Wine clubs are popping up all over the place. My inbox is full of pitches from start ups touting their specially curated selections, wines that no one else has and the experts selecting their wines, all for a monthly or quarterly fee. Hello, this is so boring. Maybe I’m super critical because I’m lucky enough to get to taste a lot of wine. Plus I have no room for more wine bottles. I’m storing them under the bed for gods sake. So for a wine club to get my attention, and especially my dollars, it has to be offer more than just a monthly or quarterly selection of wines with a newsletter. I want something more. Aaron Epstein must have felt the same way I do, because he, along with business partner Tina Morey, has created more than a wine club. Le Metro – Wine. Underground is an experience, an…
The Wines of Elvio Cogno, A Beautiful Expression of Barolo
This past summer I spent four days in Piedmont, the northern Italy wine region famous for Barolo and Barbaresco. I wanted to understand the Nebbiolo grape, and the differences in Barolo and Barbaresco. Going to the place where the vineyards are planted and the wine is made is the best way to learn about this grape that only grows well in the region called the Langhe, a beautiful valley carpeted in vines up and down the gently rolling slopes, punctuated by hilltop villages. Of my four or five winery visits, my absolute favorite was Elvio Cogno, a small producer whose family vineyard and winery is located just outside the village of Barolo. I discovered Cogno at one of the Wine & Spirits top 100 tastings in San Francisco. In 2011 Cogno was the Winery of the Year. I kept the brochure with my tasting notes. When it came time to…
Chateau Coutet’s Cameo on Downton Abbey
I’ve never paid much attention to the wine on the Crawley family’s dinner table on Downton Abbey. All that changed Sunday night in episode two of the new season, when one of my favorite wines made a cameo appearance. I said to my husband “Stop! We have to go back and see that again.” In a wonderful scene Lord Crawley goes over the wines to be poured with Carson for the evening’s dinner service. There it was, in between the Cheval Blanc and Haut-Brion, a bottle of Chateau Coutet Sauternes, vintage 1919. This happens 19 minutes into the program. Yes, I took pictures of the TV screen. “What surprised me with Downton Abbey is how often Sauternes is served.” That’s Aline Baly, co-owner of Chateau Coutet. “In almost every single episode where there’s a dinner scene there’s a Sauternes, which was referred to as pudding wine.” Sauternes is the sweet…
DVF: The Iconic Wrap Dress at 40
My first encounter with Diane von Furstenberg was in 1977, through her first book, Diane von Furstenberg’s Book of Beauty. I read that book at least 50 times. It was my style bible. I was just beginning my love affair with fashion, and thought Diane’s wrap dress was the most amazing piece of clothing ever, even if I didn’t even own one at the time. I was in awe of this young, hip princess and her glamorous life. What was so revolutionary about the wrap dress? The style flattered just about anyone, no matter their dress size or height. The silk jersey never wrinkled, making it the perfect dress to wear to work and out to dinner. The wrap dress traveled well, was easy to care for and relatively affordable (around $75 in 1970s pricing). It made women feel special and sexy. Diane’s motto “Feel like a woman, wear a…
A New Start With a First Crush at Continuum Estate
“This is from the first day of our first harvest in the winery,” says Tim Mondavi, holding a glass filled with a dark purple liquid. “This was one week ago today, Cabernet Sauvignon that’s just down the hill from here. It’s an early harvest for the vintage and it shows great promise.” Tim is speaking to the folks he and his family have invited to the blessing of the grapes for the 2013 first crush at the new Continuum Estate winery. It’s a family effort by Tim, his sister Marcia Mondavi Borger and Tim’s four children Carissa, Carlo, Dante and Chiara. This blessing of the grapes is not only a celebration of harvest, it is a milestone for Tim and Marcia’s family. The 2013 vintage is the 100th year anniversary of Robert Mondavi’s birth, the family patriarch. Thanks to Robert’s belief that his and other Napa Valley wineries could…
Six Sparklers for $15 or Less To Pop On New Year’s Eve
What’s New Year’s Eve without popping the cork on a bottle of bubbly? Gotta have that “pop” to make it official, right? But those bubbles are getting more and more pricey. When I decided to do a post on $15 bottles I thought I’d have a lot of choices, especially from the US, and mainly California. I was so surprised to find that most of the Cali sparkling wine is priced above my $15 limit. So I had to go the international route, and I don’t mean to Champagne. To find a budget friendly bottle of bubbles made well, you really need to go to Italy and Spain. But I did manage to find two wineries in the states that offer bubbly for $15 or less. All selections are NV which means non-vintage, a blend of many vintages. True vintage sparklers are more expensive, and they aren’t made every year.…
Scent “Concert” Takes You On A Trip To Japan Via Your Nose
Perfume is an emotional thing. One spritz and you’re transported back to childhood, a first love or a special place you’ve visited. Scent is evocative and primal, with the power to revive a memory in an instant. Perfume is also an art form, created by olfactory artists who blend sophisticated compositions worthy of display in a museum or contemporary art gallery. Saskia Wilson-Brown understands all this. She’s the founder of the Institute for Art and Olfaction (IAO), a Los Angeles-based non-profit devoted to providing accessible education on perfume in all its aspects. IAO’s mission is to create initiatives where artists and perfumers collaborate and even innovate projects where scent plays a major role. In January 2014 one of these collaborations debuts as a scent concert. Yes, that’s right, a concert as in a performance. How can scent make a concert? After all, there’s no audio in a perfume bottle. A…
5 Best Wine Diva Holiday Gifts
When thinking about what to get the wine lover in your life, while a special bottle of wine is nice, quite frankly it’s a cop out. It doesn’t take a lot of thought or creativity. Especially if your recipient is a wine diva. She’ll appreciate your going the extra mile to find something that appeals to her love of sparkle, glamour and, of course, wine. These five gifts are sure to bring holiday cheer to any wine diva. Big Girl Sippy Cups by Bling it On. I can’t help but smile when I see these colorful and sparkly glammed up sippy cups, and that’s the reaction co-creators Terri Campa and Anna DePedrini are going for. Besties since their sons were in school and baseball and soccer, they never set out to create what’s become all the buzz in their hometown of Manteca, CA and beyond. Anna DePedrini and Terri Campa…
Share – The Cookbook You Must Share
“This is a book about humanity and eating and families and sharing and caring and generosity,” Jesse Ziff Cool is a well known restauranteur and cookbook author based in Silicon Valley. She’s long been an advocate of eating locally, in season and organically, way before it was in vogue. Jesse opened Flea Street Café in Menlo Park, Calif., where her menus have reflected this way of cooking and eating for 33 years. She’s the first one to say however she’s not a chef, but “a cook.” Jesse’s a passionate person, not only about food but about causes she believes in. When she gets behind a project, she’s all in, hands-on. Photo by Tracy Craighead The book Jesse’s talking about is Share: A Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity. “Isn’t it joyful? It isn’t about despair, it’s about food and it’s joyful,” she says. The cookbook is the result of a…
The Legacy of Prohibition on Wine 80 Years Later
There have been many books and films made about Prohibition, the era of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that banned the production of alcoholic drinks for commercial sale and transportation from 1920 until 1933. A new film focuses on how the wine industry rebuilt itself after Repeal and the effects and lasting legacy of Prohibition. Can’t get wine shipped to your house? Blame it on Prohibition. Can’t buy wine on Sunday? Another legacy of Prohibition. Today, December 5, 2013 is the 80th anniversary of Prohibition’s Repeal. “There is no question that the legacy of Prohibition continues,” says Carla De Luca Worfolk, director of the documentary America’s Wine: The Legacy of Prohibition. She wanted to look specifically at the wine industry. “We thought what would be most interesting and relevant to people is to understand the implications of that period and why that history is still important and relevant…