Tonight was the premiere of a new show called quarterlife. The show centers around six people (3 guys and 3 girls) in their 20's. The idea is to show how turbulent life is between the age of 20 and 30. My first impression of it is kind of a combination between Sex and the City and Friends, but I'm not sure it's done as well as either of those shows were. I expected to turn on this show and come across something that I could relate to, seeing as how I am a twenty-something. But unfortunately I couldn't relate at all. The characters seem more like college kids than people starting out in the world. It was really disappointing to be completely honest.

I would love to see a show about characters that are at the same place in life I am. I'm a 26 year old woman that's about to get married and start a new chapter of my life. But on the other hand, I'm a horribly confused woman attempting to find my place in life. Where are the shows about women in jobs that they can't stand, thinking about going back to school yet again to find a career that actually makes them happy. Or battling weight because there's not enough time in the day to do everything you have to do and still make it to the gym.

I mean really, how many love triangles have you run into in your life? They're not as common as television leads us to believe. And I can't name a single one of my friends that is even working in the career field they want, but somehow on television the characters are always at least somewhere close to where they want to be in life.

All right....I'm done with my rant for now.

You can check out the official site at quarterlife.com.

I'm sure you've noticed from the past couple of postings that I'm expanding the focus of the site a bit. Cause quite frankly I have a lot of say about many different things, not just wine! So while wine is still a major part of my life and my writing, I'm going to try and work in other interests as well. So please, keep reading and let me know what you think of the new feel.

I don't usually expect a lot when I go into a wine store, just the basics; decent knowledge, selection and customer service. I just got off of the phone with one of the larger stores in Denver, Colorado and I just had to say how very disappointed I was with the customer service I received. And what's worse is that I'm pretty sure I was speaking with one of the owners.

Living in Colorado Springs it's not a really long drive to get to Denver, about 1-2 hours, but it's not a drive I want to make every day. So since I'm going to be up there this weekend, I wanted to pick up a special bottle of port for my fiancé's birthday. I've done quite a bit of searching online to find just what I was looking for, and Primo Vino's website had told me just what I wanted. The response I got when I called to confirm what I'd seen online was that not only were they not sure if there were any left (the site said 22 bottles), but that they weren't even willing to try and get it from their warehouse for me today if they do have any. For a bottle that costs close to $100, I would expect something more than this.

So for future reference I would think twice about buying anything from Primo Vino, they're not very helpful and evidently don't really even know what they have in stock.

While working as a speech writer in Washington, D.C. John Pollock decided that he wanted a change in his life. After graduating from Stanford University in 1988, Pollock became a freelance foreign correspondent in Spain and made a name for himself winning the World Pun Championship in 1995. But by the late 90's he'd gotten a little burned out, and decided that he wanted to take a break.

During that break John decided to revisit his childhood dream of building a boat....a boat made from corks. As a boy John had built a boat that had a very short maiden voyage, so he had decided to build one out of corks. "[I] thought, well, why not build a cork boat? Because you can't sink [a] cork, how could you sink a lot of corks?" Since that time, Pollock and his family had been collecting corks. When his sister died on a family trip to the Himalayas, John had put away many of his childhood dreams. But something made this one stick with him.

He started by going from restaurant to restaurant asking for cork donations. Some people thought he was crazy, while others were more than happy to help out. One of those people was John's childhood friend Garth Goldstein, an architect who began by helping John figure out a way to fasten the corks together. What the two came with was a hexagon based design that would take more than 100,000 corks to complete.

With a revolving core of volunteers, the two spent the net two years working on putting the boat together. Even though during the second year Pollack took a job at the White House writing speeches for President Clinton, he would still spend his nights working on the boat. He even had the White House staff collecting corks for him.

During 2001, a lot of things happen to put the boat on hold. From an argument between Pollack and Goldstein, to the attacks on September 11th. At one point the two almost scrapped the project completely. But after September 11th volunteers started showing up telling them that they needed to work on the boat. It became something of an escape, as well as a way of "not surrendering".

It was at that point that Jochen Michalski, president of Cork Supply Group heard about the project. "We thought this was kind of crazy, but...very quickly we decided we were going to support it." His company donated 100,000 corks to Pollack's team and on Columbus Day 2001, the team finished the boat made out of 166,000 wine corks.

Pollack and Goldstein took their maiden voyage down the Duoro River in Portugal. "When we would walk into a village along the way, people would say 'Cork boat! Cork boat!'"

Pollack's final thoughts on his voyage, and the missing crew member, are very important in my opinion. "Sara would have been on the boat cheering with the rest of us," he said. "But you know, I used to think that good times, you know, cancel out the tragedy. They don't. But the bad things happen in life. The good things, you really have to reach for, and so we reach for them. And you savor them."


See the ABC News article here.

Not anything to do with Wine News......but some of you, like me, probably forgot about the Golden Globes this weekend since the writer's strike turned them into something more like a long press conference. Here are the winners.

- Drama: "Atonement"
- Comedy or Musical: "Sweeney Todd"
- Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
- Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
- Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose."
- Actor, Musical or Comedy: Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd."
- Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There."
- Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."
- Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
- Screenplay: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "No Country for Old Men."
- Foreign Language: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," France and U.S.
- Animated Film: "Ratatouille."
- Original Score: Dario Marianelli, "Atonement."
- Original Song: "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild."

Of course the year this happens is the year Johnny Depp would have gotten up twice. Isn't that just my luck?

I came across this set and just had to share it. it's a 3-piece cleaning kit for wine glasses. They're made of a soft foam that won't chip or scratch your glasses. There's one for flutes, goblets, and even decanters.

After washing a set of each tonight, I see the immense value in these!

Check it out here.

Dr. Vino recently posted a video on how to make a Furoshiki Wine Carrier, I thought it was worth reposting here. Take a look.

You can learn more about the technique here.

Since it's almost New Year's Eve, I thought I'd show you guys the wonderful art of Champagne Sabering. I've never seen it done successfully in person, but I have seen it attempted. And believe me, if something goes wrong the whole bottle can just sort of....explode.

Here is a step by step instruction on how to do it. Personally, I don't recommend trying it unless you've been taught by someone that knows how, but it's still kind of fun to see how it's done.

Make sure to use a cold bottle that has been in the fridge for at least an hour prior. A warm bottle has more pressure, and thus can be more dangerous. Oh, and apparently French bottles work best, the glass is thicker.

1. Remove all of the foil from the cork and neck of the bottle, you don't want it to get in your way. And then carefully remove the cage from the cork.
2. Find the seams of the bottle (the little lines running from top to bottom, one on each side). Where the seam meets the lip is where you will strike.
3. Grip the bottle firmly, place your thumb in the indentation in the bottom of the bottle. Make sure the bottle is pointing up at a 30 degree angle. You may also want to have a towel wrapped around the base to catch glass in case your first try doesn't go so well.
4. Lay the saber, or back of a heavy knife, flat against the seam. Slide it firmly up the neck to the glass ring at the lip. That should be the point where the glass breaks.
5. If executed properly, the cork along with the glass ring will fly up a few feet in the air. So make sure to not be aiming at anything.

Good luck!

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

Happy holidays to all of you out there from myself and my fiancé. I hope you all have a fantastic and safe holiday season.

~Cass

Happy Holidays!

There was a great article over at ENOBytes the other day about gifts for wine lovers. So I thought I'd make up my own list for you.


Hands-free Wine Glass Holder
I personally believe that this is one of the best inventions ever. For anyone that's gone to a wine tasting, you know how difficult it can be to carry everything at one time. This great little device works on just about any wine glass, and makes it possible for you to still use your hands for writing notes, eating, or anything else.
Wine Enthusiast, $24.95 for set of 2





Gift Certificates from the International Wine Guild
The International Wine Guild is a fantastic organization based in Denver, CO that offers classes, certifications, and a variety of education resources. Whether the person you're buying for is new to wine or an expert, they have classes for everybody. Don't live near by? They even offer condensed one-weekend or one-week classes for out-of-towners. Gift certificates start at $50 and are good for one year from date of purchase.
International Wine Guild, $50 and up



Vineyard Sweets Wine Candy
I came across these candies a while ago, and I think they'd be just perfect stocking stuffers for any wine lover. The assortment features Cabernet Sauvignon, White Merlot, and White Zinfandel flavors. Tasty!
Cranberry Sweets & More, $9.95






Wine Jelly
Colorado Mountain Fine Jams and Jellies is a usual presence at Colorado wine festivals, and it's always a welcome sight for me. They offer jellies made from the wine of several different wineries in Colorado, and have a wide variety of flavors. I recommend the Fumé Blanc personally.
Colorado Mountain Fine Jams & Jellies, Individual Jars $5.50





Gourmet Wine Salsa
This is an excellent salsa from Kokopelli Herbs in the Grand Valley. I came across it at the Wines of Colorado and had to try it. It's a sweet and spicy blend with great taste.
Kokopelli Herbs, 12oz jar $7.00





Have fun shopping for your favorite wine lover!

I'm adding my blog to a few promotion sites today, so please vote for me to help get my number of readers up! Just click on the link in the sidebar.

29 Cosmetics is a grapeseed-based makeup line launched by Lydia Mondavi, the wife of Robert Mondavi's grandson Rob. The line was named after Highway 29, the main road going through Napa Valley. The cosmetics line has already been featured in a variety of magazines, including Food & Wine and Women's Wear Daily.

All of the products in the 29 Cosmetics line contain anti-oxidant enriching grape seed extract that protects your skin from environmental pollutants and harmful effects of of free radicals.

Lydia hopes to share her knowledge of beauty with women around the world, starting with her hints and tips for makeup on the go, regardless of how much time you have!

For an on-the-go 5 minute makeup application: 

1.   Start with a cleansed, moisturized face
2.   With 29's Line Maker Eye Pencil in Terroir, apply to the outer corners of the lids to make eyes appear larger.
3.   A quick swipe of 29's Conditioning, Volumizing, Lengthening and Curling all-in-one formula D'Vine Mascara in Vine Noir gives you an instant look of long and perfectly defined lashes.
4.   Then apply an overall sweep of 29's grape seed enriched Press Finishing Powder SPF 12 to give your face a beautiful, brightening effect while minimizing the look of any fine lines.
5.   With an angled brush, apply 29's Cheek Blush in Berries to define your cheekbones with a natural, illuminating glow.
6.   Finish off your flawless look with 29's Lip Therapy in Hint of Honey to give your lips a pouty, dewy finish, and you are ready for your day

For a quick 10 minute makeup application:
1.   Start with a cleansed, moisturized face
2.   Sweep a quick, easy application of 29's great, lightweight Hydrating Foundation with SPF 15. This foundation smooths over any fine lines for a youthful, luminous glow.
3.   Apply 29's Line Maker Eye Pencil in Napa Nights, a rich dark navy, along both the top and bottom lash lines to enhance the whites of your eyes and give them an instant pick me up!
4.   Sweep on 29's D'Vine Mascara in Vine Noir for the perfect, well-conditioned lashes. An extra bonus is its smell of Napa grapes and fresh rose petals .
5.   Continue the look with a sweep of the cheeks in 29's Blush Rose' for a healthy glow and well-defined cheekbones.
6.   Last but not least, the perfect lips - apply 29's Line Maker Lip Pencil in Malbec, filling in the entire lip with its moisturizing grape-seed enriched formula for great staying power.
7.   Top off your completed look with Reserves Moisturizing lipstick color, Berry Stain SPF 20. The benefits of this line will stay with you all day.

The 15 minute makeup application:
1.   Start with a cleansed moisturized face
2.   For an all day glow and the skin nourishing benefits of grape seed extract, apply 29's Hydrating Foundation. This lightweight formula evens out skin tone while fighting free radicals, plus it includes SPF 15.
3.   Using 29's super blendable and creamy Concealer-Corrector palette of 4 shades, apply to problem areas to eradicate redness and dark circles. Its added benefit of grape-seed extract works all day to gradually reduce any under-eye puffiness. Remember, a little goes a long way.
4.   For eyes, 29's Line Maker Eye Pencils are easy to use and won't drag or tug at the delicate tissue around eyes. Line both top and bottom lashes for the perfect eye, and pencils come with a smudger on one end to create the perfect look.
5.   Next apply 29's Late Harvest Eye Shadow palette, which comes with all four shades in one palette for easy and quick application. Begin with the Toasted Champagne lightly applied all over the upper and lower lid, Vibrant Tobacco in the crease, Earthy Peach on the inner portion of the crease, and then blend over the entire lower lid and crease with Touch of Nutmeg, and finish with Toasted Champagne to highlight right under the brow arch.
6.   Follow with 29's D'Vine Conditioning Mascara, it is like a vitamin bomb for your lashes! The grape seed infused mascara is moisturizing, curling, volumizing and lengthening all in one.
7.   Then with an angled brush, sweep the cheekbones with 29's Cheek Blusher in Tuscany for a natural and truly healthy glow.
8.   Follow with a light dusting of 29's Press Finishing Powder. It is milled so finely that the finish feels just like silk and it leaves an illuminating brightness to your skin.
9.   For lips, start with 29's Lip Scrub, First Crush. Apply, rub lips together and tissue off, for extra smooth and soft lips.
10.   Finish off with 29's Line Maker Lip Pencil in Brix, filling in the entire lip with its moisturizing formula. Top with Reserves Moisturizing Lipstick SPF 20 in Fine Whine, and for an extra plumping effect top off with a dot of 29's Dew Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Sparkling Pinot.


Originally posted on PR Web.

Dr. Vino's Blog had a great posting yesterday that I had to pass along. The Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission is now offering Bonsai Grape Vines for sale. All the vines are 10-12 years old and come from Sonoma County planted in a ceramic container.

Each plant is $49.95 plus $30 shipping (2-day flat rate anywhere in the Continental US). And in case you gasp at the price (and you won't if you've ever had a bonsai before), all the profits are used to help vineyard employee educational programs.

The plants are gorgeous and even produce fruit most years. If you get one and are successful at getting it to grow and produce fruit, please send in a picture and show us!

This is just too much fun to not write about. On November 15th (the day Beaujolais Nouveau is released), Tokyo's Square Enix Company will release a game entitles Beginners Wine for the DS handheld system. The title features information like step-by-step instructions for picking out a bottle of wine and how to swirl a glass before smelling it. With a database of 120 bottles, a glossary, a quiz, and even a guide to "bluffing" wine knowledge the game "makes wine more accessible to everyone," Nintendo said in a Press Release.

The game isn't likely to make it out of Japan, but it is a fantastic idea. I fully believe that things like this are needed to make wine accessible in every-day life. And what a great reference tool this would be for sommeliers or those in wine sales. So Nintendo and Square Enix, if you're out there listening, I'd love to see this in the US. I'd even by a DS for it.

This is just a fun video. Enjoy!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/724199/open_a_bottle_of_wine_without_corkscrew/

This is just fun.
This "cordxedo" is made out of over 800 corks, from over 200 wineries, and weighs 15 pounds. Check out www.corkxedo.com for more pictures and a list of the wineries it includes.

I'm really excited about this, I just signed up to be a consultant for the Traveling Vineyard. The Traveling Vineyard is a group that does in-home wine tastings, with the opportunity to buy the wines you've just tasted. They also have a wonderful selection of wine accessories and an "around the world" wine of the month club. From what I've seen so far they have a great selection of wines, mainly from smaller vineyards. And there are wines from all over the world as well, not simply Californian wines as you might expect.

Check out my Traveling Vineyard website if you'd like to know more. And please feel free to contact me if you'd like to host a tasting, or learn more about becoming a consultant yourself.

Vinewords is now being watched on Wine Blog Watch. Check it out for a fantastic list of wine blogs.

I've recently discovered a website called Meetup.com. It's a site where you can join, or even start, a local group with an interest in a particular topic. Now while I went to the site looking for clubs to practice speaking foreign languages, I came across a multitude of wine groups. Most of them are hosted by wine stores, and offer monthly tastings (and sometimes food pairings as well) to the members for a nominal fee.

There are groups on here for all kinds of other things too, from dog lovers to fitness freaks to book clubs. Personally I'm always looking for a new way to get out there and meet other people that love wine. Give it a shot and see what kind of groups there are in your area.

It's truly amazing what some people think of to do with their old wine corks. Check out this site for more pictures. Maybe you'll get some ideas for your own corks.

Kendall-Jackson's blog featured a posting yesterday about a new coffee table book to celebrate the winery's 25th anniversary. The Art of Terroir is a 110-page book of photography by Kendall-Jackson's Vice President of Public Relations George Rose, with commentary by US wine writer Rod Smith. The book also includes a foreword by Kendall-Jackson founder and proprietor, Jess Jackson. For those that aren't able to travel to California, the book offers a look at 14,000 acres of vines located in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties.

Before joining Kendall-Jackson, George Rose was a photographer for the Los Angeles Times, where he was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His work has also appeared in Time, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone magazines. Rod Smith is a wine columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times.

Terroir (pronounced tuh-waar) is a french term that meaning "the growing environment." It refers to the special characteristics of geography that make wine distinct and unique. In the European wine world, location is very important. As can be seen by the fact that their wines are not typically labeled by varietal, but instead by location.

This weekend I took the International Wine Guild's Wine Sommelier certification class. It consisted of 12 hours of instruction and tasting 28 different wines. The class is offered to both those involved in the wine trade,

as well as those that are just wine enthusiasts. I have to tell you the class was really fantastic. Clyde, the founder of the guild, taught the class and it was incredibly informative and easy to understand. Clyde truly posseses a wealth of information, and knows lots of historical stories to help students understand the reasons behind things.

Check out their website if you're interested in taking a class. And if you happen to live out of state, they also offer intensive classes that can be done in a week or weekend. In just my class there were three people from out of state.

I just got through watching Harvest Young, a new independent film focusing on the wine industry's lack of acknowledgement for young adults. I was extremely interested to watch this film because making wine seem accessible to younger generations is one of my passions. So when I heard about this film, I quickly got in contact with the director to see if I could get a copy for viewing. And I have to say I'm extremely glad I did.

The film begins with director Scott Hardie interviewing several prominent individuals in the wine industry to get their take on how or if wine is being marketed to "millenials" (the generation after GenX). Interviews include Darryl Roberts, publisher of WineX Magazine, and Tina Caputo, of Wines & Vines Magazine. Then the film uses an assortment of fantastic old clips to illustrate the type of marketing wineries seem to lean toward, all of which have a sense of snobbery or at least seem quite old fashioned.


Scott visits several wineries in the film, starting with Roshambo Winery in California. Naomi Brilliant, the owner of the winery, has a wonderful take on what wine should be. On their site it reads "You don't need to know the difference between acrylics and oils to buy a piece of art...so why are we pressured into understanding malolactic fermentation, the difference between a Bordeaux and a Meritage, the art of barrel aging, and the taste of slate in order to have a glass of wine?" Even the vineyard's name suggests a playful and unpretentious nature. The film also captures Roshambo's annual Rock Paper Scissors tournament, that looks more like a rave than a wine event.

Perhaps the most interesting segment in the film for me was Scott's attempt to see how far $20 would get him in Napa and Sonoma respectively, and following along with that, how he was treated in each of the two areas. This segment highlighted a problem that I've experience many times over myself. As a twenty-five year old woman, I have been overlooked countless times by people that assume I don't know what I'm doing.


While this film may not yet be well known outside of the wine world, it's a film that should be seen by everyone in the Millenial generation. Scott has done an incredible job guiding viewers through the world of wine from the perspective of a twenty-something, and the views expressed by the Millenials in the film are all too easy to identify with. If the film happens to be showing in your area, I highly recommend taking the time to go see it. It would be well worth your time.

Be sure to check out the trailer.

What could be a better idea than having a nice glass of wine while watching an art house movie or this summer's newest blockbuster?

A recent article in the Boston Globe highlighted the Sommerville Theatre's newest addition of serving wine and beer.

"We have a very upscale audience. It's a mature crowd who can enjoy one or two beers or wine with their movie," says Ian Judge, the General Manager. "It's a sign of respect to the audience that we feel they can handle it."

A theatre here in Colorado Springs, Kimball's Twin Peak, also features a wine bar at the theatre. Kimball's features espresso drinks, Bristol Beers, and 12 varieties of wine by the glass. Located in downtown Colorado Springs, Kimball's shows a host of independent and foreign films (and sometimes a mainstream blockbuster). It's a great old style theatre surrounded by excellent restaurants and shopping.

This picture was simply too great to not post. The picture was taken at the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Spa in Japan. The spa bills itself as both an amusement park and spa resort. They offer a variety of bath types (including wine, sake, and green tea) as well as water slides, a game center, beauty and massage salons, and even a mall.

The wine spa features a huge wine bottle that is 3.6m tall. The wine is supposed to rejuvenate the body, and it's said that Cleopatra loved to bathe in wine. Sounds like it would be worth dropping by if you happen to be in Japan!

Here's another interesting, yet not so sensible wine accessory. The Ring of Oden is a polished brass ring that the inventors claim will age wine placed inside of it within 15-60 minutes. Take a look at this article for more info.

Seems kind of out there to me personally, but they apparently host wine tastings to prove the ring's affects.

While this might not be a very serious wine accessory, it is kind of fun. My Other Half is a pair of wine glasses connected with a tube. The idea is that it takes cooperation to drink from these wine glasses because when one is raised, the wine pours into the other glass through the tube. If you want to check out the designer's site, or buy a pair (very expensive by the way), check out www.jimrokos.com.

I now have a Vinewords MySpace site up and running. Check out www.myspace.com/vinewords. Leave me a comment or become my friend! I'd love to hear from you!

I want to apologize to everyone for not posting anything new for a while, but as you can see I've been working on a new look for the site. I hope everyone enjoys the new layout and the new sections I've added. Please feel free to email me with any comments you may have, I would love to hear from you.

I just came across a great site that I thought I'd share with you all. 

www.graperadio.com 

Grape Radio puts together several podcasts a week, and has a great site featuring wine knowledge and news. Check it out!

I found this blog entry to be very interesting and helpful. Take a look before your next large wine tasting. Maybe it will help you out. 



It's the spitting that is hard for me to get the hang of. I just can't understand why you'd want to spit out such wonderful wine. 
Personally, I think that having a water bottle with you is the most important thing. Especially if you're not spitting the wine.

I was just reading a blog posting on another wine site about the points reviewers give to wines. I find it odd that lately I've read several things on how useless a point system is, one of them was even written by a reviewer! What amazes me is that while I'm well aware of the fact that wine tasting is highly subjective and depends a great deal on what you're eating while you're drinking it, because it is such a broad and at times confusing area for novices there is bound to be some type of rating system. Assigning a rating to something as intricate as wine makes it much more accessible to the average consumer. 



Personally it's not the whether or not a wine received a 92 or a 98, but the fact that it received a relatively high score from someone. It's more like a recommendation from a "friend" than anything else. Now if only I truly counted Robert M. Parker, Jr. as a friend! 



My point is that a rating system simply lets others know what might be a good wine for them to try. Don't take it any more seriously than that, and you'll probably be safe.

Today I used my other Valentine's Day Present (a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond) to pick up some fun new wine accessories. I got a Crescendo Decanter by Luigi Bormioli along with a set of two Riedel "O" Pinot glasses. Riedel is considered to be "the" wine glass company, so I thought I should at least have a couple of their glasses.

I'll be sure to take some pictures once I get to use these, and let you all know what I think.