Lloyd Cellars was honored to have our very own winemaker Rob Lloyd as a panelist of seven featured winemakers from around the world
In the spirit of continuing education for beverage professionals and consumers, The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — is hosting a series of complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest. The events are hosted virtually by winemakers from across the globe and broadcast live. Videos of the webinars are available on-demand soon after airing.
~ The Synopsis and Featured Regions and Wineries ~
Winemakers have a funny relationship with Pinot Noir: The quirky grape can gratify or frustrate, be delicate or durable, muse or mischief, but one way or another it always inspires passion and pride. Lars Leicht of The Somm Journal, and Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson, co-host this Pinot parley with seven wine whisperers from distinct terroirs around the world.
>>> If you’d like to jump ahead to Rob’s interview, it begins at 1:06:45 <<<
Curry Up and Try This Delicious Food and Wine Pairing
As we transition from spring to summertime, outdoor dining and picnics can become a weekly event. Creating simple all-in-one dishes that hold up well to time and travel is a winning strategy. Chef Robert Bleifer’s Curried Chicken Salad is the perfect East-meets-West dish that can be served on bread, in a lettuce wrap, or over a fresh green salad. We hope you enjoy and remember to follow Chef Bliefer on Instagram at @chef_robear!
Tip: keep your curry on the milder side when pairing with wines.
Lloyd Cellars Partners with Former Food Network Executive Rob Bleifer for Instagram Influencer Awareness Campaign, Recipe Blog Series
Prescription Vineyards Sponsors Tampa Bay Restaurant Week June 17 – 27, Launching New Wine & Music Showcase Event ‘Friday-Eve Live’ on Opening Night at Epicurean
(June 2nd, 2021, Napa Valley, CA) –Lloyd Cellars and Prescription Vineyards are returning to in-market work after fourteen months of sheltering in place. Lloyd Cellars, founded in 2008 by Rob and Bonnie Lloyd, felt that an important mission when getting back to market work is to bring awareness and support to restaurants as the nation begins to reopen.
“In our small way, we want to inspire people to get back to fine dining,” said winemaker Rob Lloyd. “If all the small, medium, and large wineries made this a priority, the wine industry could have a positive impact on a segment of our business that was the hardest hit.”
Lloyd Cellars has partnered with former Food Network Executive Chef Robert Bleifer to create delicious content for its June’ Back to Fine Dining’ Instagram Influencer campaign with Social Media agency, ApexDrop. In his 24-years at Food Network, Chef Bleifer was responsible for everything from managing the kitchen of 18 food stylists and recipe developers to coordinating with production teams, chefs and hosts, guest chefs, and much more. He was also an on-air presence, judging numerous Food Network Challenges, catering the three Food Network Wedding specials, and many other ‘cameo’ appearances. He’s now in the development stage of several new projects, including a book. Chef Bleifer can be followed on Instagram: @chef_robear.
In 2015, Rob and Bonnie founded their second label, Prescription Vineyards. Primarily focused on retail, Prescription Vineyards is presenting the opportunity for restaurants to feature its Clarksburg Chardonnay and Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on wine-by-the-glass menus. “We saw Tampa Bay Restaurant Week as a way present our wine-by-the-glass program in a high-profile way,” said Director of Sales, Greg Moore, “while also supporting and bringing awareness to restaurants and getting people back to the table. We’re excited to be the first exclusive wine sponsor in the 15-years that Creative Loafing Tampa has produced the event.”
As part of the in-market efforts, Prescription Vineyards is also launching a new consumer event, ‘Friday-Eve Live.’ Playing off the pop-culture phenomenon of people jump-starting their weekend by calling Thursday nights’ Friday Eve’, the event is part wine tasting, part musical showcase. ‘Friday-Eve Live’ will launch on the opening night of Tampa Bay Restaurant Week on Thursday, June 17th, in partnership with Creative Loafing Tampa and iHeartRadio/Central Florida, and hosted by Epicurean and Élevage SoHo Kitchen & Bar in Tampa, Florida. Tickets are $25 advance, $35 at door if available.
“iHeartMedia is excited to be a part of and attend ‘Friday-Eve Live’ on June 17 at Epicurean,” said April Easterly, Promotions Director at Rumba 106.5 and US 103.5. “As the kick-off to Tampa Bay
Restaurant Week, our very own Tampa Talents can’t wait to experience the great food and sips from the Bay. Katie Sommers on middays with 93.3 FLZ, and Ian Beckles, who is on evenings as Co-Host of Beckles and Recher on 95.3 WDAE, will be attending.”
Musical guest Carl Wockner was named the first and only Australian artist to win Top Honors at the International Acoustic Music Award’s 2015 (USA). He also scored in the top of the AAA category for the release of his album Crayon Days with producer Michael Flanders in Nashville, Tennessee. He was recently awarded “Musician of the Year 20/21” by Western Australia Prestige Awards. “Bonnie and I love music,” said Rob Lloyd, “and helping artists get back to work just feels right.”
A portion of Tampa Bay Restaurant Week proceeds benefit Feeding Tampa Bay!
As the longer days of spring and summer approach, we begin to dream of outdoor gatherings with family, firing up the grill, and sipping our favorite wines on the patio.
Of course, with the change of seasons comes the heat. We share a reminder to order your wines now to avoid summer ‘heat holds’ and overnight shipping costs. The difference between Ground vs. Overnight shipping can mean several hundred dollars.
In the spirit of continuing education for beverage professionals and consumers, The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — invites our members and trade partners to participate in a complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest. The events are hosted virtually by winemakers from across the globe and broadcast live. Videos of the webinars are available on-demand soon after airing.
Winemaker Rob Lloyd will be featured in two of the eight webinars for 2021. For the May 11th webinar, Rob will be speaking to Sta. Rita Hills AVA where we source our Pinot Noir. In the fall, on September 14th, he’ll speak to the Carneros Region and our Chardonnay. We’ll be sharing registration details in the coming weeks!
To get on our mailing list for notifications for all news, recipes, and offers, scroll to the bottom of this page for our registration form.
May 11th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Pinot Noir: Aspects from Delicacy to Durability“ Webinar, moderated by Master of Wine Andrea Robinson, in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
September 14th 2021 @ 9:00amPT National Geographic “Balancing Act: Chardonnay at its Best’ Webinar in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Carneros Chardonnay
For the first time since 2011, National Geographic Books has fully updated The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, the comprehensive guide for enophiles now in its sixth edition. The launch of the highly anticipated New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by National Geographic Books was the catalyst for the innovative approach and synergies among industry leaders in their categories.
This essential reference—long used as the go-to text for the prestigious Master Sommelier examination—is the most comprehensive guide to the world of wine, featuring authoritative information on related history, culture, geography, and more. (Source: Tasting Panel Magazine)
Lloyd Cellars and Prescription Vineyards have an exciting year planned for 2021. Here in our Market Update, we share recent scores and links to promotional assets such as Shelf-Talkers, Line Cards, Data Sheets and Bottle Shots.
Additionally, we have a series of virtual events scheduled, including Webinars with National Geographic and The Somm Journal, an upcoming Sip Sip Hooray Podcast with Award-Winning Media Hosts Mary Babbit and Mary Orlin, all integrated with our ongoing Instagram Influencer campaigns with ApexDrop. These Instagram Influencer campaigns also feature our pop-culture partnerships with top chefs and musical artists.
Though in-market event planning is still fluid due to Covid, we are putting down markers and making appropriate plans to support our distributor and on- and off-premise partners. Please read on the for more details and links to our recent blog features!
The launch of the highly anticipated New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by National Geographic Books is the catalyst for the innovative approach and synergies among industry leaders in their categories. The SOMM Journal — in association with National Geographicand SommCon — invites you to participate in these complimentary, one-of-a-kind wine-tasting webinar series entitled Geographical Digest.
May 11th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Pinot Noir: Aspects from Delicacy to Durability“ Webinar, moderated by Master of Wine Andrea Robinson, in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
July 29th 2021 @ Time TBA Buyer’s Forum: In association with the Somm Foundation, Prescription Vineyards tastes along with 40 qualified wine buyers featuring the upcoming release of our 2019 Clarksburg Chardonnay Winemaker Rob Lloyd & Director of Sales Greg Moore Lead Our Discussion
September 14th 2021 @ 9:00am PT National Geographic “Balancing Act: Chardonnay at its Best’ Webinar in association with the Somm Foundation Winemaker Rob Lloyd to Speak to Carneros Chardonnay
Note: These webinars are part of a year-long marketing campaign that includes advertising, editorial and social media
ApexDrop Instagram Influencer Campaigns
ApexDrop is a marketing firm that manages a network of thousands of Instagram Influencers. We produced three campaigns from October 2020 to February 2021, including our holiday campaign in partnership with Celebrity Chef, Author, and Artist Bob Blumer, to celebrate the holidays and his new cookbook Flavorbomb. Blumer has had three shows on the Food Network, has penned many award-winning cookbooks, and holds 8 Guinness World Book of Records.
We have scheduled three campaigns for 2021 running March through August. With each effort, we engage with 50 hand-selected Instagram Influencers. We set the theme, hashtags, and photo wish list. All User-Generated Content, including comments/reviews and photos, becomes the property of Lloyd Cellars for promotion through our Social Media Networks and beyond.
In addition to the robust content generation and product sampling, each campaign with the 50 Instagram Influencers has had a total following of more than 750,000 followers. Over our last three campaigns, our total reach has surpassed 1.5 million with our Engagements reaching more than 60,000. We invite you to visit our Instagram accounts with Tags to see the quality and diversity of our content and, of course, follow us!
‘Favorite Wines We Drank in 2020’ Article Scores Lloyd Cellars 2019 Carneros Chardonnay 94 Points
Cheers magazine wrote: We asked our panel of independent wine professionals to recall their favorite bottles they drank in the past year. As always, these selections include brief tasting notes, a grade and the wine’s retail price (which can vary from store to store and market to market). Unless noted otherwise, prices reflect 750-ml. bottles. Tasting notes: Ripe pear, apple and tropical fruits are potent, elegant and all over the nose and palate. Structure and balance are provided by rich vanilla notes, and the finish is powerful and luscious. Read more…
