I've never picked up a wine book I wanted to quote more than Lawrence Osborne's deliciously entertaining tome, The Accidental Connoisseur: An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World. In it, the Brit - who right up front gamely cops to a serious distrust of his own sense of taste - sets out to visit several of the world's foremost wine regions in search of answers to his own burning question - what exactly is taste? - as well as more (less?) controversial issues like "why do men fetishize wine, and woman don't?"

Continue reading "Why Men Fetishize Wine" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:24 AM • Comments (0)

My editor just overnighted me the finished book (on-sale date is Oct 4) and I must say it looks HOT!!! Check out these snaps, including some shots of interior pages. I love love LOVE the illustrations by Donna Mehalko, who really nailed the fresh, fun side of tasting. Holding the book for the first time was definitely a crazy experience - I don't have kids, but it certainly made feel like I was holding a "baby" ;). Those interested in pre-ordering are more than welcome to do so already at Amazon.

Or, stay tuned for an upcoming list of appearances and signings, and get one from me in person!

Continue reading "The Book Is (Almost) Finally Here!" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:23 PM • Comments (4)

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)

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!

Continue reading "Corks & Orchids - A Great Combo" »

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

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)

I couldn't resist posting this. The comparison was just too obvious, the humor too low-brow to NOT. This is a pic of the $125 "Wine/Champagne Saver" (AKA Wine Dildo) available at Williams-Sonoma this holiday season. I don't really think there's much to explain, especially when I noticed people walking by and laughing at it. Basically, you see it, you get it.

Continue reading "What NOT to Give: the Wine Dildo" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:04 AM • Comments (2)

The saying USED to go, "to make a small fortune in the wine business you've got to start with a big one." No more! With the WinePod from Provina you can now make your own wine with very little fuss and, fantastically, rather little up front capital, relatively speaking.

The MBA in me just couldn't resist crunching the numbers to see just how much capital it would cost to produce, say, a single bottle of your very own Cabernet Sauvignon. Armed with some stats on the purchase price of the Pod and the key ingredient - grapes - I set out to come up with an estimate. Here's what I came up with: $53 a bottle.

Continue reading "Look, Ma, I bought a winery!" »

Posted by Courtney at 02:35 PM • Comments (2)

I love this funny little book I'm reading right now - Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure. It's a real foodie's memoir of growing up in Europe in the first half of the Twentieth Century, and it traces his life events through, fantastically enough, his meals.

Joseph Wechsberg is the author who published the book for the first time in 1953. Apparently the bulk of the book is dedicated to the vineyards and restaurants of France, and I'm sure I'll love that part when I get there, but 88 pages in I'm loving his personal and hilarious accounts of the dining culture in Western and Central Europe.

Continue reading "Hip to Be Stained" »

Posted by Courtney at 08:52 AM • Comments (0)

Why Not? This Aussie import aims to solve the spoilage problem afflicting about one in every ten bottles of wine closed with traditional cork closures. Problem always was, folks just like to hear a cork pop when opening a bottle. I completely understand: it's tradition.

But for pete's sake, all the spoilage has got to stop. I've certainly become more intimately acquainted with just how prevalent cork taint is since I dramatically upped the number of wines I taste as a result of my wine studies. I know: you feel really sorry for me.

Continue reading "Why Zork?" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:55 PM • Comments (0)

Ever wonder what Guilty tastes like? What about Power? How 'bout Orgasm?

Thought that would get your attention. Now, apparently, you can find out. Avant-garde fashion-meets-art publication Visionaire just released TASTE in collaboration with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), the bar none leader in the creation of scents in the world's top perfumes as well as other flavored and scented products.

Continue reading "TASTE-tastic!" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:08 PM • Comments (0)

Big time book publisher HarperCollins and fashion uber retailer Saks Fifth Avenue recently announced a partnership in which the publisher put a out a book called "Cashmere If You Can", a tale of a family of Mongolian cashmere goats living atop the retailer's Midtown Manhattan store. Yes, really.

Conceived by Saks' own internal marketing machine, the tale shies from overtly plugging the megastore, instead (hopefully) creating buzz about the place simply by way of a good story with, you guessed it, fabulous product placement.

Continue reading "Brave New Grape" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:13 PM • Comments (0)

I'll never forget that line from one of my all-time favorite 90s teen drama-comedies, Clueless. It's the way the film's heroine, Beverly Hills uber teen Cher, first meets her love interest. The impossibly suave (of course he turns out to be gay) hipster breathes this to her in class after gazing up her, admittedly, great gams. Ah, high school.

But did you know that legs are actually out these days? Yes indeedy, according to celebrated wine glass maker Riedel. The maker of the super expensive and therefore coveted Sommelier series of stemware has released a line of stemless, er, stemware, apparently to cater to the anti-establishment wino in all of us.

Continue reading ""Nice Stems"" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:54 PM • Comments (0)

If you're like me, you dread those words uttered by so many a chintzy party planner, "Oh, and please be sure to bring some drink - it's BYOB."

Until now, that is. I recently picked up a one-bottle neoprene wine bottle carrier/cooler/protector from Built NY. It's made from the same stuff wet suits are made of and is as adept at keeping wine cool as keeping surfers' bods warm (cheers to that). Plus, the flexible but firm neoprene material keeps bottles from clanking and stands sturdily upright when bottles are inside. Made in seven colors and available in one- and two-bottle styles, BYO bags make bringing your own a bit more bearable.

Continue reading "Bringing your own was never this cool" »

Posted by Courtney at 02:33 PM • Comments (0)