Are you hip?

Hiptastes is an uber stylish wine event hosted in the S.F. Bay area by Courtney Cochran, wine sommelier and consultant. She is also the author of Hip Tastes - The French Guide to Wine, a great book that covers tastings, wine storage to BYOB & restaurant etiquette. Coincidentally, I recently found out that she's a buddy and classmate of my dear friend Ms. L, wow lucky me! Courtney's wine event is very different from your local neighborhood tasting room events. They all have a unique theme with intriguing names: The Salty and Sweet Tasting, Young Guns (featuring winemakers under age 35), The Green Tasting (enviro-friendly vino), and I hear her wine recommendations are eclectic, spanning from all over the globe and not just Napa or France. Tomorrow (8/15) she is hosting the Rock & Roll Tasting at the Mission’s vintage cool venue, Pink. I'm attending her event for the first time and she promises remixes of the likes of Poison, AC/DC, Van Halen, Def Leppard (as in Pour Some Sugar On Me, woop!) and more. Her wines and sushi rolls are sure to fly and flow with some fun dancing starting at 10 pm. Sorry, this event is sold out but be sure to bookmark her site for the next one - she promises one more this fall! A report on the wines from the event to come later, stay tuned :-)

Bottle Shock Uncorked!

Did you see the movie Sideways and venture out to Santa Barbara? Well now you'll have to see Bottle Shock and venture out to Napa!

Nestled in St. Helena (north Napa) there lies a beautiful small winery called Chateau Montelena. After many ownership changes, their chardonnay competed in the '76 French 'Judgment of Paris' blind tasting and was crowned first prize! A true "bottle shock" as wine in Cally was still considered a bit of a joke in the 70's. This sensational incident has now been transformed into a movie and will be uncorked on August 6!!! I'm already smelling hints of humor, tears and joy in this glass. Furthermore, it's PG13 so you don't have to be 18+ to "taste" ;-)

When I went to Chateau Montelena last winter, we got first dibs that they'd just finished shooting the movie there. Knowing that the winery would boom after the release, I immediately joined the charter membership which allows me to secure my estate wines a year ahead and close to wholesale $$. The key is, this winery is owned and operated by Jim and Bo Barrett, and Bo is Heidi Barrett's husband (Heidi is the powerful winemaker for many cult wines, including former Screaming Eagles.) Of course their quality is top notch! While their chardonnay was crowned for the '76 tastings, their estate cab is my favorite. Click here for the movie trailer and get uncorked!

Well Aged!

When the thermostat climbs to 92F like today, I definitely prefer a scoop of Wine Cellar Sorbet than a glass of wine. This decadant sorbet contains 5% wine and you'll be surprised at how well the character of the wine is preserved. The manufacturer works with vinters from around the world to source wines that go into this delicious sorbet. Just like real wine, the sorbet is limited quantity that elevates its value. I've only had the Pinot Noir, but the Sangria Rojo and Riesling are definitely catching my eye! $6.99/pint will sure be a better investment than a cheap glass of house wine. It's only available in stores on the East Coast but you can order online and it'll be shipped in dry ice via 2nd day air. Here's a toast to a very well executed sorbet! Oh, and make sure you're over 21 cuz it contains real alcohol!

Vino!

I think it's totally cool that my friend is taking an authentic Sommelier certification class. She's the classiest woman I know, and what I don't know is how further to rank her if she gets this certification... she is ten stars! Inspired by her passion, I dug around for some fun wine classes in the bay area. I don't want to sit in a stuffy classroom with the know-it-all's and I really don't feel I have enough vino vocab in my brain to keep up with the sommeliers-to-be. So I think I'll opt for this class in the fall: http://brucecasswinelab.com/ "World-class wine education, down-to-earth style." Sounds what I'm lookng for and they have a "Fundamentals of taste & smell" class so I'm sold.