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Liquid Farm: Insanely Cute Wine People, Liquid Gold, Santa Rita Score
Auction Me (Literally), Plus: Bazaar Gifting, Culinary-preneur Hotness Tonight!
Mechanical Pipettes, Hot Pink Pens, Cool Amador Pours, Or: Blending at Urban Legend
Photos Are IN: HIP TASTES: Mix It Up! + Debut Wine Capsule Collection
Gastro Highs, Cool Haunts & Hot Prizes for Hip Tasters in Dogpatch Tomorrow!
Black Rock City Cool, Sharp Dressing and Pro Surfer Envy - Or, Why John Curley's Pics Rule
Hot Shoes, Pre-Nuptial Excitement & "Mix It Up!" Flair Fabulosity
MUST LOVE PIZZA (Match.com Vinous Fantasy + Existential Tomatoes)
Vignoscenti, Willamette Valley Bender, "Smokin" Pours, T-Day Insights at Wine & Spirits Top 100
At Home with Beverly Alkire: Custom Botanical Scents for Hip Tastes, Sensual Wormwood, More
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December 31, 2011
Liquid Farm: Insanely Cute Wine People, Liquid Gold, Santa Rita Score
filed under: Hip Tasters, Regional Spotlight, Winning Wines
One of the most delightful new people I met - virtually, via Facebook in this case - in 2011 is Nikki Nelson of Liquid Farm. Nikki runs Liquid Farm - a 100% Chardonnay project - with her husband in Los Angeles, with the wine made in the Lompoc wine ghetto. She was kind enough to share with Hip Tastes these pics of her "Wine Nerd Wedding" with Jeff, a longtime rep for Henriot Champagne. After the jump, more on their in-the-vineyard nuptials (I so love this pic of them holding grapes in the vineyard, which they captioned "Chardonnay and Us") and the startup label, which takes inspiration from the whites of Burgundy but equally channels the richness and purity of the Santa Rita Hills. Onward, to wine geek fabulosity!
Continue reading "Liquid Farm: Insanely Cute Wine People, Liquid Gold, Santa Rita Score" »
Posted by Courtney at 03:18 PM • Comments (0)
December 09, 2011
Auction Me (Literally), Plus: Bazaar Gifting, Culinary-preneur Hotness Tonight!
filed under: Events, Goods & Gadgetry, Hip Tasters
It's T minus one hour to La Cocina's annual holiday gift bazaar in the Mish. This is just a quick note to say that if you're looking for something to do tonight and you love supporting local food talent while also finding totally fabulous stocking stuffers and hostess gifts and pantry musts this time o' year - then head over to the Mission Cultural Center tonight for some goodies between 5 and 9.
AND, don't forget to check out La Cocina's silent auction - which runs through the 12th - online. I am offering a private in-home tasting and 3 signed copies of Hip Tastes! Talent is fierce on the auction roster with heat coming from the likes of Chez Panisse, Food Network hottie Aida Mollenkamp and more - please help me represent! Proceeds go to this fantastic non-profit that makes a wonderful impact on our community while enriching lives and enabling business building dreams. ;)
Silent Auction overview
My item @ eBay
- CC
Posted by Courtney at 04:06 PM • Comments (0)
December 05, 2011
Mechanical Pipettes, Hot Pink Pens, Cool Amador Pours, Or: Blending at Urban Legend
filed under: Goods & Gadgetry, Hip Tasters, Regional Spotlight, Winning Wines
Last week I paid a visit to the affable Steve and Marilee Shaffer at Urban Legend Cellars, their Oakland-based vinous outpost that strikes quite the appropriately urbane mold. I'm working with Steve and Marilee to create the next Hip Tastes blend, a red featuring Amador County fruit to be released March 31, 2012 at a splashy HIP TASTES Event at the winery (mark your calendars!!).
At their website, Steve and Marilee describe themselves as: "Husband and wife, serial entrepreneurs, high tech alumnae, flavor junkies, and, likely, moderately crazy, but in a nice, togetherness sort of way (would that be a folie a deux?)." Check out the Flickr album for more on their technicolor tasting room, cool mechanical pipettes for blending (srsly high tech!), our method and the day that was. Oh, and there's also a pic of my cool new cowboy boots for a hit of fashion flair. ;)
AND: Stay tuned for more on what's shaping up to be quite the exciting collaboration!
Posted by Courtney at 10:21 AM • Comments (0)
November 21, 2011
Photos Are IN: HIP TASTES: Mix It Up! + Debut Wine Capsule Collection
filed under: Events, Hip Tasters, Winning Wines
Hip Tasters gathered Saturday at Sutton Cellars for our first ever urban winery event with Twitter-powered scavenger hunt. Featuring the debut Hip Tastes wine (Hip Tastes Red!) and custom blended beverage-inspired scents, 'twas a merry day in Dogpatch. Stay tuned for more on future wine collaborations, events and Hip Tastes culture. For now, happy almost T Day. May you drink well and make many good memories with your nearest and dearest.
See the pics - by the one and only John Curley - at Flickr, and don't forget to "Like" Hip Tastes on Facebook! Images are posted there, too, so please tag yourself and share, share, share!
xoxo, Courtney
Posted by Courtney at 01:25 PM • Comments (0)
November 18, 2011
Gastro Highs, Cool Haunts & Hot Prizes for Hip Tasters in Dogpatch Tomorrow!
filed under: Events, Hip Tastes Book, Regional Spotlight
Now that there are numerous urban wineries in Dogpatch, a natural wine bar, several excellent restos, myriad catering companies, ice cream and chocolate purveyors (Recchiuti just opened YESTerday) and droves of hungry workers in the area's booming industrial spaces-cum-offices/workshops, Dogpatch has become an "it" 'hood bar none - especially for the gastronomically inclined. Tomorrow, Hip Tasters who come to Mix It Up! (2-5pm @ Sutton Cellars) will get an intimate look at more than a half dozen of these cool neighborhood haunts courtesy of our scavenger hunt, which will take place during the event. What could be better than a social media-powered 'hunt through this sweet emerging 'hood?? PRIZES.
That's right, there are quite a few of these to be had, including gift certificates for prime butcher cuts, ice cream, wine tasting and brunching. Oh, and an art class and made-to-order messenger bag, both of which are valued at a cool $100. Read on after the jump for a bit more on the businesses we'll visit. And, for goodness sakes, if you haven't bought your ticket yet, it's high time! Here's that link, and another to the full Flickr album for the businesses.
Continue reading "Gastro Highs, Cool Haunts & Hot Prizes for Hip Tasters in Dogpatch Tomorrow!" »
Posted by Courtney at 09:43 AM • Comments (0)
November 17, 2011
Black Rock City Cool, Sharp Dressing and Pro Surfer Envy - Or, Why John Curley's Pics Rule
filed under: Events, Ramblings
This Saturday at Mix It Up! we can look forward to being snapped in all our finery by none other than John Curley, SF photog extraordinaire and all around bon vivant. I first met John when he photographed a 2006 Hip Tastes event for San Fran Mag, and then convinced him to shoot my SF book launch the following year. John's made a name for himself documenting the fabulosity of the Burning Man camp build each year, though he also shoots weddings, advertisements and much more. Look for him at the custom photo backdrop at Hip Tastes (props to include mustaches, suspenders, top hats, Wayfarers, more - it will be FUN) and throughout the event. Pics should be amazing and amusing, and I couldn't be more excited to be bringing John back into the Hip Tastes family. ;)
Read on for a Q&A with John and more of his images after the jump (more on those Burning Man collaborations, professional surfer envy, and adult beverages), and check back here next week for event pics. Oh, that's John in the top image.
PS: check out the San Fran Mag piece here + book party pics here.
Posted by Courtney at 04:07 PM • Comments (0)
November 06, 2011
Hot Shoes, Pre-Nuptial Excitement & "Mix It Up!" Flair Fabulosity
filed under: Events, Goods & Gadgetry, Hip Tasters
I met up with soon-to-be-wedded pal and expert-o-crafting-arts, Ariel Sutro, to put together decor and accessories for my upcoming Mix It Up! event (11/19). Not only is Ariel's SF abode super stylish, it's a veritable "bus station" (her words) of family members and friends shuttling through on various errands or to say hello. I'm thrilled she found time to help given all this activity and that her wedding is the weekend before my event.
Check out Ariel's GORG Givenchy wedding shoes - they fit right in with the be-feathered "flair" we created for Hip Tastes and set the tone for high style! After the jump, lots more pics from my visit and the story on the bespoke bouttonnieres, fascinators and feathered clips we're crafting for Mix It Up!. Peruse the full Flickr album here.
Pictured: Shoes, Ariel's pad, flair in process; below, Le Couple: Ariel with her fiance Josh at their joint bachelor/ette fete in Golden Gate park
Continue reading "Hot Shoes, Pre-Nuptial Excitement & "Mix It Up!" Flair Fabulosity " »
Posted by Courtney at 06:59 PM • Comments (0)
