Josh Wade – Drink Nectar

Josh Wade writes drinknectar.com, based our of Spokane Washington. Josh was a finalist for Best New Wine Blog at this years 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference alongside yours truly. We both lost. But fear not, Josh, also like me, is a nice guy and has big plans for the future. So learn about some of them now.

How did you become interested in wine?

“Like most people, I grew up drinking first growth Bordeaux with dinner starting at the age of 6. This experience broadened to include regions of Burgundy and…NOT! My first real experience with wine was a 2001 California Meridian Merlot ($12). I was going over to a hot girl’s house for a dinner date (2005) and I knew she was really into wine. I stood in the grocery store aisle feeling overwhelmed at the selection. I knew enough to stay away from the jugs and boxes and I didn’t want to be too cheap. At $12, the Meridian label caught my attention and I had at least heard of Merlot.  At the time the wine seemed pretty good and it must have worked because that girl agreed to be my third wife.”
Do you have a favorite wine memory?

“Well at the risk of being overly sappy or romantic and talk about an amazing wine journey I took with my wife through Walla Walla, I’ll actually reference a very cool trip to Seattle to attend the Taste Washington Event this last year (2010). The day before the public grand tasting, we attended several seminars and ended the afternoon with a chance rendezvous with two awesome leaders in the wine business. The most memorable seminar in the morning was a game show styled “name that wine” blind tasting. The panel consisted of several Master Sommelier and Doug Frost, a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier. We tasted through six white wines and six red wines. Not knowing anything about the wine, we watched the panel talk us through how they were able to determine the grape, the region, and the vintage of the wine. More often than not they were correct (mostly). I came away with a world of knowledge about analyzing wine. The afternoon ended with a long lunch conversation with Paul Mabry of Vintank and then drinks with Tom Wark. The amount of wine, business and marketing knowledge that these guys have really made my head spin. I don’t think a week goes by that I don’t refer to the information from these conversations and panel discussions.”

Why start a wine blog?

“Well to be honest, as a former Pastor, I didn’t think a porn blog would go over too well…although I probably could be making money.

The short story is that I did it to brand a future business. My wife and I plan to start a wine and coffee shop “one day.” Our master plan includes her going to college to get a teaching degree and once she is done, then I would quit my job to pursue my dreams. In November 2009, I read a book that was a catalyst to the whole project. Starting the blog would be a great way to channel my love for wine and coffee into a creative outlet while connecting with people in the local community and meeting some people in the industry. I thought, “Hey, if 200-300 people know who I am when I start a business, then I’ll be that much further along than some guy just starting from scratch.” Little did I know that my little “Crush It” project would turn into a seeming full time gig. Now, hopefully, 4,000 – 5,000 people will know who I am and when I open the doors, I’ll have a built in clientele of local wine and coffee lovers.

Now, I’m balancing a few challenges. I really didn’t think through some things like branding and timing very well and I’ve got several other business opportunities that are growing out of the DrinkNectar work here in Spokane. I really need to retrench and figure out the best next steps and course of action.”

Can you tell us about your new magazine and where the idea for such an ambitious project came from?

“Spokane Wine Magazine was literally one of those ideas that woke me up in the middle of the night. I’ve visited all 17 of the local wineries and several other wine businesses. The magazine seemed like a great logical step to take the stories I’ve collected and centralize them in a place that could be passed around and used as a resource. Wine in Spokane really is becoming quite a fun little scene. The magazine will solidify the wine community as a destination. My hope is that when people think of coming to Spokane they think of golf, skiing, rivers, lakes, mountains…and wine. Naturally, I want them to think of DrinkNectar too. The intention is to be an annual publication with the first edition coming out in November 2010. The scope all depends on how much funding I can secure through ads and underwriting. At a minimum I’ll print 5,000 copies but the goal is 10,000.”

What excites you about wine?

“Each bottle is a unique discovery waiting to be explored. Does that sound cheesy? You could take 30 tons of grapes and give 30 winemakers one ton each. At the end of their process you’d have 30 representations of their personality, their artistry, and their passion. That is what excites me about wine.”

If you could offer one piece of advice about wine to a newly interested person, what would it be?

“Get on the liver transplant list now because once you fall in love with wine, you won’t be able to stop drinking it. Here is what I’d say: Drink what you can afford. Experiment and take notes. Drink what you like. Repeat. ‘It’s only booze, just drink it.’” ~ Winemaker Charles Smith

Read the blog: drinknectar.com

Follow Josh on Twitter: @nectarwine