August 2012 – WineFashionista

6 Indie Perfumes You Need To Sniff Now

Perfume

Twice a year fragrance lovers descend upon New York City for the tour de force that is Sniffapalooza. One of the fragrance event group’s signature perfume odysseys is the annual “Spring Fling,” a weekend event that explores scents all over the city. While many large perfume houses introduce new scents to our group, Sniffapalooza is also known for the debuts of small boutique labels. I love discovering new fragrances and sharing the stories. While we tried over 100 scents, I fell in love with six of them, all different, but complex and interesting. Some are just launching, others have been around for a few years, but all are making a big splash in the perfume world.

Keep Reading

Speed Wine Tasting and Blogging in Portland

Wine

You know about speed dating, but what about speed wine tasting? In Portland at the annual Wine Bloggers Conference we’re tasting Oregon whites and rosés at a breakneck rate, and blogging about it live as it happens. 10 wineries showed up to pour, trying to convince us that their wines are blog worthy all in five minutes. Is this a good way to try wine, or just a gimmick? Let’s go…

First up – Amity Vineyards. Matt from Amity offers a 2009 estate dry Riesling. 91 cases made. Old vine Riesling – some planted in 1971. There’s petrol and flowers on the nose and it is super dry with lots of citrus. Not bad for $20, but you have to get it at the winery. This one has potential. The bell rings for a winery change. Go!

Keep Reading

4 Late Summer Reading Picks on Wine and Perfume

Perfume

Remember those days when you had a required summer reading list from school? Yeah, those lists made reading a chore. Now as adults, we lament that we have no time to read. But we get to choose what we read. There’s still time before the summer ends to pick up a book or two, especially when the subjects are wine or perfume.

In The Juice by Jay McInerney, the Wall Street Journal wine columnist takes you on a journey through the world of wine.

Keep Reading

LA’s Scent Bar Now at a Target Near You

Perfume

If you are what Scent Bar co-owner Adam Eastwood calls a “perfume head” then most likely you know the fragrance boutique Scent Bar in Los Angeles and its companion website LuckyScent. “Our core business is helping people find very hard to find and rare types of fragrances that are not readily available in the marketplace,” says Adam. I’ve ordered countless samples on LuckyScent, a great service that’s offered so you can try these exotic perfumes in your own home.

You won’t find celebrity fragrances here. “Our market is a much smaller segment of perfume users, people who are really serious about it.” He describes his clients as willing to experiment with perfumes to find new and unusual scents. The fragrances they stock are from very small brands made in very small amounts. They are not scents for the masses.

Then Target came calling.

Keep Reading

The Best German Wines You’ve Never Heard Of

Wine

Whenever someone talks about German wine, it’s usually about Riesling. The noble grape defines Germany, especially when it is from the Mosel or Rhinegau regions. This glorious varietal makes some killer wines — and no, not all of them are sweet. In fact many good bottlings are labeled “trocken”. That means dry. You should ask for and try the trocken Rieslings without fear.

While you’ve most likely heard of Riesling, you may not know about Franken wine. Not Frankenstein wine but Franken wine. Franconia (Franken) is one of the 13 wine regions in Germany. I’ve known about this region for years thanks to my mother bringing bottles home from her German travels.

I think what makes it easy for me to remember these wines is the unusual bottle shape, called the Bocksbeutel, a flat and round distinctive glass bottle. Some have corks, others have screwcaps and the glass is either green or brown. But they’re also memorable for the good wine inside.

Keep Reading