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A User's Guide
Welcome to the user's guide for the Livermore Valley Wine Country series on Squidoo. There are over 50 lenses in the series, so I do appreciate hearing from winery staff when information needs to be updated. Each of the wineries is promoted on every other winery lens. This alone accounts for nearly 2,000 links between the various lenses. Perhaps you discovered yours by doing a Google search, as some winery owners have. If so, fabulous! That's the goal... to promote the Livermore Valley Wine Country on the Internet. Each winery lens is composed of a series of modules. These modules are described below, along with tips to get the most out of your site.
Photo: Jim Frost of Hidden Creek Wine
Livermore Valley Wine Country Series
If you're discovering Squidoo for the first time, be sure to check out the following websites.-
Livermore Valley Wine Country
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Located just an hour east of San Francisco, the Livermore Valley is home to over three dozen wineries, with lush vineyards covering more than 5,000 acres. Wineries range from small, family-owned operations to historic leaders of the California wine i...
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Livermore Valley Wine Country Headquarters
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Calling all wine tasters! This group showcases the wineries of Livermore Valley in northern California. Do your part in supporting the wine industry by visiting these wineries (tough work, but someone has to do it!) Then, share your experiences by wr...
Your Introduction Module
The introduction module is accompanied by a wine label graphic, which you're welcome to revise or change anytime. Your wine label gets a lot of exposure... it's displayed throughout the series several times. Hopefully you like the label I've chosen, but if you're ready for an update, send me a .jpg or .gif file of the desired graphic. You can also send me a real label and I'll scan it for you. Wine Tasting Information
I live in southern California, but visit the Livermore wineries several times a year. I'm still updating the tasting room descriptions, and taking new winery photos will be one of my top priorities this year. The wine tasting hours were obtained from the 2007 Harvest Wine Celebration publication and updated in some cases where winery owners provided new information. If your wine tasting hours change, contact me.Wine Tasting Hours Highlighted Here
Wine Variety Information
As with the wine tasting hours, wine variety information was taken from the 2007 Harvest Wine Celebration publication. I also check winery websites, as time allows. If the information is incorrect, contact me and I'll make the appropriate changes. Where available, I've included an About the Wines link to take readers directly to your website's wine information page. Google Map
Tasting Room Hours Here
Flickr Photo Gallery
If you'd like to add photos to your photo gallery, create a free Flickr account and mention Livermore, wine, and name of winery in your tags. Let your wine tasters know too. If you see someone with a camera, tell them about Squidoo! Thanks to the great folks who visit the Livermore wineries, more than one thousand Livermore wine photos have already been submitted to Flickr. If your lens doesn't have a photo gallery yet, hang in there! You will have one soon.
Click on Image to Enlarge
Show Off Your Winery!
Show Off Your Tasting Room!
Large Photos Make a Big Difference
Wente Vineyards
Thomas Coyne Winery
Big White House Winery
This is where I can really use some help! The large photo module works with .jpg or .gif photos, and the larger the image, the better. If you have photos you'd like to share, email the files directly to me. And please let me know the photographer's name so I can add it to the courtesy section on your lens.
YouTube Videos
LocalWineEvents.com Calendar
Click on the Banner to Add an Event
The calendar module displays an RSS feed of wine events in the Livermore area, along with a link to LocalWineEvents.com. If you click on the banner (on any of the lenses) you'll be directed to the event submission page where you can promote your events. I'm currently displaying up to 25 events, so there's room to grow. A good tip is to put the name of your winery in the title. For example, Fenestra Winery Presents Red Wine and Chocolate Pairings. Remember... your information will be displayed on all of the winery lenses, for 50+ exposures!
Related Websites
A primary purpose of the lens is to direct web surfers to your official winery website. That's why I don't mention owner names and winery phone numbers, or give away too much information. I leave that to the discretion of the individual winery owners. This section will have a link to your website, wine club, and a few other relevant links. If you'd like to add something, contact me. A Few Neighboring Wineries
Livermore Valley Wine Country on Squidoo
This module highlights up to five other lenses about Livermore, which I'll rotate as new ones are added to the mix. I'm planning to write lenses about golf and weddings, for example. But there's lots to cover in Livermore. Anyone can create a Squidoo lens on any topic. If you do write a lens about Livermore, please be sure to submit it to the Livermore Valley Wine Country Group so I can feature it and add it to the series. That's an instant 50+ links for your lens! Your Guestbook
The guestbook is a place for people to remark on their wine tasting experiences, or to comment on the lens in general. Feel free to leave entries yourself (I do allow html, if you want to include a link). Click on the wreath in any guestbook and you'll be taken to the Livermore Valley Wine Country Group.
Miscellaneous Modules and What They Do
The countdown module counts down the number of days until the 2008 Harvest Wine Celebration.On the bottom of each of my lenses, I've included an RSS feed of my Top 10 as ranked on Squidoo. If your lens makes the Top 10, that's an extra 120+ exposures for your lens link.
I've added a number of Amazon modules with relevant merchandise, where appropriate. A sample is provided below.
Wine Country Quilts
Recommended by Kim Giancaterino
Wine Country Quilts: A Bounty of Flavorful Quilts for Any Palette
Amazon Price: (as of 05/17/2008)
I purchased this book at one of the wine festivals, and even had it signed by the authors. Don't worry if you're not into quilting... it's worth adding to your library for the photos alone. Several Livermore Valley wineries are featured, including Thomas Coyne Winery, Livermore Valley Cellars, Fenestra Winery, Wente Vineyards, and artwork by Darcie Kent.
A Word About Ratings
Each lens has a rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being Awesometastic! Look for your rating under the lens title, upper left. While guestbook comments can be made by anyone, only members of the Squidoo community are allowed to rate lenses. Ratings definitely help boost your lens rank and visibility, so please join Squidoo and give our Livermore lenses some star love! Rating your lens, as well as any other lenses in the series, benefits everyone. Group Discussion
This series is designed to promote the Livermore wineries.
Please offer your suggestions and comments here.
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RyanRE
Thanks for putting this lens together Kim. I am very familiar with WA wines, but I don't know a great deal about CA wines. This is a great resource! Posted March 12, 2008 |
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thomasz
Cool lens. Interesting info. Posted February 14, 2008 |
(Harvest Festival is August 31, 2008)
Courtesies
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byCreative Commons License
Plagiarism is No Laughing Matter
© 2008 Kim GiancaterinoThis work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-
No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
