I think this "inside-out" Champagne flute from Dutch designer Alissia Melka-Teichroew is stunning to look at, if a bit pricey - two flutes will set you back 60 bucks. It's part of the designer's new InsideOut Collection of barware, and is getting a lot of attention from folks who enjoy looking at their bubbly as much as drinking it. For the aesthete drinker with cash to burn (is there any other way to be an aesthete?).

Buy some here

Posted by Courtney at 09:57 PM • Comments (0)

Musing over an impeccably prepared Thai Boxer cocktail in the lounge at Healdsburg's Cyrus Restaurant, I couldn't help but notice a skinny jean-clad hipster type sitting alone at the end of the bar. Were I back in San Francisco, the presence of a mega-stylish patron would be mundane, but the fact that we were deep in wine country made his presence there remarkable, even improbable-seeming. To make matters even more interesting, he was clutching a sleek, futuristic-looking device that made my Blackberry look like a clumsy, oversized calculator circa 1950...

Continue reading my latest article at Winecountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 12:05 AM • Comments (2)

My first trip to the Hamptons was incredibly memorable, but not because of the wine. A college student out from California for a summertime visit, I'd barely landed in scorching Manhattan before I was whisked away to the cushy comfort of the Hamptons, where a stylish bash at a sprawling Southampton estate seemed to fit the mold of many social events I'd attended. That was, until uber-socialite Nikki Hilton struck up a conversation with me and - much to everyone's delight - Puff Daddy began passing around bottles of bubbly at the after-party...

Continue reading my latest article at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 12:59 AM • Comments (0)

Wow, I was surprised to read in The Wall Street Journal that Cordier Mestrezat Grands Crus, a prestigious French producer of high-end Bordeaux, is making wine in a box...with a straw. Well, with four straws per box, to be exact. But what's even more interesting is the fact that the company is apparently launching the box in an effort to reach out to French "youths" (read: people in their twenties), who are drinking less wine over there than ever before. Hello, IRONY: all this, when at the same time American "youths" are drinking MORE wine than any generation before them. What's next, I wonder - a weird inversion of Franco-American youth culture, with American young 'uns sporting berets and carrying around baguettes in search of charcuterie and Nutella crepes, while - frightening thought - youthful Parisians hang out in Cubs caps fiending for "french" fries and hot dogs?

Decide for yourself here.

Posted by Courtney at 12:01 AM • Comments (3)

The White Party last Friday was a ton of fun. Stylish Hip Tasters turned up in their best whites, and we enjoyed a great lineup of white wines and all-white bites. Sponsor Riedel came through with some party packs of very hip "O" stemless wine glasses, which we gave out to folks we deemed "best dressed." Check out the album at Ofoto for even more snaps. Cheers!

Posted by Courtney at 12:29 AM • Comments (0)

I love, love, LOVE this gorgeous flower arrangement that my friends over at Not Just Flowers on 18th St. made for The White Party Friday night! We used a bunch of corks I'd been saving and arranged them around an interior vase, and the whole effect is stunning, I think. Click the "continue reading" link below to see a few more pics, including a shot looking down into the arrangement at the interior vase. This is easy to do and I recommend trying it yourself!

Posted by Courtney at 07:25 PM • Comments (0)

I'm really pleased to announce that I was profiled this week (with a special shout-out given to the upcoming book launch!!!) on UK-based blog All the Best. Penned by Texas-raised expat Ronda Carman - pictured here, and who lives in Glasgow - the blog chronicles her favorite things, from books to antiques to personalities. She's got quite an impressive global following, and I'm super flattered to be included in her lineup!

Read the interview here

Posted by Courtney at 08:10 PM • Comments (3)

I'm really happy to anounce my FIRST Hip Tastes party of 2007! After a loooong hiatus for book writing I'm finally bringing it BACK this Friday with The White Party. If you're in SF, come on out and drink & eat all white in the brand spanking new all-white lounge at Fluid in SoMa. We'll have fab tunes for our fabulous crowd, as usual, and hip tasters wearing (sufficiently) all white get a free gift at the door. Hope to see you there!

Learn more & tickets at hiptastes.com

Posted by Courtney at 02:56 PM • Comments (0)

The transition from urban oasis to wine country outpost can be a bit bumpy for those accustomed to ready access to their favorite, hard-to-find beauty products. Whether your must-have item is a T. LeClerc lipstick or a Kiehl's lip balm (with SPF 4, thank you very much), until recently your chances of tracking it down in wine country were slim at best.

Continue reading my latest article at Winecountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 07:31 AM • Comments (1)

I just picked up a copy of a new home design mag called Blueprint, and was psyched to find a very cool wine-themed accessory on one of the first few pages! The "Gorgeous Helen" lampshade pack comes with three parchment "shades" that each fit neatly over the top of a wine glass. Drop a tea light into the glass, spark it up and - voila! - you've got a totally hip wine-themed light for your next soiree. Plus, doesn't everyone's abode look better by candle light? A pack is $20.

Get it

Posted by Courtney at 01:49 PM • Comments (1)

It's a dilemma perfectly fit for the new millennium: Two adventurous young ladies find themselves living in wine country with a hankering for high-end duds made in an environmentally responsible fashion. Problem is, finding so-called "green" high fashion in rural Northern California is like trying to track down a Michelin three-star in Bakersfield...

Continue reading my latest article at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 09:50 AM • Comments (0)

It's not the first time I've written about boxed wine in this blog, but it's still a memorable occasion for me. The reason is that this marks the first time I kept right on drinking a boxed wine until it turned - which means I found it pretty decent! I bought the Trove 3 liter-sized box at my local Safeway (the "crazy" Safeway, as I like to call it, on Market St. in the Castro - those who've shopped there know exactly what I mean) six weeks ago,

and it only just began to spoil about two weeks ago. Now, I know that boxed wine is touted for its capacity to last for up to a month in your fridge, so this shouldn't be a surprise. But still - I was just really pleased to experience this durability first-hand - and also pretty shocked at how much of the Trove I put back over a four-week stretch!!

Great Value
The Trove 3-liter box, priced at about $23 (which works out to $5.75 per traditional 750 mL "bottle" we're familiar with), is decent stuff. Especially when you consider the swill that's currently crowding our supermarket shelves for more than this much dough per bottle, it's a good value. The reason the stuff lasts for so long is that boxed wine comes with a collapsible bag inside, which protects the wine from oxidation.

Up to a point, of course. It's not common knowledge, but most wine starts to go downhill after about a month when stored in your fridge, since the temperature in your fridge is too low and the humidity isn't high enough to keep wine in decent shape for a whole lot longer. I go into more detail on just why this is the case in my upcoming book - so I'll take advantage of this moment to say "buy the book" if you really want the low-down on this fridge thing, technically speaking.

Lotsa Glasses
Those content in comprehending without the "why" behind it all can rest assured that this is pretty normal for all wine, though - not just boxed. But back to the Trove - I just want to say that it's pleasantly good and that I'd buy it again. Besides tasting alright (again, with boxed wine we're not really looking for "blockbuster" wine!), Trove comes in a cool package, which you can see pictured here. It's also got a clever visual description of its contents on the side, which shows that a single box is the equivalent of four bottles of wine and 24 glasses. Smart, huh?

I also like the copy on the same side of the box, which says "a trove is usually a valuable find, a treasure hidden...aren't the greatest treasures often found in unexpected places?" Well put, Trove marketing people. Boxed wines are getting better all the time, and - especially for those of us who can't or don't care to spend a ton on everyday drinking wine - they fit the bill more and more often. This Cali Chardonnay (Trove also makes Cab, Merlot & Pinot Grigio) isn't anything to write home about, but that didn't stop me from drinking quite a few (okay, a lot) of glasses of it.

And sometimes, that's just fine where a wine's concerned.

The Bottom Line
This stuff's drinkable, mellow Chardonnay. Not overly oaked, not too low in acid. A pleasant surprise.

Posted by Courtney at 10:31 AM • Comments (0)