Charlottesville Pedestrian Mall – Charlottesville UnCorked

I recently heard an interesting perspective that altered my thoughts on reviews, star ratings and testimonials. In this knee jerk reactive, social media world we live in, people have the opportunity to praise or harm a business without the owner even being aware of a situation. Such a situation developed the other evening at one of my very favorite restaurants on the Pedestrian mall in Downtown Charlottesville. We had new clients in town and they selected Red Pump Kitchen for their first dinner in Cville. Unfortunately, they had a less than stellar experience there and I was dismayed to hear about it the following morning. I impulsively jumped on Facebook to express my concern about their experience. We want our clients to love Virginia as much as we do, of course.

Clearly, I intend not to dwell on what went awry, but how rapidly the efforts were employed to rectify the situation! After hearing about the note on Yelp and my note on Facebook, the owners, Dean Andrews and Lynn Easton aggressively delved in to the situation, reached out to their team (even though they were out of town at one of their restaurants in Charleston, S.C.) and contacted me on our clients behalf the very same day! With their reputation for attention to detail and hands-on service, I received a phone call with a sincere personal apology and Dean offered the option of inviting our clients to experience the beautiful Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyard for a complimentary Sunday lunch. As many already know, Pippin Hill is a favorite with The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings and Vogue and deserves it’s ranking as one of the premier wedding destinations in the country. Pippin also boasts one of the most picturesque views in Virginia, and a striking approach through an allée of fragrant popcorn white hydrangeas towards the rustically elegant barn/event hall and tasting room.

Reserved for us on this gorgeous August afternoon was the shaded corner table providing a gentle breeze where we were indulged with refreshing Blanc de Blanc and sparkling Rose. Our server, Colleen, was delightful, attentive and excellent! Matt, the manager checked into make sure everything was perfect…and it was. The cheese board and charcuterie board were artistic, locally sourced and delicious, we loved the Buffalo Sliders and the atmosphere and scenery exquisite as always.

It couldn’t have been a more delightful afternoon. It also served as an unexpected opportunity to celebrate my birthday and our clients =) which are both tomorrow.

So as far as those star ratings and reviews, I came to the conclusion that sometimes second impressions have even more impact then first and we have two new prospective homeowners in Charlottesville who are totally sold on Pippin Hill, will certainly return to Red Pump Kitchen and are excited to be able to experience more of our beautiful area. Many thanks and a Five Star rating to Dean Andrews and Lynn Easton for your amazing attention to detail and welcoming them to our Virgina Wine Country.. Happy Birthday to me…

In a little over a month, Charlottesville, Virginia will be hosting The North America Wine Bloggers Conference! They are expecting as many as 325 participants, actually limiting it to that number! This is quite a coup for Virginia and the efforts of many in the Commonwealth including Governor Bob McDonnel . With the recent opening of Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards and this week Stinson Vineyards, there is a lot of excitement in the air around Charlottesville’s wine country!

This is my first time to participate and I’m excited to be learning more about wines from enthusiasts world wide! I will be joining wine bloggers, new media innovators, and wine industry leaders on July 22-24, 2011 in Charlottesville, Virginia for the fourth annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference! Best of all, I feel proud to be a local wine blogger and have the opportunity to show off the beauty of our wine country and some of our superb wineries!

There is also a Pre-Conference Excursion to Loudoun County. Loudoun County is located just outside Washington DC and is one of Virginia’s premier wine areas, with 28 area wineries. I really wanted to join this group as well but can’t take that much time away from real estate in the summer! Other than visits to local wineries and Monticello, all meetings will be held at the Omni Hotel, located near the end of our charming downtown pedestrian mall.

I’ve never “Live-Wine Blogged” before, hopefully I’ll get some pointers before the event! The agenda is amazing including Dave McIntyre, wine writer for the Washington Post and founding member of DrinkLocalWine.com; Lenn Thompson, founder of New York Cork Report; and Rémy Charest, blogger at The Wine Case in Canada. This panel will be moderated by wine blogger, Frank Morgan of Drink What You Like. It will also be a great chance to meet wine tweeps in person!

New York Times wine critic and blogger Eric Asimovwill be providing the keynote speech for the conference. I also noticed my friend Kat Schornberg Barnard of Keswick Vineyards will be attending! I’ll know one person!

Look out C-ville, Here come the winos 🙂