Local ‘Winos’ Find Good Company

Local internet marketing company, Banyan Marketing Services LLC, has launched a new online wine discussion forum and wine information portal, LocalWino.com, targeting building wine community at the local level.

Appealing to both beginning wine drinkers and connoisseurs alike, LocalWino.com provides a well-organized online platform for local wine lovers of all levels to discuss, research and discover the world of wine in the non-threatening free sharing environment of a community forum.

The distinguishing feature of the site as opposed to other online wine forums is the organization of the forum locally by cities within specified states. This allows users to share, find and discuss details about wine or ‘happenings’ within their own community. In addition to the discussion forum, the site serves as a wine information portal for various links and resources to the overall wine industry.

Founder and owner, James Matuszewski, states, “After being a part of various online wine forums, I saw a great need for a more organized format for the type of discussions that were going on.” He feels as though his site is catching the trend of online local community building. “Look at what CraigsList has done for people wanting to sell or barter (i.e. eBay) without having to pay to ship all over the country…local wine communities are very tight and always looking for ways to get together and share their wine experiences or discoveries.”

In addition to being set up by state and city, the discussion forums are very smartly organized by subject as well. Self-proclaimed ‘winos’ can discuss general information about wine, wine shops & resources, restaurant wine lists, wine clubs, wine travel or more wine & food specific tasting subjects. There is even a social aspect of the forum where singles or couples can find each other to get together for glass or two at the local wine ‘hot spot’.

“I wanted to create as thorough and friendly a discussion forum as possible without making it too overwhelming to its members”, stated Matuszewski. “It really poses the opportunity for people to get more personal with their love of wine and the possibility of local contact. It’s exciting, and no one else is doing this.”

The site and the forum are completely free of charge to its visitors or members. As users log-in or register, they choose their region (state) and then are given a prompt to choose their individual locale. Members can also easily view or post to any of the forums designated by city and find information about other locations as well.

LocalWino.com does not currently sell wine directly on its site, but is affiliated with various wines sales and other commerce sites. The site plans to introduce wine commerce later in 2007. For more information, please visit www.LocalWino.com or contact James Matuszewski at 858-735-1397 and email at jamesm@localwino.com.

www.WineLoversMeet.com