What I Drank: A Steelers Sunday Old Fashioned
What I Drank: A Steelers Sunday Old Fashioned
...after a week of work travel
Are you enjoying The Cork Report? Do you want to support independent wine writing? Consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Sorry for the radio — or, well, Substck — silence last week. I was traveling for work (a rare occurrence), and while I had grand plans for my newsletter while helping to run a 400-person conference, it just didn’t happen. I’ll do my best to make up for it this week.
As you may or may not know, I’m a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so NFL Sundays are nearly sacred to me. I was on an airplane and in an airport for much of the Steelers’ week one win over the Atlanta Falcons (I did get to watch the end in my hotel room, though).
I was home yesterday for their game against the Denver Broncos (another win!) and enjoyed an old-fashioned with a mixed base of half-bourbon and half-rye—and a bit more cherry syrup than I intended, which you can see in the picture. Being gone for most of last week meant that I didn’t have any clear ice on hand. I was also out of the right cherries—left with only bright red maraschinos on hand. Still, it was delicious — although most anything would have been while watching my favorite team win.
I know you come here for wine though — so stay tuned. Long hours on an airplane left me with lots of time to think about story ideas in addition to reviews. Seeing several under-researched “Top East Coast Wineries” lists in my social media feeds is a heck of a motivator too.
#openlocalwine Is Back November 9, 2024
Co-founded in 2020 by Gina Shay and myself, #openlocalwine started to support and help local wineries during the COVID-19 pandemic when tasting rooms were closed. That first event and the follow-up in 2021 were both hugely successful, with dozens of wineries across the United States and Canada offering special #openlocalwine packs with deals ranging from free shipping to exclusive library wines to steep discounts on popular wines. There were virtual tastings, and in 2021, when restrictions had started to lift, there were at-winery events and offers, too.
Thousands of local wine fans posted pictures of the wines they opened on Facebook and Instagram, and tens of thousands of social interactions on those platforms.
Thankfully, while COVID-19 remains a part of our lives, wineries operate normally today. So, it’s time to evolve #openlocalwine a bit. It’s still intended to support local wineries but more than anything, we want it to be a celebration of local wine.
I hope you’ll join me and thousands of fellow local wine lovers on November 9, 2024, for #openlocalwine night.
It’s easy to participate:
Buy a bottle (or bottles) of local wine. I’ll help by building a landing page for all of the offers wineries are pulling together for the event.
Open in on November 9, 2024, and post pictures on social media with the hashtag #openlocalwine (don’t forget to tag the winery and The Cork Report on Instagram or Facebook, too, so we can share your posts!)
Drink the wine, enjoy it, and celebrate local wine.
If you’re a winery, restaurant, or other related business that would like to participate by offering an #openlocalwine pack, hosting a wine dinner, or some other special for the event, please fill out the 2024 #openlocalwine Offer Form.
The Cork Report is reader-supported. Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
