HOUSTON, TX (ContentDesk) July 19, 2004 -- Local Wine Events.com, the world's leading online food and wine events calendar, recently announced that the company has surpassed more than 30,000 posted events since the site's inception four years ago. Eric Orange, Founder of Local Wine Events.com, launched the site in July 2000 after identifying a need for "one central location" where consumers and wine retailers could go to learn about wine events and information in their area.The growing popularity of Local Wine Events.com is creating a buzz across the United States. The site has an extensive following of wine enthusiasts, receiving more than 3 million hits, an equivalent to 250,000 visitors, each month and ranks a 7/10 in the Google page-rank system.Over 15,000 users receive Local Wine Events.com's "The Juice," a weekly email newsletter that publicizes events in specific geographic areas around the globe each week."Before I created this site, the best way to learn about wine events was by signing up for countless wine newsletters from wine stores and restaurants -- which created a lot of extra email," Orange said. "Local Wine Events.com eliminates the need to seek information from several different sources and also allows users to easily access information not only in their city of residence, but also cities around the globe." Along with allowing users to advertise their upcoming



food and wine events free of charge, the site also provides an online ticketing service for organizations."It's a great publicity tool for those involved in the wine industry and an extensive and informative site for others who are looking to get more involved in wine-related events," Orange said.Orange said the site's event postings are up by 40 percent as compared to last year's postings and continues to see a steady increase in events. " I think more people are starting to get interested in wine and are looking for ways to enhance their quality of life by getting involved with something they love.

I've seen an influx of wine training schools spring up all over the country, and from what I've observed on the site, more people looking for ways to learn more about wine," Orange said.Local Wine Events.com was most recently featured in the New York Times and also U.S. News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal.Orange holds a certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and a Master of Wine Education certification from the International Wine Guild. He is a member of the Society of Wine Educators and previously served on the board of the American Institute of Wine and Food, Denver Chapter. For more information on LocalWineEvents.com, visit the website at www.localwineevents.com.