched. “He mentioned that he would be scared to death of doing that,” Terry recalled. “It took me by surprise. I know my wife and I look at each other. [It was like] the light bulb went on.”
Having both recently retired from careers in education, they were searching for the next chapter in their lives. Securing a loan, they were off on their mission.
“Our site to me is significantly different,” Terry said, “because we’re talking about the experience of going to wineries. There’s not a lot of that out there; oh, maybe a few that are localized. But not a lot that have the scope that ours has.”
Originally they would write one article that feature several wineries, but soon noticed that they received better reaction from the wineries if they focused on one per article. All told, they’ve been to 233 wineries, including a recent all-paid trip to Colorado that netted a number of stories and some gorgeous pictures, some of which have been uploaded to accompany this story.
“It’s a full time job,” Terry noted. “We try to spend a week or two a month traveling to the wineries and writing about the experience. We try to spend the other two weeks working on marketing, trying to get people to advertise on our site. The blog we just added in January of this year. It’s a newer kind of experience for us, but people seem to like it. The blog has been viewed 1500 times this month.”
On these trips they’ll hit two to three wineries, spending about two to three hours in each. It all has become a routine; they’ll check into a hotel around 5 in the afternoon, write until 11, then get up the next morning and write a couple more hours before getting back on their wine trail. “It’s a lot of work,” Terry noted. “I constantly hear people tell me, ‘Oh, I’d love to have your job.’ The people who don’t write don’t know what’s involved. They think all you are doing is drinking wine all day.”
Oh, maybe that day will come down the line, when they move their business into the black and just feel like spending 24 hours celebrating. “We not making enough to support what we’re doing, but we do have some wineries advertising. Different lodgings. And as of June of ’08 we equaled all of what we made last year. So, yes, it’s showing progress. I’m happy about that. If we end up doubling each year, eventually we’ll make enough money to pay for all of our expenses.”
One issue that seemed worth raising is this whole sweet/dry debate, one ythat already has fueled a number of stories on this site. Do they see the predominance of sweet wines in this region as unique? No, Terry said.
“I think its very prevalent,” he said. “America talks dry and drinks sweet. The diehard dry fans would argue that statement, but there are a lot of people new to wine, moreso now than ever before, who start by drinking sweet. You still have a lot of beer drinkers, and they normally go to a sweet wine if they have to rink a wine.
“Wineries realize even if they personally like dry reds that, in order to be economically viable, you’ve got to put some sweet wines in the portfolio. You don’t have a nonsweet portfolio anywhere in the United States. Pretty bottles are the other thing,” noting that statistics show women buy more of the wine than men. “Oft-times they’ll buy a wine because of the color of the bottle or how pretty the label is. Some wineries have picked up on that. And they market to reach the women out there who do that. [For instance], blue bottles outsell any other bottle. It almost doesn’t matter what’s in it.”
“I would have to say my tastes have broadened,” said Terry. “Definitely. I now really enjoy dry reds, but on a day like today give me really pretty cold Pinot Grigio, and I’m happy with that. When we were in Canada earlier this year we tried so many different ice wines. I’m not a Cab Franc fan [not as a varietal], but the Cabernet Franc ice wines were just some of the most delicious things I’ve had the experience of trying. [And] I like my sparkling wines. I think sparkling wines probably are the best food-pairing wines that are out there because of the cleansing. They go with any kind of food you can think of.”
Their site and subsequent blog leaped up at me earlier this week as I was doing some research. Terry said both of them were wine aficionados for years before bringing their knowledge and passion to the Internet; they would take day trips to various wine festivals within a day’s drive of their home in Maryland and stop at various wineries. Then came the tipping point; it took place at a doctor’s visit in the fall of 2006. Hearing what they do, he blanched. “He mentioned that he would be scared to death of doing that,” Terry recalled. “It took me by surprise. I know my wife and I look at each other. [It was like] the light bulb went on.”
Having both recently retired from careers in education, they were searching for the next chapter in their lives. Securing a loan, they were off on their mission.
“Our site to me is significantly different,” Terry said, “because we’re talking about the experience of going to wineries. There’s not a lot of that out there; oh, maybe a few that are localized. But not a lot that have the scope that ours has.”
Originally they would write one article that feature several wineries, but soon noticed that they received better reaction from the wineries if they focused on one per article. All told, they’ve been to 233 wineries, including a recent all-paid trip to Colorado that netted a number of stories and some gorgeous pictures, some of which have been uploaded to accompany this story.
“It’s a full time job,” Terry noted. “We try to spend a week or two a month traveling to the wineries and writing about the experience. We try to spend the other two weeks working on marketing, trying to get people to advertise on our site. The blog we just added in January of this year. It’s a newer kind of experience for us, but people seem to like it. The blog has been viewed 1500 times this month.”
On these trips they’ll hit two to three wineries, spending about two to three hours in each. It all has become a routine; they’ll check into a hotel around 5 in the afternoon, write until 11, then get up the next morning and write a couple more hours before getting back on their wine trail. “It’s a lot of work,” Terry noted. “I constantly hear people tell me, ‘Oh, I’d love to have your job.’ The people who don’t write don’t know what’s involved. They think all you are doing is drinking wine all day.”
Oh, maybe that day will come down the line, when they move their business into the black and just feel like spending 24 hours celebrating. “We not making enough to support what we’re doing, but we do have some wineries advertising. Different lodgings. And as of June of ’08 we equaled all of what we made last year. So, yes, it’s showing progress. I’m happy about that. If we end up doubling each year, eventually we’ll make enough money to pay for all of our expenses.”
One issue that seemed worth raising is this whole sweet/dry debate, one ythat already has fueled a number of stories on this site. Do they see the predominance of sweet wines in this region as unique? No, Terry said.
“I think its very prevalent,” he said. “America talks dry and drinks sweet. The diehard dry fans would argue that statement, but there are a lot of people new to wine, moreso now than ever before, who start by drinking sweet. You still have a lot of beer drinkers, and they normally go to a sweet wine if they have to rink a wine.
“Wineries realize even if they personally like dry reds that, in order to be economically viable, you’ve got to put some sweet wines in the portfolio. You don’t have a nonsweet portfolio anywhere in the United States. Pretty bottles are the other thing,” noting that statistics show women buy more of the wine than men. “Oft-times they’ll buy a wine because of the color of the bottle or how pretty the label is. Some wineries have picked up on that. And they market to reach the women out there who do that. [For instance], blue bottles outsell any other bottle. It almost doesn’t matter what’s in it.”
