April Apr 06
10:10 am CDT-
Wine & Food: Divorced?
A recent New York Times article on the split of wine from food had me thinking. A significant percentage of wine in the United States is not drunk during a meal, according to a new consumer survey. Has there truly been a separation of enjoying wine with food? What happened to wine pairing? Do cheeses and truffles play a part anymore? My mind is spinning and I haven’t even had anything to drink!
The more important question is: how does this change wine-making? Does the industry start making and blending wine for a palette that doesn’t have any food with their glass of vino? One good thing I take away from this article is that the number of wine drinkers has gone up. It is good to see that wine has become more accessible to a larger audience over the last few years. Hopefully, with the influx of wine bars, proprietors in the wine industry continue to strike a balance with different ways that wine can be enjoyed. In my hearts of hearts, I believe that wine and food should stand together. Maybe not necessarily full-on meals but definitely snacks, cheeses, chocolates, nuts, etc. You can try to separate wine and food but ultimately the two will always have a symbiotic relationship. To me, wine just tastes “better” paired with a complimenting bite of food. If anything, wine, when paired with an hor d’ourve, can bring out many more dimensions and notes to the experience than on its own. Sure, good wine can stand alone…but it sure is a lonely world out there.
filed under wine and tagged article, food, leisure, life, separation, wine. | | | No Comments »
November Nov 16
06:40 am CDT-
JAQK Wine
Very cute branding from JAQK Cellars in Napa Valley. I really dig the small touches such as the messages on the corks. Wine should taste good and, in this case, be playful too!
filed under wine and tagged JAQK Cellars, napa, wine. | | | No Comments »
January Jan 11
09:43 am CDT-
iPouch
My two favorite things: 1) iPhone (or iPod) and 2) collecting wine corks
Put them together and you get the iPouch. Ryan Frank is genius.
filed under design, product design, wine and tagged gadgets, iPhone, ipod, iPouch, tech, wine. | | | No Comments »
June Jun 08
18:27 pm CDT-
Gary Vaynerchuk at The Corkscrew in Houston
Saturday night was an eventful night for the Houston creative community. Not only were we celebrating the grand opening of Caroline Collective but we were also raising our glasses at The Corkscrew with Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary had an insane traveling schedule this past week. I believe he had some 7 flights in 7 days! Recently, Gary has been flying coast to coast for his book tour, the Houston Food & Wine Week, SEED conference in Chicago and even the Bravo TV awards show in New York. Houston was very lucky that Gary fit us into his hectic schedule despite all the traveling and consecutive nights of little sleep. The man is a machine! More importantly though, all of us who got to share a conversation or two with Gary were blessed to experience his incredible energy and passion for life and true happiness. Gary is more than just a wine guy. He is a great guy who infects everyone he meets with a euphoric impression. After meeting with Gary, you can’t help but to think how well he has branded himself. I think there is a lot more in stored for Gary Vaynerchuk beyond his wine business, daily video blog or any future book deals. Gary has many more mediums to conquer and many more unsuspecting fans to win over.
If you get a chance, go visit Gary while he’s on his book tour. I promise you will walk away extremely fulfilled by the experience as I was. Here’s a video of Gary addressing his supporters at The Corkscrew last night. I don’t know one person who walked away from the party last night who wasn’t, at the very least, intrigued by his genuine desire to personally meet all of those who came out to support him. Houston thanks you, Gary! We hope you enjoyed it just as much as we did.
filed under events, good people, social media and tagged book, caroline collective, corkscrew, fans, gary vaynerchuk, garyvee, houston, marketing, party, supporters, tour, tweetup, tx, wine. | | | 2 Comments »
June Jun 07
08:14 am CDT-
Gary Vaynerchuk at The Corkscrew in Houston Tonight
Gary Vaynerchuk will make a special appearance at The Corkscrew on Washington Avenue tonight (June 7th) at 10:30 pm following the end of the Houston Food & Wine Week. For all the fans who couldn’t make it out to the Woodlands, here is your chance to see Gary in Houston. This should be a great time so grab your friends and stop by The Corkscrew tonight. Let’s end Gary’s trip to Houston on a high note! Can’t wait to see everyone there.
filed under announcements, events, social media and tagged "101 wines", corkscrew, gary, garyvee, houston, party, tweetup, vaynerchuk, wine. | | | No Comments »
June Jun 03
19:31 pm CDT-
Gary Vaynerchuk
Last night, I had the honor of meeting Gary Vaynerchuk. Most people know him as the host from winelibrarytv.com or perhaps a die-hard NY Jets fan. I’m fortunate to now know him as a genuinely great guy who loves life. I think I walked away with many more lessons on life, family, and finding real happiness then lessons about wine. As a self-professed Vayniac, I tune in to his daily video blogs and “follow” him on Twitter but getting the chance to converse with him face to face went completely beyond my expectations. Gary brings life into the room and soul into a conversation. When Gary speaks, you can’t help but see the passion he brings to the table. People flock to him and it isn’t hard to see why. Gary has a magnetic personality.
As I got to know Gary a little bit, I found that we share similar backgrounds in respects to our immigrant family background and life growing up within that structure. I had a mother who was an owner of a spirits/wine store and it was funny to share laughs and memories about parents putting their young children to work in the store. As the evening went on, it struck me that Gary epitomizes how people should treat one another. I think it’s pretty powerful that one person can inspire change like that. Perhaps Gary V could be the one to give Obama a run for his money in this election. Instead of “change,” Gary’s slogan could be “thunder.” Bring it.
Go buy his book! Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World
Laughing is so much fun.