Dear Awesome Second Glass Supporters, I moved to Boston (from France by way of Olympia, WA) on a whim in the spring of 2005 and quickly settled in with the New England lifestyle. I got a full-time job at a university and a part-time job at a wine shop. Being from a family of entrepreneurs I’m always looking for opportunities so it was in the summer of 2006 that I came up with the idea for an unpretentious wine magazine that targeted Boston’s huge, young and educated drinking scene. A few short months later the first edition arrived. Morgan and I drove around in a ZipCar dropping it off to any wine shop or coffee house that promised not to throw it away. Almost immediately the Boston Herald wrote an article, local bloggers began introducing themselves and the restaurant industry started pouring tastes of exotic and cool wines. While my original intention was to only stay in Boston for a few months, I found the city welcoming me and my business with open arms. As Second Glass grew (we dropped the “the” it’s cleaner) Boston continued to support us in bigger and bigger ways. Over 1,300 people came to our first Wine Riot in 2009 and quickly grew into a sell out crowd of close to 3,000 in 2010. At the last Wine Riot in 2011, we had 600 people use our mobile app and collectively make over 10,000 reviews! In separate articles Stuff Magazine named Morgan a "Player" and called me the “prince of Boston’s wine revolution.” Both Morgan and I worked hard to grow the entrepreneurship community. We were board members of the Boston Young Entrepreneurs, run by the City of Boston, Morgan is a connector at Boston World Partnerships and we were both honored and humbled when we received an award from the Governor Patrick for being named Inc Magazine 30 Under 30. I can speak for both Morgan and myself when I say it’s been a joy to embrace and watch the absolutely fantastic entrepreneurship community in Boston grow into where it is today. With business booming we needed to expand the company. Over the last nine months Morgan and I have been on the road non-stop. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve slept in the same bed for more than a week. I’m in Paso Robles, Los Angeles, New York, Santa Rosa, Washington DC, Chicago, Napa, Santa Barbara and Boston on a regular basis, often during the same trip. This is the main reason we’re moving our HQ. Most of our revenue comes from working directly with wineries. We currently have close to 400 customers and over 300 of them are within a three hour drive of San Francisco. The wine industry is a handshake business so we need to be there, all the time. Right now, we’re spending a fortune flying team members back and forth, staying in hotels and renting cars. I’m on a red-eye from LA to Boston tonight with a 10am meeting the next day and can tell you, it’s getting very tiring. As we grow our team we need to have quick and easy access to wine country. With downtown Napa being less than one hour from San Francisco, it’s the natural home. Our technology is also expanding far beyond the Wine Riot events. We’re running our Mobile App at wine events up and down the California Coast, we’re the official Tasting Room App of Paso Robles and we’re in talks with a lot more potential partners. In the United States there are about 7,500 wineries and over 4,500 of them are in California. It just makes good business sense to have a headquarters in San Francisco as we’re developing technology for wineries. Just because we’re moving our HQ does not mean we’re giving up a single inch in Boston. We will continue to have Wine Riot every spring, host events like the growing and expanding Beaujolais Nouveau event this November and we will always be a part of the startup scene. I truly believe Boston is a fantastic place to start a company and I will never stop encouraging entrepreneurs to start their endeavors here. On a personal note, both my parents were born and raised in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They were the only ones of their friends and relatives to make the move to the big city, Madison, WI. They took risks rarely seen in their circles by taking my brother and I to Europe and Asia for family vacations. They encouraged us to not only go and see the world but to make it our own. I’ve taken this in stride by living all over the US and world, but now it’s time for me to push my company in the same way. It’s time for Second Glass to go out into the world and become the company we all know it can be. It’s time for Second Glass to truly go national! Like a kid going to college we’ll always be from Boston. This will always be our hometown, Eastern Standard and Trina’s will always be “our bar” and Westport Rivers Winery will always be our favorite sparkling wine. Being from Boston is something that no one can ever take away from us and just like that kid going to college, we will always come back, probably at the last minute and probably more often than you want! Sincerely, Tyler Balliet Founder, President Second Glass

Attention, wine country explorers: Today is the day we officially launch the new Tasting Room App to the world! We’re incredibly stoked to be partnering with Paso Robles to bring our new technology to nearly 140 wineries across California, and that’s just the beginning! Get ready as we launch our Tasting Room App in wine regions across the country. We designed the App to function like it does at events like Wine Riot, but now with wines you try in tasting rooms. Wines are preloaded into our system so you can show up to a winery ready to rock and roll: access tasting room lists instantly on your phone and easily mark wines and save them to your “My Wines” forever. We don’t just hook you up in the tasting rooms, we help you get there in the first place. Whether you decided to take a wine tasting weekend with your closest friends, or made an impulse move and gunned it to 88 towards Paso, you’re gonna need more information on these wineries to do this trip right. Keeping that in mind, Second Glass got you covered with up to date winery hours, contact info, and driving directions straight to the tasting room. Browse wineries by distance and find the tasting rooms closest to you, or check tasting lists and base your trip on who’s pouring what wines. Best of all, we use Friend Connect to show you what your friends are drinking and which wineries they visited, updated instantly and listed alongside the wines! Stay in the know with the people you trust. Go boldly forth and try that Dessert Zin that Anthony likes, or steer clear of whatever Aunt Mindy is drinking...

We’re stoked to be working with Paso Robles, that sunny oasis halfway between San Francisco and LA, and we’re planning on expanding all over so count on us showing up in a wine region near you! Make sure to update or download the App to get the Tasting Room App and start your wine country adventure.

Second Glass has had quite the year! If you haven’t heard, we kicked off our first ever Wine Riot Tour by expanding from just Boston to shows in LA, Chicago, New York and DC! We have seen a ton of great response to Wine Riot all over the country. LA was very unique and loved to talk about us with several press mentions, Boston welcomed us home with open arms and a sell out and Chicago made us feel right at home and we sold out Saturday night! Our star player this year has been our new iPhone and mobile app.  The app helps attendees navigate what can be a daunting selection of wines and actually remember what it was they tried throughout the evening. This also allows us to track which wines were the most popular. These wines are highly reviewed and well liked by the majority of the crowd at Wine Riot and each cities top wines can be viewed by city  here. We are so excited about all that we have accomplished and what is coming up, stay tuned for future developments and other exciting news in the coming months. If you have any other questions or would like to sign up for Wine Riot or get on our Exhibitor Wine Riot Newsletter, contact the Wine Riot Liaison - Maureen [at] secondglass.com.

We're only a few days into 2011 but Team Second Glass has been hard at work tracking down some of the best wineries in the world to be a part of Wine Riot 2011 Tour. While we're not even close to finished booking amazing exhibitors we wanted to give you a first look at who's signed on so you'll know who's tasty wines you'll be sipping. As we add new wineries to the list we'll be blogging here and blowing up our @SecondGlass Twitter account with #WineRiot. Stay tuned, we're just getting started! Mionetto - Veneto, Italy - This is killer Prosecco (bubbles!) from Italy. This is always one of the most popular booths and the wine is fantastic! Maison Albert Bichot - Burgundy, France - A top class producer from Burgundy, France they have elegant Pinot Noirs and really great Chardonnays. This is the real deal! Loire Valley Bureau - France - This is a top French wine region for the money. Sip on Sauvignon Blancs from Sancerre, Cabernet Francs from Chinon and Chenin Blancs from Vouvray. Relax Riesling - Germany - Just as easy to drink as it is to remember. The inspiration for this one is that Germany Riesling labels are usually confusing and unpronounceable. This one is neither and wine is pretty damn good too! Giorgio & Gianni - Italy - The #1 wine at the last Boston Wine Riot will be going on the full tour! You don't want to miss these guys! Cape Classics - South Africa - Fan-damn-tastic wines from South Africa. You do not want to miss these quality wines from the Cape. Yellow and Blue - South America/ Spain - Eco-friendly packaging filled with awesome wine. Y&B have been a Wine Riot favorite two years running and now you can taste them from coast to coast! Esporao - Portugal - What up Portugal! We at Second Glass love the wines coming out of Portugal so we want to make sure one of the top producers is coming on the full Wine Riot Tour. This was a crowd favorite at the last two Wine Riots. Joseph Carr - California - The New York Times calls him "a producer to watch" but we call him an awesome guy that makes wines you need to drink. Like, right now! What are you waiting for, he'll be on the whole tour! Peachy Canyon - Paso Robles, CA - The boys from Paso Robles, CA will be there and they're bringing along their new project, Chronic Cellars with our favorite wine name: Sofa King Bueno (say it out loud). Charles Krug Winery - Napa, CA - The oldest winery in Napa Valley this is run by Peter Mondavi and his family. Truly great and historic wines. Hope Family Wines - Paso Robles, CA - Another awesome Paso Robles winery these guys make seriously tasty wine. They also like rock and roll and have a music and wine iPhone app called Wine DJ! Huge Bear Wines - Napa, CA - Hugely delicious! High end Napa Cabernet and Sauv Blanc (think $50 range) that will make you drool for more! Scribe Winery - Sonoma, CA - They practice "forever wild farming" however hippie wines these are not. You'll want to taste these wines and talk to these folks at Wine Riot! Rock Wall Wines - California - We heart Rock Wall Wines! They're made in an abandoned AirForce hanger across the bay from San Francisco. Meet the winemaker, Shauna Rosenblum as she gives a special, Friday night seminar in LA. Dry Creek Vineyards - Sonoma, CA - This family run winery in Sonoma County has been making kickass wine since the early 1970s. Don't miss their big Zins, crisp Sauv Blancs and oh, so easy to sip Chenin Blanc. Hahn Family Wines - California - From Santa Lucia Highlands, CA Hahn Family Wines makes a series of vino you won't want to miss! Farnum Hill Ciders - New Hampshire - Crazy authentic, Normandy, France style sparkling cider made from New Hampshire apples. These ladies are incredible and so are their wines. You NEED to try these! Barterhouse - Everywhere - A huge selection of kickass wines from all over the globe. When these guys roll, they roll big! Conway Family Wines - California - Great wine from a family owned and run winery in California. You'll love this stuff! These are just some of the wineries that will be on the Wine Riot US Tour in 2011. We're adding new wineries almost every day. If you know a cool winery we should contact or if you want to come on tour, hit us up here! The more the merrier! See you on tour!

Second Glass attended the opening ceremonies presentation for Boston Wine Week, today, at BiNa Osteria. The Mayor was in attendance along with the other board members. Tyler Balliet and Maureen Hautaniemi from Second Glass were schmoozing and drinking  with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Get in on the fun and grab a glass during Boston Wine Week September 20th-26th!

Back in 2006 when Second Glass was founded our design budget was low and we went through several iterations of logos. We were trying to search for a brand and logo that showed the world who we were. We wanted a logo that made us look like who we were, a company that was young, empowering, doing something different for the typical wine scene, and at our core about wine, people, learning and having fun. After going through a few different logos in our first few months, we decided on a logo that lasted three years. But as time passed we realized more and more how tricky it was to build a brand off that particular logo. In 2009 we started working with Holly Gordon and really began building a consistent design, but it seemed more and more like we had to work to incorporate our logo into things -- instead of drawing inspiration from it. While working on branding for our event Wine Riot, we ended up having two logos on printed materials, one for Wine Riot and one for Second Glass, which was confusing and did not help sell people on our brand. Luckily enough in the beginning of 2010 Greenhorn Connect posted the open office hours for Alphabet Arm Design, a logo and design team based in Boston's South End. Our entire staff loves Alphabet Arm's work so we were excited to get a chance to chat with Aaron, President and Head Designer, for about 15 minutes, free of charge. In the meeting we discussed our problems and listened to Aaron explain how important it was to have a STRONG main logo that would easily build a "family" of designs around it, so that everyone was aware it was from the same company. After a week or so of letting the idea kick around in our brains, we decided Aaron had been right in his consulting - we needed a new logo to build our brand around. The team at Alphabet Arm listened to what we were looking for in a logo, checked out the wine logo landscape and gave us several versions that we were able to look through and refine to exactly what fit us. They were really easy to work with and they knew when to stay strong on their ideas and when to listen to what we wanted. YAY for our new logo that can stand alone BUT also works when incorporated with Wine Riot and all of our other projects!