FTLOP Website Tweak and member's "Contest"

[Roy Hersh]

There are a few modifications that will be made to FTLOP's website in 2010, including a major upgrade in our software to a more modern platform. We don't want an entirely new look and feel like we did in April 2008, but there will certainly be room for a couple of new components.

We're open minded about including things that visitors/guests/lurkers may want to see added to FTLOP (not the Forum) and welcome your suggestions and idea generation!

So until the end of 2009, I will keep this thread open and the single best suggestion posted here, will receive a very worthy bottle of VIntage Port that I've owned for 2 decades (or more) and has been in my cellar waiting to be sent to your home. If you are in another country, I would be happy to leave this bottle at Vinologia for them to hold for you or possibly even ship. If in an illegal state in the USA ... or Canada ... we'll just have to find a way! I recently did so with another member who won a bottle from my cellar and am waiting to hear if it has arrived.

Anyway, please give this some thought. Obviously it must be something new that will enhance the user experience, provide a new type of content or something even more innovative. I'll leave that up to you!


Cheers!

[Roy Hersh]

Brave souls ... where art thou?

[Derek T.]

A few producers now have their own Blogs, Quevedo and Malvedos being two examples, where they post their thoughts on the growing season and vintage. some others may be be willing to do a similar thing but lack the time or technical know-how to make it happen. Why not set-up a "Douro-Blog" with a few producers, wine-makers, vineyard managers from various part of the Douro hooked in to provide regular updates on what is happening in their part of the region? You provide the technology and technical support, they supply the content with minimal effort.

[Roy Hersh]

Wasn't there a song called, "It had to be you" ?

Still early, but a great first effort.

[Glenn E.]

I'd like to see a links section where we can find things like the Quevedo blog, the Malvedos blog, etc. For me, at least, that would help make FTLOP.com my central hub for all things Port instead of having to keep them in my Favorites.

[Moses Botbol]

How about associated bottle pictures, with GWS market quotes, and all of the reviews on that bottle all into one distinct applet?

For Instance - Someone could look up “1970 Graham”; multiple bottle pictures come up, along the all the reviews, links to pertinent threads, pictures of 1970 Grahams at any tagged verticals or events. The average prices on GWS, links to Grahams…. The features could relate to on SQL database… The all pops on as separate window.

[Lars F]

More standardized tasting notes, which could be used for comparison over time. Not that I'd give up on the verbal description of the wines, but you could make a form which could be used in addition. Examples could be

Color: Black, purple, dark red.....Light tawny
Cork: Perfect, soaked 1/3, half soaked....
Etc

Also it'd be cool to have a sort of matuity index where you could see other members evaluation on when a given port will be at it's peak.

-Lars

[Stewart T.]

I'd like to see a "Donate Your Port" feature where users could ship selected bottles of their best Ports to the technical staff to consume.

[Andy Velebil]

I'd like to see a "Donate Your Port" feature where users could ship selected bottles of their best Ports to the technical staff to consume.

You are my new best friend for that rec

[Andy Velebil]

More standardized tasting notes, which could be used for comparison over time.

-Lars

Great suggestion. The new TN data base Roy has mentioned is very cool and will make things very easy. I've been sworn to secrecy so can't say more, but I've been working on it for several hours today to get things in order for it's launch and it's pretty darn cool!

[Marilyn Eickenhorst]

I'd like to see a "Donate Your Port" feature where users could ship selected bottles of their best Ports to the technical staff to consume.

You are my new best friend for that rec

Andy,

Since the Taylor 20 year old Tawny (bottled in 1990) is still lurking in our refrigerator, I would be glad to ship it to you

Marilyn

[Andy Velebil]

I'd like to see a "Donate Your Port" feature where users could ship selected bottles of their best Ports to the technical staff to consume.

You are my new best friend for that rec

Andy,

Since the Taylor 20 year old Tawny (bottled in 1990) is still lurking in our refrigerator, I would be glad to ship it to you

Marilyn

On second thought....

[Stewart T.]

Since the Taylor 20 year old Tawny (bottled in 1990) is still lurking in our refrigerator, I would be glad to ship it to you

Marilyn

Not picky about the Port I used to poach my pears with.... When life gives you lemons...um...I mean Port...just make lemonade...um.... well, you know what i mean...

[Frederick Blais]

I know you guys are doing your best bringing us as much new information as you can, but if you could convice the Port trade to post their press release or anything new becomeing available for their brands on this website, I think it would be great. New labels, new brands, new vineyards acquisition, pink port...

The best marketing for their new thing is to create a buzz here. We want to know, we want to try, we want to learn!

[oscarquevedo]

I would take Derek's suggestion but would modify it slightly. Why not to give more visibility to your blog? When entering in the site it should be easier to find it. I would suggest you also to post more often. I would love to hear more about your tastings events, your dinners with friends, your thoughts about Douro, Port and some funny stuff.

You like to write and you write well, so a twice a week 300 words post would definitively attract even more folks to

[Ben Read]

Is there a way you could automate links to other TN's out on the web? A bit like the BBC do with their news website, showing links to other news sites stories on the same subject?

[Eric Menchen]

Is there a way you could automate links to other TN's out on the web?

There are other Port TNs out on the web?

[Roy Hersh]

No, no way to migrate those over automatically. But you could certainly cut (or copy) and paste them here. We are going to be launching the TNDB with over 4600 TNs in the database. Only 2,000 of them are mine.

The good news is that many people who have their TNs "elsewhere" probably have lots of theirs still in our DB.

Don't know that they'll choose to put the rest in this fantastic new TNDB, but at least all of their excuses for not continuing their TNs here, are now going to be removed once and for all.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Whenever I get a chance to visit the FTLOP Website (not often these days) I usually go straight to the forum to read new postings, almost always without loging on. If I feel the urge to post a reply I find that when I hit the "Post A Reply" button I am taken back to the home page where I can log on. After that I have to go back to the particular forum, find the topic, and then hit the "Post A Reply" button once again.

I think it would be more convenient if the Website could be configured so that when a person who isn't logged on wants to post a reply they are taken to a "log on" page/site, and once logged on, taken back to the topic they were reading, or directly to the reply page.

Of course the simple thing would be to log on as soon as I visit the Website. Anyway, keep up the good work,

Cheers...............Mahmoud.

[Raj Patil]

Looking ahead to the future, some integration of video with FTLOP.

Whether it is clips of travels in Portugal, video tasting notes, video clips from simple webcams of the port industry guests or links to information on Youtube (nice video there from History Channel I stumbled on last night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTILOlzCyv8

If any of this video content can be accessed at the FTLOP site via phone and people use these at point of purchase stores, then store owners, employees and other public may be exposed to the heavenly nectar, port.

Fun, technology and promotion of port: Now that's the future!


Raj,

A great suggestion but I must say that this was already in the works before you typed it here. However, the good news is, that it went "live" today in the blue box on the homepage and was mentioned in the newsletter for the sake of expansion. Thanks for the fine idea though.