I have been looking at the Local Wine Events website for over 10 years. And in the past “Rona” year I have continued to see them as the most amazing resource for events, though now they find the best online virtual ones to share. I reached out to founder Eric Orange recently. He reminded me we had done an interview over 10 years ago, agreed to my idea of republishing it with some updates, and added in this new opening below. In these times I do hope you can continue to use this outlet for event news, education and wine reviews:
The Latest
NEW YEAR, new things to do! Lately, many of us are wondering what to do with ourselves. I get it, so I wanted to share a few ideas with you: Learn something new. Take a virtual wine or culinary class. Expand your wine knowledge — give our articles a read. Pop in the ear buds and listen to a wine or food podcast. Discover new wines! Check out our expert wine reviews. Pour a glass and have a look around. Cheers, Eric Orange.
From 2009, below is an interview I did with Eric (with updated numbers for 2021).
- Wow! Thanks for speaking to a local wine blogger!
Thank you for having me Eve, and thanks for being a LocalWineEvents.com advocate and a loyal subscriber to our free newsletter, THE JUICE.
- Your site seems to be going through some exciting changes…what areas do you think my wine 101 readers might be interested in?
We recently launched the newest version of LocalWineEvents.com, with better visibility for other content. At this time Virtual Events are taking center stage along with our Wine Quiz, Ask the Experts, plus our links to Blogs and Podcasts – it’s all there for the taking.
- Are the newsletters still free?
Indeed, The Juice is still free, and we now have over 3000,000 subscribers. And, those subscribers can choose their referred cities, to stay in the know about what’s happening. Especially now with virtual events being the main way to stay entertained at home, we encourage our readers to check these out – and pass the word to local businesses to post their happenings with us. Folks can sign up at our website, LocalWineEvents.com, anytime.
- And it’s free to list an event, I know I have, that’s really cool! But it looks like you can add more stuff to your listing too for a little charge?
We offer “enhanced” postings that give more exposure to a posting. The enhancement raises the exposure both online and in The Juice by floating them to the top of the listings, and the poster can add images, videos, and additional locations (cities) to their post.
- I hear you have an app now too?
Yes, and it was ranked in the Top Eight Wine Apps by Wine Enthusiast Magazine! Our App allows you to:
Find Wine & Food events near you — plus virtual events like wine and culinary classes, too! There are many free tastings listed (you just buy the wine to enjoy many of the classes from the comfort of home) Here’s the link: https://www.localwineevents.com/wine-events-app-for-ios-and-android AND, it’s free!
- So, what do you like to drink?
Big bold reds and T&T’s. (Tanqueray & Tonic)
- How did you get started?
In wine, or LocalWineEvents.com? Started in wine at Millbrook Vineyards in the Hudson Valley of New York. Went on from there until I was District Manager of Paterno Imports for Colorado. I did a wine maker dinner one night with very few attendees (embarrassingly so) and yet, was often asked by customers “How can I find out about those events?” The internet sort of sprang forth in full view in the fall of ’98 and I started working on the idea of one collective place where we could all put events and all find them.
Thank you for the interview Eve. Time to enjoy a nice glass of Cabernet. Cheers!
https://www.localwineevents.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Localwineevents/
https://www.instagram.com/localwineevents/
https://twitter.com/worldwineevents
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
