"The call." You know what I'm talking about. The call that makes or breaks a deal, a heart or something else very important. Sometimes "the call" is unexpected. I received one of these earlier this spring when UCLA called out of the blue, inviting me to be a panelist at Alumni Day. The panel was to be called The Good Life, and my co-stars would include a VP/TV judge from The Food Network (Susie Fogelson), a Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic from the LA Times (Jonathan Gold AKA @thejgold to his Tweeps), a food radio maven/resto-preneur hottie (Evan Kleiman, like myself hailing from both UCLA undergrad & the Anderson MBA program) and a lovely culinary book/TV impresario (Amy E. Goodman). I must admit I practically shouted "YES" to the folks on the other end of the phone. It was a totally un-cool moment, one in which I completely geeked out and gushed to excess - and one in which I knew that, well, I'm in love with UCLA. And UCLA loves me back.

Posted by Courtney at 12:47 PM

While I have occasionally been known to rapture about a particular bottle of wine (any number of soulful West Coast Pinots come to mind), I am more often mystified by the reverence with which uber geeks - many of them men - approach certain "it" wines. The coveting, the plotting, saving, acquiring and subtle showing off of prized vinous acquisitions - these are qualities I find much more correlated to the way that women approach handbags. After all, if I a might be considered the Carrie Bradshaw of wine, then surely there is something in this.

Vogue contributing editor Plum Skyes invoked Ms. Bradshaw herself in "Second Chances," a meditation on the return of the iconic Fendi Baguette in the February issue of Vogue. More than a decade after Carrie Bradshaw was famously mugged on Sex & the City for her purple sequired version - having already inspired an army of It Girls across the globe to carry the luxury bag - the Italian label is reissuing some old favorites, with novel embellishments (for the unitiated: "baguette"s were named for the loaves of French bread you carry under your arm). While Ms. Sykes pondered whether an "it" bag of old could be newly covetable again (spoiler!: she concludes it could), I couldn't help but wonder: why don't women ever get this excited about buying wine?

After several glasses of that tonic and a bit of contemplation, my theory is this: women's take on wine focuses on consumption (yes, I'll take that much-needed after-work buzz, thank you very much), pairing and sharing. While we'd like to have a stash of great wines to pull from for as-yet-unplanned meals and cocktail soirees, wine is not something we worry about stockpiling. And we certainly don't need to peacock our vinous wares. We've already got handbags for that! To the ladies out there: wouldn't you rather rock a reissued python Fendi baguette (see below) in an almost psychedelic pop of various hues than a DRC? (You know your answer is an unhesitating yes.)

The price tag's not that different, nor is the statement these items are making, really. They're both about a show of wealth, about status, signal a certain amount of style, perhaps even intelligence (Carrie always had a knowing smile, didn't she?). But they express these qualities in ways that appeal to the signaler wholly differently. And even if I had several glasses more, for the life of me I still couldn't tell you exactly why. I could only tell you that if Fendi teamed up with DRC to create a wine bottle-inspired baguette, I'd be all over that. Oh, and: SJP? She surely would approve.

Posted by Courtney at 07:34 AM • Comments (0)

Dream collaboration announcement: I was recently asked to create a tasting around Alberta Ferretti's new capsule collection for Macy's Impulse. HeLO amazing fashion opportunity! It gets better: they're dressing me in the clothes. It's all going down at Macy's SF Tues. April 17 and called, officially: Stylish Sips: Wine Pairings for Ferretti Fashions. I'll be creating a tasting around four featured outfits (so the wine will literally be paired with the fashion), plus styling food pairings to match. It's like, FREE (!) to attend, but RSVP is a must.

Oh, and they'll have personal shoppers on hand for those of you who'd like some extra attention (you know who you are). Let's share a drink to being ever more fashionable. Drop me an email or leave a comment here if you'd like to be added to the guest list. - xoxo, CC

Posted by Courtney at 09:26 PM • Comments (0)

[photo: ABC]
When my editor at food blog Eater SF - where I dish on beverage-related gossip in a recurring column called The Swill - asked me to document this season of ABC's The Bachelor, I quickly accepted the challenge. With SF-based Sonoma winemaker Ben Flajnik of Envolve Wines in the lead role, it's a choice opportunity to be dishy not only about wine, but about reality TV to boot (oh what a glorious pairing!). Check in on my coverage - updated weekly throughout the season - here at Eater, and stay tuned on Twitter, too. #TheBachelor hashy is a great read come Monday nights whether you're watching or not (if not, skip right to the recap on Tuesday).

Posted by Courtney at 05:44 PM • Comments (1)

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.

Continue reading "Black Rock City Cool, Sharp Dressing and Pro Surfer Envy - Or, Why John Curley's Pics Rule" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:07 PM • Comments (0)

Originally penned this for a freelance client who didn't love this wine, hence it's landing here (you may recall an earlier entry in which I teased the piece - but it didn't wind up being published after all). I'm a fan of this easy-drinking red so no matter. If you're acquainted with Match.com, it's almost a beat-by-beat adaptation of the profile format.

About Me & Who I'm Looking For: I'm looking for someone adventurous who loves to LOL, doesn't take himself too seriously, and - this part's a "must" - has a deep, uncompromising love of pizza. Deep dish, thin crust, New York, Neapolitan - it doesn't matter to me which type you [heart symbol] (though it's even better if you [heart symbol] them all). So long as you partake of the pie when we're together, this relationship is destined to be one with sizzle.

Continue reading "MUST LOVE PIZZA (Match.com Vinous Fantasy + Existential Tomatoes)" »

Posted by Courtney at 01:27 AM • Comments (0)

This spring I found myself heading into downtown's Da Silvano, a New York institution, for a late weekday dinner. I was with one of my best pals, and another - always late - was making her way to meet us at an unknown time we hoped wouldn't be too late, as we had been instructed to order on her behalf. As I ducked through the door and into a room popping with lively diners, my friend asked if I'd been there before. No I had not, I said, but reminded her we'd enjoyed way too much wine on the patio of Bar Pitti, next door, a couple of years before.

Almost as soon as we'd crossed the threshold, the words "I know you! I know you!" were shouted over the din, unmistakably directed at me by an Italian waiter walking briskly my way. Flummoxed, I was sure this stranger was going to embrace me, which he did, after which I found myself being kissed on both cheeks by the spot's affable owner. My pal looked at me, incredulous. Somehow - though I had never been there before - I was the recipient of one of the warmest restaurant welcomes in history, whereas she was ignored, though she had been to the spot dozens of times over half a decade. Having recovered from the onslaught of attention, I shrugged weakly and simply said, "Italian men. They ALL think they know me."

Continue reading "New York Stories: Encounters of a Vinous Kind (Checking In at Da Silvano)" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:07 AM • Comments (0)

My latest edition of The Swill for Eater SF, wherein I sample awesome scoops from Three Twins, sip mostly awkward pairings, discover Guinness' real purpose in life is to float caramel ice cream, and bump into a zombie flash mob on the way home. All in a day's work.

Head to Eater for the The Swill in full.
And check the Flikr album from the day.

Posted by Courtney at 02:26 PM • Comments (0)

My April visit to New York was superb for many reasons, some of them gustatory and wine-inclined (more later, there), others more extracurricular. Among the best of the extra's was the exhibition Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt design museum way uptown. The museum itself is a feast for the eyes: a stunning, four-story park-adjacent mansion famously built by Andrew Carnegie, it's worth a visit to see the interiors alone. But the Delaunay exhibit was captivating, in part because it was so visually amazing but also because her story was so nuanced (it helped, too, that there was a diamond exhibit downstairs ;)). In a way, it was the perfect sensorial feast (appetizer?) to prime my senses for a trip to new West Village "gastroteque" Buvette - equally enchanting - the same weekend.

Continue reading "New York Stories: Sonia Delaunay Steals My Heart" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:49 PM • Comments (0)

Note: After the jump, an excerpt of my recent contribution to Uncorked: a tasting note-as-online-dating-profile. Srsly. ;)
***
I'm excited about my latest freelance gig, which is a first in that I'm writing for an iPad-only wine mag. Called Uncorked and published by Nomad Editions, brainchild of former Newsweek Prez Mark Edmiston, it's a great read thanks to a tone that dishes up a healthy serving of humor and wit alongside superb vinous info. Contributors include cool names in wine such as Joe Roberts (1WineDude), Tina Caputo, Jeff Lefevere, Virginie Boon, Catherine Fallis, Chris Sawyer and Laurie Daniel, and it's edited by the wry and knowledgeable Steve Yafa. Subscriptions are ridiculously cheap at just $1/month for FOUR issues. So you have no excuse not to check it out! The Washington Post called Uncorked "smartly written," - and BTW, it DOES feature embedded video now!

Read two back issues and explore subscription here.

And continue reading for MUST LOVE PIZZA, tasting note as Match.com profile. Seriously. Good for a laugh this FRI morning!

Continue reading "Match.com Meets Wine, Courtesy of Uncorked iPad Mag (My Newest Gig)" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:39 AM • Comments (0)

I love this imaginative slideshow featured at SF MoMa's wine-themed Pop-Up Magazine collaboration this spring. My favorite parts are when winemaker Sean Thackrey "says" (it's an illustrated slideshow, so these quotes appear written out) "I've been doing this a long time/You'd think I'd be bored with it" but "My only purpose/ In the entire universe/As a winemaker/Is to produce a pleasure." Drawings of objects such as workboots, tools and a graphical rendering of the Bolinas sea and sky are poetic in their simplicity while conveying much. Atmosphere. Rhythm. And of course, pleasure.

Art by Wendy MacNaughton, sound recordings by Amy Standen.

Posted by Courtney at 12:24 AM • Comments (0)

I have Sloane Crosley's hilarious collection of essays (I Was Told There'd Be Cake) on my nightstand, and the title got me thinking about expectations where wine goes. I just finished selecting wines for a corporate client's * high-end very important * dinner party next week, and I must admit the task conjured the usual anxiety. Will the wines I'm selecting meet guests' expectations? More importantly - to me, anyway - will they meet my client's expectations? Seem appropriate for the evening (read: come in under budget but still blow everyone away), or maybe not elegant enough? Not masculine enough, or perhaps not eclectic enough?

You can see where this is going: nowhere. As in, I can't please everyone, every time. And that's the thing about people and wine. There's always someone asking you why you didn't include a Cab (or a Chardonnay, for that matter, or something else - anything - that will make their day/week/month/life seem just a little bit better.) It's a loaded situation every time. A vinous cul de sac, you might say.

Continue reading "I Was Told There'd Be Cabernet" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:12 PM • Comments (0)

Announcing the latest version of The Swill (my Bay Area beverage gossip column for Eater), wherein I dish on for gourmet & sartorial fabulosity dets in Dogpatch. Or, how an SF 'hood is emerging as the new hottie spot...

from Eater: Vermouth master and conqueror of the quirky wine trend, Carl Sutton is about as artisanal as it gets when it comes to making wine. Add in the self-taught vintner's recent move from Sonoma to urban winery digs in Dogpatch, and the story gets even better for urbanites. en lire plus

Flikr pic stream

Posted by Courtney at 12:06 PM • Comments (0)

JIT for the wintry (can you say FREEZING, anyone?) weather, I am super pleased to present my list of top holiday films, all matched up tastily with wines, natch. So you can get Scrooged while drinking some Pet, or laugh along with Clark Griswold and crew while sipping some seriously flamboyant Zin. Cheers and happy holidays from Hip Tastes! Courtney ;)
***
"When it comes time for the holidays, little sounds as good as a cozy night in with loved ones and a great seasonal film. So read on for our list of top holiday films - each one paired, of course, with a superb vinous partner. Because here at WineCountry, we wouldn't have it any other way.

10: Miracle on 34th Street
9: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
8: Home for the Holidays
7: Scrooged
6: Home Alone
5: A Christmas Carol
4: Meet the Parents
3: Love Actually
2: A Christmas Story
1: It's a Wonderful Life

Read it all here

Posted by Courtney at 12:26 PM • Comments (0)

We've all been there before: The wine you've ordered arrives at your table at the chichi restaurant and smells...wrong. You're not sure what's behind the malodorous scent, but you're quite sure it smacks of your Aunt Edna's moldy attic. You're desperate to send it back, but nervous the "dirty attic" excuse will come off as uninformed, inadequate and pathetically incorrect all at once. But take heart, worrisome wino: there is a method to the madness of decoding wine faults (as usual, we've got you covered).

Because no one - your Aunt Edna perhaps excluded - should have to suffer through the unpleasantness of a mold-imbued wine...

Continue reading my latest piece at WineCountry.com for more on

Trichloranisole (AKA "TCA")
Brettanomyces (AKA "Brett")
Volatile Acidity (AKA "VA")
Oxidation
Mercaptans
and more!

Posted by Courtney at 02:44 PM • Comments (0)

"As with so many things in life, trends in food and wine come and go. One season, chefs scramble to pair Riesling with faddish new foam sauces, the next they're matching up Cabernet with the likes of PB&J. But a handful of tried-and-true pairings consistently rise above these of-the-moment fads, delivering the unsurpassed pleasure that can only result from an absolutely perfect marriage of food and wine. Read on for our favorites, and bon appetit."



Click here to continue reading one of my fav pieces penned for WineCountry.com - it hits some super sweet wine and food notes we should all absolutely experience!! Topics include:

Acidity Affinity
Crustacean Sensation
For the Sake of It
The Good Earth Gives
Foie-tastic
It's Amore
Cult Classic
Opposites Attract
Decadence Delivered

Posted by Courtney at 10:15 AM • Comments (0)

We all know how important it is to support local businesses, and I'm thrilled to say that doing so is EASY for me, given the fabulousness that is my local wine bar/retailer, Swirl on Castro in the heart of SF's - well, most colorful district. ;) Check out this short video that includes a tour and look at the spot's hottest merch (hmm, wine accessory meets evening bag? ONLY in the Castro!), people and wine bar. It's hot! Enjoy. :)

Swirl on Castro
572 Castro St
San Francisco, CA 94114-2512
(415) 864-2262

Posted by Courtney at 09:27 AM • Comments (0)

Wine and fashion - both being art forms - are never too far apart. Witness Moet's sparkling support of affairs surrounding New York Fashion Week - like the uber-anticipated bubbly soirees in and around Bryant Park, for example. And sometimes, the twains meet far closer still, like with this fabulously fashion-forward bottle of bubbly designed by no other than Jean-Paul Gaultier for the house of Piper Heidsieck (yes, corsets are still clearly HOT! And see other pic for inspiration). Like so many sparklers designed by the fashion demi-gods for sparkling houses, the Gaultier bubbly is extremely limited (not to mention pricey - it clocks in at $395 for a magnum), but oh-so-lovely that we can't help but consider the splurge. Read on to feast your peepers on still more stunning bottles and accessories, the rest by the likes of Karl Lagerfeld (for Dom Perignon), Viktor & Rolf (also for Piper-Heidsieck) and YOU - as in personalized Swarovski crystal-embossed bottles made on demand by that most uber-fashion-oriented house, Moet. Cheers.

Continue reading "Let's Toast: Fashion's Sparkling Support of Bubbly" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:11 PM • Comments (0)

This just in, another story by my fabulous summer intern, wine lover, and current UCLA senior, Taylor Price! Read on for her musings on Sangria, the perfect drink for these hot summer days. And in case you missed it, make sure to check out her first story on Pinky Vodka!

In Taylor's Words:
One of my favorite memories of this past year brings me back to Madrid with two girlfriends, relaxing after a busy day over a heaping plate of paella and the most enjoyable Sangria of my life. There's something about the memory of this Sangria, overflowing with fresh fruit and delicious Spanish red wine, which transports me back to that amazing day with a huge smile on my face. And although I have returned to lovely California, there are times when I find it necessary to recreate the magic, (or in this case, the Sangria!) of those memories.

Continue reading "Viva Sangria!" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:09 PM • Comments (0)

This just in, from my fabulous summer intern, Taylor Price! Twenty-one years old and soon to be a senior at my very own alma mater, UCLA (Go Bruins!), Taylor is enjoying getting to know the world of wine - and cocktails, it turns out - as she lends a hand at Hip Tastes this summer. Read on for her take on the lovely new spirit we've just discovered, LA-based, Swedish-made Pinky Vodka. Because, it turns out, LA turns out a lot more than just fabulous Bruin English majors (it also turns out a lot of great folks from other majors, too). :)

In Taylor's Words:
It's hard to believe (unless of course you hail from the motherland of vodka), that this powerful spirit could be both beautiful and highly enjoyable to sip. Pinky Vodka promises both, and actually delivers!

Continue reading "Pretty In Pink: The World's Most Beautiful Vodka?" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:05 PM • Comments (0)

Shakespeare once wrote, "all the world's a stage." But a bard savvy in today's Web 2.0 world - in which online video viewing is up an impressive 53 percent in 2009 - would no doubt say, "all the world's online - and in video!" With online video assuming the place of the most-hyped medium in today's already saturated media space, it's no wonder everyone and their winemaker is scrambling to produce a halfway decent wine video.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of wise wine ambassadors doing online video right. Whether by way of clever storylines, stellar technical skills or outstanding subject matter (in some cases a combination of all three), my top picks for oenophiles doing online video succeed in bringing brands to life - not to mention furthering viewers' knowledge, appreciation and enthusiasm for the good stuff. And that benefits everyone in the wine biz - cheers to that.

Continue reading more about A Really Goode Idea, Days of Thunder, Paradise Found, I'll Drink to That
***
Cheers everyone!

Posted by Courtney at 09:51 AM • Comments (0)

The following is based on an article I recently penned for Appellation America.com. It includes a longer intro section than the edited version at AA...enjoy, and be sure to click over to read the rest and comments!) ;)
***

The other day, while multitasking on three different projects with looming deadlines, I felt the uncontrollable urge to Tweet. And so instead of squashing the urge to deviate from my pressing (not to mention paying) workload, I mumbled something to myself about connectivity being good for business and logged on to Twitter.com. Within seconds I was typing a quick message (140 characters max, natch) to inform the 250 or so people who "follow" me on the site about what, precisely, I was doing or thinking at that very moment.

Procrastinate = Procrasturbate?
As it turns out, I was thinking that I should really be working on my three other projects with pressing deadlines, and so my tweet went something like this: "Should be working but on Twitter instead. Sign hanging in office says 'procrastinate = procrasturbate'; not working?"

Ah, the irony.

Fortunately, irony isn't the only thing this tweet's got going for it.

Continue reading "To Tweet Or Not to Tweet? That Is the Question" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:17 AM • Comments (0)

Economy got you down? News flash: Americans are spending more these days on "affordable luxuries" that make staying in at night even more fabulous than going out. Among the newly hot items fueling the stay-at-home fire, you'll find lingerie (seriously, check out this link) and, you guessed it!, wine. I, for one, am a huge proponent of drinking at home (okay, drinking anywhere, but hang on I have a point) - because of the way it allows you to really take your time with a bottle of something special, savoring each sip and glass as it evolves. Plus, when you're at home you can even - as it seems some of us already are - wear your most racy new lingerie while sipping a properly decanted, sure-to-be-savored wine (note: to achieve maximum satisfaction don't try this alone).

If that's not a cure for the recession blues, I don't know what is.

Posted by Courtney at 02:11 PM • Comments (0)

From my column at WineCountry.com - user-friendly tips for the economic clime. :) Hope you enjoy!

I can recall, with embarrassing clarity, buying Chuck Shaw by the caseload in the drearily cash-strapped era that followed my graduation from college. And though I quickly "graduated" beyond the realm of such inexpensive sippers around the time of my first raise, today's tough economic times have many of us - yours truly included - contemplating a reunion with bargain sips like Mr. Shaw's and others of his ilk.

To be sure, the crisis thinking fueling these considerations isn't limited to wine consumption alone. Wine country visitors, as well, are wondering where they can cut corners on visits in order to spend less while still enjoying their fair share of the pleasures wine country has to offer. They're looking for easy, smart ways to extend their spending power at a time when all of us are getting by on less.

And so, in a valiant effort to keep the good times - and the good drink - flowing, we're here to help you do just that. Read on for our top suggestions on where to save and - as important - where to splurge in wine country this season. Because if one thing is a constant no matter the economic clime, it's that we can all use a little affordable luxury every now and then to keep our spirits afloat.

Splurge - Michelin Meal (one star, not three ;))
Save - Lodging for Less
Splurge - Sweet Sensation
Save - Spa Saver
Splurge - Picnic Chic
Save - Blue Plate Bonus
Splurge - Caffeine Connection
Save - Gratis Grub
Splurge - Outdoor Adventure
Save - Corkage Connection

Get the full story at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 02:44 PM • Comments (0)

There are a few quotes from me in a new Sac Bee article on gender issues - specifically, why I think women are better at tasting than men - that may ruffle a few feathers. And isn't that, after all, the spirit of the media today? It seems if you can't be controversial then don't bother. In this instance, that's right up my alley. Thanks to writer Chris Macias for reaching out to me for quotes - and hope you all enjoy!

Cheers, CC

Excerpt:
Do women taste differently than men?

We don't mean this in a cannibalistic sort of way, but rather in the juicy world of wine. The conventional wisdom: Women have a more perceptive palate than men.

Courtney Cochran swears this is true. She's a sommelier and author based in San Francisco, and her life revolves around sipping and speaking about wine.

'What I've come to understand is that women are inherently better tasters than men," says Cochran. "Oftentimes when I teach classes I have beginners, and when I ask people to volunteer what they're (tasting) the women are shooting their hands up. I can't call on them quickly enough. Their descriptions from the wine glass can be so nuanced and fabulous. I'm like, 'Who are you?''

Continue reading the full article here

photo: John Curley; pictured: my sister, Claire, and pal Antra at my book launch, SF Fall 2007

Posted by Courtney at 11:20 AM • Comments (0)

According to a new research study released by Women & Wine and Full Glass Research, the majority of women surveyed reported that when a man is seated with them in a restaurant, the man is most often handed the wine list (as opposed to it being placed in the middle of the table, or handed to the woman). Moreover, 61% of women surveyed said that even when they had placed the wine order, at least half the time the wait staff presented the bottle to the male at the table instead. No one seems to be pleased with the results - a surprising 72% of MEN surveyed said they would like to see women on an even playing field when it comes to the wine order, too. So...listen up, restos! It's time to get hip to the times, and recognize that no one seems to enjoy the old school male domination thing - esp when dining out.

Get the full survey results here

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

In my latest article for WineCountry.com, I revert to the always-obnoxious-but-oh-so-informative "IN" and "OUT" format for reviewing what's hot and not in wine in the new year. The intro and a summary of selections follows here in the blog, but be sure to link over to the original for the full scoop on what's new in the new.

As with every new year, 2009 will bring the birth of new wine trends and the departures of others. Some we'll be sad to see go (so long, cellaring for sport!), while others we'll barely miss (we're talking about you, overly alcoholic wines). No matter what, we predict you'll find lots of things to relish about the wine scene in '09, and along with them excuses for uncorking many a new bottle.

OUT: Heavy, Oversized Bottles
IN: Inexpensive, Aromatic Whites
OUT: Overly Alcoholic Wines
IN: Sustainable/Organic Winegrowing
OUT: Cellaring for Sport
IN: Cutting Carbon Emissions
OUT: Critter Labels
IN: Buying Local/Regional
OUT: Overly "Manufactured" Reds
IN: Wine Country Travel

Read the whole thing here.

Pictured: You guessed it, a critter label.

Posted by Courtney at 08:34 PM • Comments (0)

So my big sister took me to see Madonna last night for my birthday. It's - ahem - a big one, and it's right around the corner. But I digress. Last night rocked, and here's why: Not long after we arrived at the Oakland arena, we stopped outside of our (nose bleed) section to fish out our tickets. As I reached for mine, a woman brushed by me and knocked my tall cup of water all over the floor right at the entrance to our section. Not wanting anyone to miss seeing Madonna on account of a broken neck, we called out for help from two hipster types standing nearby with "official-looking" passes around their necks. "We don't work for the venue" they shot back, and so we were on our own to mop up the mess until a kind woman who DID work for the venue showed up with a mop. As we made our way past these same two hipster-types on the way into our section, one of them followed us up to our seats and sat down right next to me.

Continue reading "Madonna In Concert: Far More Sweet Than Sticky" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:26 PM • Comments (1)

Er, I feel a little bit badly about posting this, but I just can't help myself because it's so freaking funny. It shows two women at a winery (quite picturesque!), one of whom is a news reporter, stomping grapes in buckets as part of a promotion for an upcoming stomp competition at the winery. It's all fine and well until the reporter tries to step out of the bucket and stumbles, doing a face plant into some seriously icky looking stuff below. I don't think anything really bad happened to her, but she sounds pretty awful right after her fall. Bottom Line: A lesson in what NOT to do when participating in harvest activities.

Posted by Courtney at 10:59 PM • Comments (0)

I just wrapped a story about this year's gut wrenching growing season and harvest in Cali wine country for WineCountry.com. The piece includes input from some of my favorite (and most knowledgeable) people in wine country, The Hobo Wine Company's Kenny Likitprakong (winemaker), David Arthur Vineyards' Nile Zacherle (winemaker) and Medlock Ames Kenneth Rochford (general manager). I've excerpted the beginning here, and definitely click on the link to check out the rest at WC.com if you're looking for the scoop on what 2008 is shaping up to be like in the bottle.

(Pictured - I snapped thick smoke beyond the bocce court at Solage in Calistoga this summer.)

"Admittedly, California vintners have been through nothing if not the ringer this growing season. Starting with a devastating frost in late March - the worst on record in more than 30 years - that decimated as much as 30% of some vineyards' crop, 2008 has been a year that's tested the mettle of just about everyone close to winemaking in the Golden State, most of all those in hard-hit Northern California. To wit, on the heels of spring's frosts a series of devastating summer fires raged through wine country, causing winemakers to fret still more - this time about the potential impact the abundant smoke might have on their as-yet-unmade wines. Hard times, indeed..."

Continue reading at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 12:31 PM

Dang it, just when I thought wine was winning the booze battle hands-down, I get wind of the latest Gallup poll results, which show preferences among folks 30-49 years shifting - for the first time since 2002 - from wine back towards beer. In fact, the most recent results show beer in a double-digit lead over wine for the first time in years, something that makes me sad, since wine was doing SO WELL in its impressive march upwards in US consumer preferences in recent years. Even more of a bummer? Beer is the clear preference over wine among the 20-something set,

Continue reading "Beer Bullies Wine Once Again" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:41 AM

Given the surge of interest in so-called adventure tourism, it's no surprise that extreme activities have finally made their way to wine country. From mellow outings like deep-sea fishing and balloon rides to truly adrenaline-pumping options like skydiving and trapeze training, the options themselves are as varied as the highs they inspire.

Baby You Can Drive My Car
One of the most hair-raising things you can do in wine country is get behind the wheel of an Audi R8 and brave the hairpin turns and dramatic elevation changes at Infineon Raceway just south of Sonoma. We like Audi's all-inclusive package, which encompasses a wine country back roads tour, two nights' five-star lodging for two, catered meals and a day of racing along the breathtaking...

Continue reading "Extreme Wine Touring" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:21 AM

As part of the promotion for the recent Uncorked! Wine Festival at Ghirardelli Square - at which I gave a food and wine pairing seminar to a packed room at Cellar 360, so fun! - I appeared on the Bay Area's popular day time talk show, ABC's View From the Bay. In this clip also featuring View From the Bay's Nick Smith and local chef Kasey Passen, I chat about the festival and wine pairings for two delicious dishes prepared by Kasey - a summer salad and super rich chocolate dessert. Pictured here, a very funny moment at the end of the segment when Nick couldn't fit his hands into the gloves they gave him to roll the chocolate - we were all cracking up.

The clip should be live for about 60 days. Enjoy! Click on "continue reading" for the link.

Continue reading "I'm On View from the Bay - Woo Hoo!" »

Posted by Courtney at 08:20 AM

This is the first in a series of wine & food memories I'll be penning in the coming months. Enjoy ;)

The first time I went to Chez Panisse (to be honest, it was the Cafe at Chez Panisse, as I was a budding entrepreneur at the time and the cafe at lunch time was all I could afford) I brought a bouquet of roses for Alice Waters. I didn't know if she would be there, and I was rather embarrassed at my juvenile display of adoration (after all, I was all of 26 by then, and ought to have been well beyond the era of proffering gifts to authority figures, much like a schoolchild might offer up an apple to a first grade teacher)...

Continue reading "Nostalgia: Flowers for Ms. Waters" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:20 AM

Whew! What a busy week it's been! I was down in LA to host a tasting of Israeli wines as part of the festivities celebrating the 60th anniversary of Israel, then gave a chat at the UCLA Anderson School of Business, where I spent two very happy (if busy) years not long ago, and even managed to fit in a couple of meals at two Angeleno eateries I've been dying to check out - Osteria Mozza (props go out to my friend the GM and wine guru-about-town, David Rosoff) and Comme Ca, a super cute new bistro on Melrose across the street from the always fab Lucques...

Continue reading "Busy Week + Chateau Alone" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:52 PM

"In most films, the cast is comprised of seasoned actors who possess a vibrant screen presence and innate ability to charm the audience. But for a handful of movies in which wine itself plays a major role, we might as well add "mouthwatering" to the list of qualities a cast may claim. Encompassing major motion pictures, documentaries and even a mockumentary, our list of top films for wine lovers covers lots of territory - affording viewers plenty to digest when it comes to wine and the silver screen..."

List includes

Sideways * Mondovino * From Ground to Glass * French Kiss * A Good Year * Corked * A Walk In the Clouds * Bottle Shock * The First Emporer * The Jefferson Bottles

Continue reading my latest Top 10 List at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 11:58 AM

What an absolutely gorgeous day. Enjoy this lovely orchid I stashed in a used Jurancon bottle, in celebration of a mellow March departure. On, April!

Posted by Courtney at 05:26 PM

Woo hoo! I'm thrilled to announce my contribution to this month's issue of Maxim, that venerable publication of scantily clad pretty young things and useful man tips on everything from screws to booze. Cue moi - I selected the wines and did much of the writing for the "Quaff On the Cheap!" piece in the Expert section of the March issue. I chose my fav five widely-available inexpensive reds, which they photographed for the very cool piece, and wrote up my thoughts on why they'll appeal to the mag's readers. Read on for the list of wines and a link to check it out! ;)

Continue reading "Score, A Direct Hit (Courtney Writes for Maxim)" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:33 PM

I was pretty psyched when BUZZLogic - a SF-based technology consulting firm specializing in social media - asked me to participate in this week's video log about my blogging exploits. Shot at District wine bar in SoMa last week, the eight-minute spot features social networking banter against the backdrop of a wine tasting (Cold Heaven Viognier, yum). My only gripe - why did I have to wear the "bag" dress? Seems to have added some virtual poundage, eek.

Check it out here!

Posted by Courtney at 10:19 PM

"As with so many things in life, trends in food and wine come and go. One season, chefs scramble to pair Riesling with faddish new foam sauces, the next they're matching up Cabernet with the likes of PB&J. But a handful of tried-and-true pairings consistently rise above these of-the-moment fads, delivering the unsurpassed pleasure that can only result from an absolutely perfect marriage of food and wine. Read on for my favorites, and bon appetit.

Champagne & Caviar
With a tagline like "Champagne wishes & caviar dreams" it's no wonder the popular TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was such a hit. But this famous food and wine pair have more in common than just air time..."

Continue reading my latest Top 10 list at WineCountry.com, about the all-time best food and wine matches.

Posted by Courtney at 11:57 AM

Do you ever get that feeling that you've done something wrong? That you've somehow ignited a really lethal chain reaction of bad karma that's impossible to get out from under? For me, this has for some reason taken place (the alleged bad deed followed by said bad karma response) and is causing an inexplicably large number of wines I'm opening to be "off." In the last few weeks I'd say close to 30% of all the wines I've cracked have been oxidized, corked or infected with brett, the icky spoilage yeast that some un-shy women at my last tasting declared smelled like a "stinky baby diaper." And it did.

But I wonder - Perhaps it wasn't something I did, but a recent spooky event that took place? Like the lunar eclipse? (These same well-plied women insisted it had to be due to the lunar eclipse.) Whatever it was, I'm crossing my fingers its ill effects go away soon.

Or, perhaps I should appeal to some arbiter of wine spoilage to let me off the hook? After all, I didn't get into this business to drink icky wine. But where to find this unidentified sketchy wine guru??? Oy vey.

Posted by Courtney at 10:42 PM

As far as we're concerned, the Academy Awards are far more than just a glitzy star fest - they're one of the year's best excuses to break out a wine lineup as varied as the pictures and people being considered for the elusive Oscar. And whether your perfect pairing takes a cue from the films themselves or from something altogether more frivolous (yes, we're talking gowns here), come along for the ride as we riff on the program itself and some of this year's most celebrated films, suggesting wine pairings as we go. The envelope, please!

Verdicchio & Valentino

Viewers who think the red carpet is the real show come Oscar Day, listen up: The only thing better than seeing a superbly dressed starlet emerge from her limo is taking it all in while sipping a red carpet-ready wine. We like crisp, mineral-laced whites like...

Continue reading my latest Top 10 List at WineCountry.com

Posted by Courtney at 12:18 PM

I snapped this at a tree trimming the other weekend in Sausalito. We were all asked to make our own ornaments using construction paper and other craft supplies (a la kindergarten), and I'm sorry to say this ingenious creation wasn't mine. The sentiments, however, are spot-on mine. Here's to hoping we all get lucky this holiday, hopefully with lots of good wine in the mix. Cheers!

Posted by Courtney at 08:01 PM

I'm checking in (I know, at long last!) from this beautiful slice of northern Sonoma County where I've been spending some really nice QT with my fam over Thanksgiving. The sun setting on the Mayacamas is breathtaking, and I'm so thrilled to have been able to spend a few fantastic days relaxing in all this splendor after nearly two months of just about non-stop book touring.

Continue reading "Checking In from the Alexander Valley" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:30 PM • Comments (1)

Coming to you from sunny AZ, where I've just wrapped a TV segment and am literally running out the door to a signing put on by Phoenix's Changing Hands book store, Publishers Weekly's 2007 Bookseller of the Year! I love this very cute graphic they made to promote tonight's event. Nice! Also, I was amused to see several southwest stereotypes in full swing at my earlier TV interview, where just before I went on air to talk about Thanksgiving wines they had a gal with a petrified rattlesnake followed by an older gentleman showing his collection of pottery and paintings of the southwest landscape. I mean, how do you not love that?!

So far the only drawback to AZ is that my room service lunch came with a glass of stale wine. It will always smack of inappropriate to pull a "do you know who I am??", but have to admit that at that moment it crossed my mind. Have traveled too far to drink bad wine!! Still, I'm having fun.

More later, and thanks for checking in.

Posted by Courtney at 04:35 PM

Armed with two delicious-sounding audio books (literally, one's about cooking school adventures in Paris) and several plum outfits, I'm heading out today on the first leg of my book tour. I'll be hitting up San Diego on Tuesday for a radio spot on the local NPR syndicate (I'll try to update the blog tonight with more info on channel & time) and a book party that night at Jonathan's in La Jolla. Wednesday I'll be signing at Borders in LA's Westwood area, then hosting a private bash the next night. If you're down south, I'd love to see you! Cheers, CC

Illustration by Donna Mehalko, as seen in my book, Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine

Posted by Courtney at 12:19 AM

After tons of anticipation, long hours and many lattes, the big day has finally arrived - today is the national launch of my book, Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine! Inspired by the stylish and sometimes irreverent wine parties I've thrown over the past two years, the book brings the spirit of HIP TASTES Events to hip tasters all across the land.

Visit the brand new site dedicated to the book, hiptastesbook.com, to read early buzz (including a fab first review in the San Francisco Chronicle!), testimonials, retailer and book tour info, and to check out the fab "look inside the book" feature.

PS And, perhaps most importantly, please help me spread the word by sharing the news with friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, social networks and whomever else you think would like to learn more about the good stuff, in style.

Cheers! CC ;)

Posted by Courtney at 12:32 AM

It's been such a busy week with the impending book launch that I've hardly had a moment to jot down some thoughts and share pics from my AMAZING trip to Sonoma. It's rare that I take a break from work, and I definitely don't get out of the city enough, so when a winemaker friend invited me to go picking and shadow him for a few days during harvest (that's "crush" to the locals), I jumped at the opportunity.

Fresh back, I have to say that harvest is one of the most exhausting - and rejuvenating - times of the year in wine country...

Continue reading "Back From Harvest, But Still Crushing" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:18 PM • Comments (1)

I guess when you get two degrees from the same institution you've officially got a special bond with the place. There's no other way to explain the serious love I'm getting from my double alma mater, UCLA, which just published a fantastic piece on the new book and me at the Young Alumni portion of their web site. Check it out - they even created a freaking slide show of me!

What can I say, but Go Bruins!

Posted by Courtney at 06:38 PM

It's an absolutely GORGEOUS night here in SF, and the earlier part of the eve found me reconoitering with a couple of friends at the Metro Bar on Market (yes, gay friends, for those familiar with the locale). Comfortably seated in our perch high above the Castro, we couldn't stop talking about our upcoming trip to NYC for my splashy book party. But - perhaps more importantly - we were also kibbitzing over the soon-to-come book blitzkrieg - as in PR blitzkrieg. How can we blow this thing out of the water, we wondered? What's the publicity stunt that will push the Hip Tastes book into hyper sales territory, into hyper-royalty-returns and all the fame and fabulousness that go along with it?

Continue reading "High Speed Chase In the Hip Tastes Van (Or, How I Promoted My Book to Great Success)" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:21 PM

I'm picking grapes today and tomorrow with my friend Kenny in Russian River. This is my first foray into the real "getting your hands dirty" part of the wine biz, and I must say it feels long overdue. Kenny's been featured in the blog a bunch, so you can read about him here. I promise some fun tidbits about life "behind the scenes" during crush when I get back, so that those of you with office jobs rolling your eyes right now at my incredible luck can live vicariously. Maybe next year you'll play hookey and come with me, eh? Cheers.

Posted by Courtney at 12:36 AM

How do you get a room full of executives to do the wave while one of their colleagues belts out Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" at the front of the room? First you give them lots of wine, then you mistake one of them for offering "Celine Dion" instead of "Semillon" (sounds like say-me-yon) in response to a question about common white grapes found in France. I'd been drinking a bit along with them (occupational hazard), but I think it's pushing it to say I was tipsy...

Continue reading "Semillon or Celine Dion? You Decide." »

Posted by Courtney at 08:12 PM

Well, the time has finally come to try to transition from my trusty old (well, no longer so trusty) PC laptop to my sparkly new Mac. Trouble is, I had an easier time mastering the subtleties of financial accounting in business school than making this move. I bought the new goods - MacBook, lovely giant monitor, iPod, etc - from the Mac store nearly a month ago (don't EVEN get me started on that experience), and I'm still using my PC...

Continue reading "One Step Forward, Two Steps Mac" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:18 AM

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 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)

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

When I took a last minute trip to Sonoma last month "for vacation" I stopped by my favorite green winery, Medlock Ames (of course!). While I was there Kenny Rochford of Medlock caught me up on some new projects they've embarked on, including adding a sustainable vegetable garden to the property and fixing up an older building to make into a guest/hospitality suite. Besides hearing about all these goodies (and trying some fabulous soon-to-be-released wines!), Kenny showed me this cool biodynamic farming table, pictured.

Continue reading "Biodynamics Behind the Scenes" »

Posted by Courtney at 05:24 PM • Comments (1)

I've been in New York doing some early publicity for the book (official release date Oct 4, 2007), and want to share some AMAZING snaps I took in Central Park. Being here in late April means the city is FINALLY waking up from its long winter sleep, and everywhere I look trees are blooming and people are outdoors enjoying some of the first serious rays they've seen in a long time.

Continue reading "Spring in New York!" »

Posted by Courtney at 02:16 PM

When you live and park in San Francisco the natives can get a little testy if you don't follow the tacit rules of the road. One of these is that you never, EVER take up more space than you need when parking your ride. There are, as this "charming" note left on my windshield reiterates, simply not enough spaces to go around - and certainly not enough for any one undeserving soul to take up more than her fair share.

Continue reading "Why I love living in San Francisco" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:13 AM • Comments (4)

Who needs celebrities when you've got star-caliber wine? I was thrilled to check out the brand spanking new Hollywood K&L store on a visit to the southland this weekend, and things are sure looking dapper there. Besides a super friendly staff, the spot's got A-list wine, a swank tasting area just primed for fabulous in-house tastings and an unbeatable location in the heart of revitalized Hollywood.

Continue reading "Hollywood High Note" »

Posted by Courtney at 06:01 PM • Comments (3)

Sometimes I forget that dining is a sport in San Francisco. And I don't mean sport in a fun, recreational sort of way - no, I'm talking competitive sport here. I was patently reminded of this the other night when I met a food publicist pal out for dinner without a reservation at new SF hot spot Salt House.

Continue reading "SF Dining As Sport" »

Posted by Courtney at 06:24 PM • Comments (1)

My mom always told me that really big projects, like, oh, writing a book, tend to be the most stressful near the end, just before you're finished. You'd think it'd be the opposite - more scary in the beginning - but instead, people tend to tense up the most as they round the final bend and glimpse the finish line up ahead. Such is the case for me, but in my instance I'd attribute the jitters over my project not so much to a spontaneous neurosis related to finishing my book but to a bizarre and frustrating cluster of incidents that've occurred over the last week.

Continue reading "Of Stolen Cars & Trannie Cats" »

Posted by Courtney at 05:54 PM • Comments (3)

This important discovery just in from the French: Bubbles in Champagne are excited by bubble-formation hot spots located in hollow cellulose fibers such as those found in cloth and textiles, including wool. These bubble "nucleation" sites are responsible for creating the bubble strains that course up your Champagne flute in animated streams. The more cellulose pockets in a stray fiber, the more animated the bubbly "regime," as the French dubbed it, will be.

Continue reading "For Best Performance, Wear Wool" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:04 PM • Comments (2)

I've got to thank my buddy Rick Dobbs over at The Mixologist blog for bringing something to my attention that has great bearing on the lives of hip cocktailers concerned with keeping their waistlines trim enough to fit into the latest Marc Jacobs creation. The University of Rochester, gravely concerned with the measurements of weight-conscious drinkers across the land, recently released a listing of the calorie content in many of the alcoholic drinks we enjoy regularly, including your average glass of red wine (70 cals), rose (just 62) and dozens of brands of beer such as Amstel Light (99) and Dos Equis XX Special Lager (156). The most caloric cocktail registered a whopping 789 calories (Long Island, baby) while a Margarita registered a still-high-but-not-quite-so-shockingly-fattening 300.

Continue reading "Alcopops Anonymous" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:02 PM • Comments (2)

Word has it that global warming has finally hit the wine scene in a major way. According to a report in respected British wine pub Decanter earlier this month, ice wine - the fabulously expensive dessert wine made from frozen grapes - won't even be produced in much of the world due to unseasonably warm temperatures.

'All hope is lost' is how Ernst Buscher of the German Wine Institute frankly put it to Decanter.

Continue reading "Hot Damn!" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:06 PM • Comments (1)

Ok, so perhaps that's a little extreme. But in preparing to tuck into the really serious, crunch-time phase of writing the HIP TASTES book, I've been stocking up on household provisions to such an extent that I actually feel kind of like I'm preparing to go to war or something. I mean, I just spent $312.56 stocking my fridge and pantry with all this stuff. I couldn't quite believe the bill at the cash register at Safeway - truth be told I don't know if I've ever spent HALF this much on groceries!

Clearly, tough times (and an impending deadline) lie ahead. But at least I can rest assured knowing that when they arrive I'll have plenty of Lean Cuisines/dehydrated fruit/microwave oatmeal/Q-tips/garbage bags/Swiffer mop replacements on hand to handle the situation. Phew!

In other news, read on for some fun New Years pics. - CC

Continue reading "Preparing for the Siege (and NY pics)" »

Posted by Courtney at 10:26 PM • Comments (1)

No, really: small child, make me a martini, stat.

Why on earth would small children mix cocktails? Because they've read the hip new mommy/kid book, "Baby, Mix me a drink" by Lisa Brown! The tiny tome, which is made from the same heavy cardboard-like unbending pages as all baby books (see if you can tear THESE pages out, tot!), features just five cocktail "spreads," but it's big on visual stimuli. Brown, an illustrator by day and full-time Mom, tells the "story" via images: the opening drink, a martini, is illustrated with a bottle reminiscent of Bombay Sapphire gin, a Vermouth-like bottle, a shaker & olives and a completed martini - all tied together with plus signs and finally an equal sign before the completed drink (i.e. this plus this plus this equals that).

Continue reading "Baby, Mix me a drink" »

Posted by Courtney at 08:32 AM

Picture this: eclectic local art-smattered space teeming with Boho/grunge/fashionista types all tapping caffeinatedly away at Macs. The room buzzes not just with the effects of all the caffeine-induced energy but with something else as well - a low-humming excitement at just being there, amongst all the creative types. Translation: San Fran coffee haunt Ritual Roasters has got a very cool vibe, plus a very hip gaggle of hipster writer-types roaming around to match.

Continue reading "Cool Beans" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:35 PM

What kind of wines would she recommend? What would be her wine and food pairing MO? I ask these - admittedly - seemingly silly questions in response to a delightfully hilarious article I just read at CreativeLoafing.com comparing sommeliers to superheroes. Seriously. Problem was, the piece assumed the super somm was a man. The author, one Taylor Eason (very funny dude, although perhaps a bit sexist), contemplated the anonymity keeping Spiderman and Superman from realizing their true fame, even ruminating at one point "If the public knew them, wouldn't they be showered in enviable perks and get all sorts of chick play?" Hmm. Just what, I wonder, would female superhero somms replace "chick play" with when it comes to rewards for their super wine deeds?

Continue reading "If Wonder Woman Were a Sommelier" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:16 AM • Comments (2)

I must admit I've been totally divided on whether or not to write about this. But, when I consider what I've slogged through in the last year in terms of starting up my own business, taking a little flack for an honest mistake doesn't seem all that intimidating. Then again, I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there who'll read this and decide that I'm a total sham. For those of you who choose the latter path, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can only, instead, present things exactly as they happened and hope that you'll decide, in the end, that I'm a good sommelier who just happens to fuck up big time from time to time.

Continue reading "Oops, I will never do that again" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:40 PM • Comments (6)

FACT: San Franciscans spend more on books and booze (love that combo) than any other city in the nation according a federal survey released in 2003 (as reported by SFGate). Along those lines, I saw this fab plate on a car outside a restaurant on Hyde where I was dining Saturday night. I'm sorry to say that I forgot to note the make and model of the ride boasting such a cool plate - I was, after all, drinking myself. However, if the owner of said cool ride should see this - please identify yourself. A lot of people will think you rock (and that you may be extremely well read to boot). Cheers.

Posted by Courtney at 10:15 PM • Comments (2)

For the longest time I've been hankering to go to 'Wichcraft, the well-known NYC gourmet sandwhich outlet that's chatted up in seems like every NY food blog I read. So imagine my excitement when I heard the spot was opening a location in our new monolith mall, the Westfield Centre in SoMa! As I happened to be in that area Tuesday (opening day) for a midday tasting at Vino Venue I popped in. How was it? Let's just say I'm already trying to coerce my next lunch date to relocate our rendezvous to the spot. Yes, the 'wiches are that good.

Continue reading "A Wicked Good Lunch" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:25 AM • Comments (2)

The Wine Spectator reports that Italian road safety authorities are enraged that hotel heiress and debauchery-prone party girl Paris Hilton is promoting a new Italian bubbly called Rich Prosecco just after she was nabbed for DUI in Hollywood. USA Today counters that the latest in Paris' slip-ups just functions to boost her popularity, and probably won't hurt sales of the bubbly either (may even give 'em a little boost, much as her now famous video did for her own image not long ago). So, which is it - good or bad? Let's weigh in, shall we?

Continue reading "You Go Paris, Just Don't Drive" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:31 PM • Comments (2)

Now, let's be honest: does it really matter what you wear in the kitchen? Meaning, is your food inspired by what you're wearing when you concoct it? Probably not. Or, at least, not likely in professional kitchens, where they're almost invariably wearing chefs' whites and sterile accessories like starched aprons and clogs. But, deep down inside, I secretly hope that instead of clogs my chef will instead be shod in these fabulous Marc Jacobs heels, replete with multi-colored semi-psychedelic flare for good measure (and a lot of inspiration). Everyone, meet Jamie Lauren, '05 SF Chron Rising Star Chef and soon-to-be fabu food purveyor at Prana Resto.

Continue reading "My Chef Wears Marc Jacobs" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:00 PM • Comments (1)

When I got the invite to attend a rather exclusive opening event for a very hush hush new bar in town I must say my interest was piqued. Now that I've been to Bourbon & Branch and get what all the fuss is about I've got to say I'm glad I went. It's a Speakeasy, sort of, or at least a nod to the era when speakeasies were necessary. Clearly they're not now, which makes this place more about nostalgia and good cocktails than anything else. Oh, and because they plan to operate on a strictly reservation basis, you'll always be able to find a seat when you're there - the best thing I've heard about a bar in this town in a while.

Continue reading "Speakeasy, or Sit easy, as you like" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:10 AM • Comments (2)

In this last installment from my Postcards from Provence series I'd like to touch on some of the highlights of my trip that didn't make it into other entries, for various reasons. Some are small things, like my opinion on why French ATMs are more sophisticated than ours; some are extravagant and colorful, like my account of hitting the entire St. Tropez social circuit in 24 hours (whew!); and some are so seemingly insignificant you may be wondering why I bother to write about them at all (cue my philosophy on French tans).

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 8:
Je suis bloggeuse!" »

Posted by Courtney at 01:16 PM • Comments (4)

Alright, alright, so it's not what you think! For those in the know out there, Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the most famous estates in France's southern Rhone Valley, is known for having enormous stones in its vineyards.

So large, in fact, that standing amongst them feels sort of like what I imagine being in quicksand would be like. "Like quick sand, but quick stones," is the way the operation's sommelier, Fabrice Langlois, explained it.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 7:
Stoned at Beaucastel" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:14 PM • Comments (9)

Ok, I admit it: this entry is totally self gratuitous. Maybe it's because I miss Tasha Petunia. Maybe it's because I'm just a sucker for pets. Regardless, here you have it: PETS OF PROVENCE!!! My sister and I have been snapping some amazing pet pics throughout our travels and really want to share the best of them with you. I assure you: these are the cream of the cream of Provencal pets! That is to say, la creme de la creme, pour vous qui parlez francais.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 6:
Pets of Provence" »

Posted by Courtney at 02:17 PM • Comments (2)

Ever since I arrived at the house here in St. Paul de Vence I've had an intense sense of deja vu. It's probably because I came here and stayed with a French family on the Riviera for a summer exactly 10 years ago, in a little village called Mougins right next door to Cannes. Everything - from the Boules players in the village squares to the yacht-clogged harbors of the port cities to the ubiquitous glasses of rose wine - reminds me of a time past. Fortunately, one slight deviation from the past is that I'm now able to drink much more of the fabulous pink wine than I was permitted to as a teenager the last time around.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 5:
Extremely Pale Rose All the Time" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:39 AM

Ok, so I know that Bordeaux isn't technically in Provence, but I'm really liking the Postcards from Provence motif I've got going on here so I'll appreciate everyone's suspending their disbelief for one more entry. I'm in Provence NOW, while writing this recap of our fantastic stay in Bordeaux, so hopefully that's geographic rationale enough for all of you.

Speaking of Bordeaux, I was beyond pleasantly surprised at the city and our winery visits. A staunch Burgundy fan who's visited that amazing region several times, I've got to say my expectations of Bordeaux were rather low given its reputation for being a region full of large, corporate-run impersonal estates. I'm happy to say we found the estates - even the big ones, yes - welcoming, the people warm, and the city a surprisingly fun place to hang out. Seriously!

Pictured: us amidst vines at Chateau Lascombes

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 4:
Lynch-Bages, Lascombes & Tepid Tunny In Bordeaux" »

Posted by Courtney at 07:39 AM • Comments (3)

Everyone, meet Rodolphe de Pins, current winemaker-owner at Chateau de Montfaucon, a southern Rhone estate that's been around for just about a Millenium. Davis-educated, world-traveled, and totally down-to-earth, de Pins is in the process of rejuvenating his family's ancient estate and turning out some really excellent wines. In the process, he's beautifully marrying new methods with old locations and philosophies, as evidenced in his outfitting the estate's 500-year-old winery with new equipment and barrels. The result is a totally functional and appealingly harmonious coming-together of old and new, all situated just beneath his family's 1000-year-old chateau on the hill.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 3
Family Ties:
A Thousand Years Isn't Old in the Rhone" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:32 AM • Comments (3)

"It is a very good day. We got a new tractor and the cicadas didn't start singing until 9AM."

So began our wonderful day at Moulin de la Gardette, a small family-run estate in the Gigondas district of France's southern Rhone Valley about 45 minutes from Avignon. We spent a total of about five and a half hours with Jean Baptiste Meunier, the jovial owner and winemaker, during which time he showed us the grounds, the vines, the winery and the surrounding village before hosting us at a lovely luncheon in the town square. JC and I left with a feeling of total contentment and a conviction that if we are ever reincarnated as grapes, we'd like to be some of Moulin de la Gardette's.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE Part Deux:
Good Vibes & Van Halen in Gigondas" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:51 AM • Comments (1)

Things got off to a very good start today after I disembarked from my red eye from NYC. Amazingly enough, my good pal and travel partner in crime JC was right on time meeting me at the Bordeaux airport, our chosen spot of contact for this leg of the trip. After high fives and mutual congratulations on our improbable promptness, we set out in our rented Peugeot for none other than Chateau Margaux, one of the five illustrious first growths of this great region, and an absolutely gorgeous spot.

Continue reading "POSTCARDS FROM PROVENCE 1:
Blondes Have More Fun At Chateau Margaux" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:35 AM • Comments (4)

I've always thought of wine as the ultimate interpreter. As interpreter par excellence of place, of people, of culture. I think there are other things that also capture time and momentum and the spirit of of an era. Film and music come to mind as the clearest examples of this ability of one thing to encapsulate so many different things cultural and temporal.

But wine, in its abstractness, like art becomes a sort of kaleidoscopic lense to view the world it comes from. What you get from wine, then, is not a pure reflection of things but instead a refracted, reinterpreted and ultimately more adventurous view of reality, one where ordinary things take on extraordinary qualities, and the sum of a thousand tiny influences takes on a new identity at once familiar and totally unique. And you can experience all this in a single glass of wine.

* pictured: Medlock Ames marketing guru Kenneth Rochford, as seen through my glass with the winery in the distance

Continue reading "Through the Looking Glass
The Wine Glass, That Is" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:09 AM • Comments (1)

Tired of aimlessly wandering the aisles of your local wine store like a bargain hunter at a played-out sample sale? Know your Two Buck Chuck from your Opus 1, but everything else in between seems...the same?

No more! It's time to feel fabulous about every bottle of wine you crack open, something the new HIP TASTES Wine Club makes possible, whether you live in San Fran, NYC or Wanker's Corner (yes, this place actually exists, in Oregon; we can currently ship to 30 states including CA, NY and OR). Take your pick from shipments of 2, 4, 6 or 12 bottles and get ready to start drinking more adventurous wines, which'll be delivered right to your door regularly so you have to do nada, natch.

Continue reading "And Then There Was a Wine Club" »

Posted by Courtney at 07:53 PM • Comments (1)

Who knew that Turtle, the unofficial "house manager" of the LA mansion housing the stars of this hit HBO show, could sniff out "lead pencil" in a glass of red wine? I almost fell out of my chair when Jerry Ferrara, the actor who plays Turtle, let this descriptor slide during the show's most recent episode, "Guys and Doll".

The best part was that the rest of the guys were totally oblivious - per usual - to Turtle's subtle genious. You see - Turtle's got a lot going on, he just doesn't get a lot of cred for it amongst this crew.

Continue reading "Entourage's Turtle: Secret Sommelier" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:31 AM

My sister called me the other day more upset than I'd heard her sound in a long time. "Dude," she said to me. "Yes?" I replied. "I've got viral pink eye." Doh! I thought immediately, Homer Simpson's catchall bummer phrase perfectly appropriate. You see, Claire's bday was coming up, and this pink eye thing put a major monkey wrench in her plans. Apparently pink eye - in both eyes nonetheless - is seriously contagious for at least 5 to 7 days' time. Her birthday is this weekend. She's had to cancel all celebrations and revelry. And, worst of all, she can't even see anyone for fear of transmitting the virus. Homegirl can't even go to WORK. It's sort of like solitary confinement, except that your boss still expects you to electronically transmit your work from your prison cell.

Continue reading "Of Pork and Pink Eye" »

Posted by Courtney at 06:04 PM • Comments (1)

Capri Suns are SO last year.

Although it seems like the 80s since I sucked one down (probably because it was), I couldn't help but reminisce when I took the plunge and bought Three Thieves' Bandit Pinot Grigio not long ago. The reason Suns came to mind is that the Grigio's packaged in this very cool juice-box-reminiscent...well, box. It's lime green and has three gun-wielding dudes on horses on the front. AND, there's booze inside, not some lame imitation non-alcholic fruit juice.

Yeah, NOW we're talking.

Continue reading "The Juice Box, All Grown Up" »

Posted by Courtney at 11:38 PM

Ok, so I know this is a little silly, but I couldn't resist because it's JUST SO FANTASTICALLY RANDOM. These are, quite simply, pics of my sister and me beating drums while drinking wine. What is the point, you may be asking? Don't overthink this people - there is none. However, I DO think it makes a great excuse to solicit pics from you readers posing in other bizarre situations with wine. Ever been snapped on the Great Wall with a little Puligny? Or been caught in the tub with some real bubbly? If so, then I want YOU! I mean, your pics, sorry.

Send your submissions to info@hiptastes with the subject "bizarre wine pic" and please include a few sentences about who you are and what you were doing at the time. I'll republish in the near future with the best ones.

Continue reading "Drinking to Our Own Beat" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:57 PM • Comments (1)

Naomi Campbell's ego. China's Great Wall. Dolly Parton's breasts.

There are some things that aren't ashamed of being big. That's my favorite thing about Petite Sirah, a monster of a grape that makes wines aptly described as "full throttle" by fans. Inky purple in color and loaded with ripe red and black fruit, spice, pepper and healthy tannin, Petite Sirah is truly one of the wine world's biggest wines.

A long misunderstood wine, Petite Sirah's history is still something of a mystery to most people. And because I've seen it more and more on restaurant wine lists and in retail stores lately, I decided to do a little research into its history and makeup.

Continue reading "PS: Nothing Small About It" »

Posted by Courtney at 04:08 PM • Comments (1)

The geeks did it in Revenge of the Nerds. Straight-legged jeans made their way back into the mainstream just this season. Heck, even carbs are making a comeback. And now California vintners are doing it with Merlot.

You see, Merlot is the new anti-Pinot, the grape that will soon have all of us scratching our heads and saying, "but, I thought I didn't want any fucking Merlot."

Maybe you should re-think that last statement.

Continue reading "Revenge of the Merlot" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:00 PM

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

Well, well, it seems that body art does indeed last longer than love. Love of a woman, that is. Uber famous and much tattooed actor Johnny Depp recently confessed to having his "Winona Forever" tattoo abbreviated (via laser) to read "Wino Forever."

No joke. Apparently the rebellious actor known in the past for trashing hotel rooms and dating some of Hollywood's hottest women (such as, obviously, Winona Ryder) has a serious crush on top Bordeaux. Decanter.com reports that in an interview with Madame Figaro magazine the actor announced that Chateau Calon-Segur, a Saint-Estephe third-growth, is his favorite wine.

Continue reading "Out with Winona, In with Wino" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:30 AM

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

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

Ok, so you can't actually drink these grounds, but they look pretty cool, don't they? The heavy sediment that vintage port throws is what's in this coffee filter, not the genesis of your morning cup of joe. I decanted an 18 year old bottle of the old but good stuff recently and this is what I got.

I must admit that I had forgotten about this very necessary process (decanting) that must be done to all vintage port before consuming. In my sommelier classes my instructor had done it before class time, and so when the vintage was poured for tasting I didn't make the connection with the delicious stuff in my glass and the fairly intense decanting process that had made it possible.

Continue reading "Grounds for Drinking" »

Posted by Courtney at 12:43 PM

At a charity wine auction I attended recently someone jokingly put a bottle of infamous Thunderbird Wine on the $100 table, with its 99 cent price tag brazenly still stuck to the top of the bottle. I appreciated this person's humor so much that I purchased the bottle and determined to make a decent cocktail out of the stuff.

Enter much contemplation and some online research to draw inspiration. I discovered several things during the course of this research, and the end result was only a greater conviction to somehow transform the boozey wine so that, although it might never compete with cocktails made from some of the world's more venerable cocktail ingredients - top notch vodkas and winning vermouths come to mind - it might at least transform the nearly undrinkable nature of T-bird into something you can actually get down without choking.

Continue reading "The Bird is Back" »

Posted by Courtney at 06:15 PM

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

What do Pinocchio, Cyrano de Bergerac, Miss Piggy and many other lesser known olfactorily gifted individuals have in common? You guessed it: they all have huge noses.

The state of having a large schnoz - a condition that has provoked countless individuals to fret about their appearance and sent droves to cosmetic surgeons over the years - is actually a good thing when it comes to drinking wine. The reason is that tasting wine is really much more about SMELLING the stuff than it is about DRINKING it. Here's why:

Continue reading "Nose Knows Best" »

Posted by Courtney at 09:06 PM

Sony Pictures Entertainment recently announced that it will promote its upcoming $80 million film Memoirs of a Geisha using non-traditional marketing tie-ins such as clothing and make-up. In addition to a limited-availability line of Kimono-esque dresses from Banana Republic, the campaign will feature sake-infused oils and beauty products from Fresh, Inc., a cosmetics company and subsidiary of Paris-based luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton SA (try fitting that on your corporate letterhead).

Continue reading "Some sake with your...lipstick?" »

Posted by Courtney at 03:45 PM

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

Most of the cocktail-sipping world will immediately recognize the name "Grand Marnier" as one of the preeminent top-shelf liqueurs your hard-earned paycheck can buy. At about $70 a bottle for the entry-level version of the orange-flavored liqueur, it's hardly cheap stuff. But even the cognac cognoscenti may not be aware that the renowned producer of the stuff, owned by French luxury goods group LVMH,

Continue reading "Say What?" »

Posted by Courtney at 01:22 PM

As if the British-based conglomerate Virgin Group didn't already have it all, they've added a wine label, Virgin Vines, to their stable of travelmeetsmobilemeets-
entertainmentmeets...stuffy sommeliers and high end stemware? Hardly. Mogul Richard Branson's latest venture, launched during New York Fashion Week last month, features two varietals--Chardonnay and Shiraz--in screw top-topped faddish packaging aimed at the under-30 set. With a rather poser-ish (sorry, Rich) Flash-animated website aggressively aimed at denoucing all snobbery associated with wine, the whole thing smacks more of a marketing gimmick than a serious vinous effort. It's probably no surprise, then, that that's exactly what it is.

Continue reading "Screw This" »

Posted by Courtney at 01:45 PM

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

For my first post EVER I thought I'd include a pic and keep it short 'n sweet. Keep your eyes peeled for future posts chock full of the latest and hippest in wine gear, gadgets & the good stuff itself. Until then, I will leave you with one of my favorite wine quotes, from a fellow sommelier I've never actually met but whose site I just happened to blunder upon and think he sounds like a pretty cool afficionado:

For me, a great glass of wine is something pleasing not only to the taste buds, but also nourishes the soul's yearning for the understanding of man's place in the universe.
- Jeff Morgenthal, Master Sommelier candidate

Thanks, Jeff. I think that's pretty cool - a bit deep, but hey, you go. I sense your enthusiasm for the stuff 'n I like it. Until next time...sante!