Instead of going to the European Wine Bloggers Conference this year in Vienna, I put those plans on hold when I was nominated and then selected for a makeover and to speak at this year’s Women’s Conference in Long Beach.
Preparing for this event kept me very busy! I apologize for neglecting this blog and promise to get back to it! I have some great wines I am looking forward to reviewing–and I’m going to talk about glasses, too!
So what have I been doing? After getting the house ready for filming the “before” section, going down to Hollywood for a fitting and more filming, finding a theme song, and more, I went to work on taking advantage of the opportunity to be in front of as many as 10,000 women–and being listed as speaker at such an important conference! (Read about preparing for the conference here.)
In the past few weeks, I prepared and published a limited edition of a poetry collection (a regular edition will be released by en theos press December 2010), and I worked with graphic artists and printers to have new business cards and bookmarks to promote my book and my business, The Write Alley Coaching and Writing Strategies.
Read more about my makeover here:
Today was the BIG DAY, the day of the Style Network “How Do I Look” show’s big reveal of myself and three other women at the Women’s Conference in Long Beach, California. It was also the “Day of Transformation and Healing” at the Women’s Conference with lots of amazing speakers including Deepak Chopra and Tony Robbins. Unfortunately, I was only able to get a very small taste of the conference. (More on that in a later blog post; a blog post from … Read More
Tonight we celebrated the release of my new poetry collection, Middle of the Night Poems from Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son from en theos press–and we chose champagne, of course!
Actually, Grandin, to be precise, is a French sparkler NOT from Champagne but from the Loire Valley. I picked up at a tasting at a local restaurant featuring wines from the Henry Group and others. I paid around $20 for it and found it a refreshing change from the typical supermarket sparklers which most of us more commonly enjoy. It offers fine bubbles and lots of complexity–not sweet or fruity, but nutty (almond and hazelnut) with lots of acid (lime? lemon?), spice, and yeast.
We had the Grandin with a dinner of fresh shrimp right off the boat, simply prepared in butter and garlic, with pasta, and I have to admit that it was gone before I realized I lacked sufficient wine notes to say much about it except that, given the opportunity, I would absolutely buy it again.
Read more about Middle of the Night Poems from Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son from en theos press, the poetry collection we were celebrating, below. By the way, this is NOT a collection of poetry about wine…but poetry by someone who LOVES wine!
Just in time for the Women’s Conference in Long Beach on Monday, I have 108 signed limited edition copies of my new poetry book, Middle of the Night Poems From Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press). I also put my “chop” on it: a special jade stamp the traditional red wax with my name in Chinese. The signed limited edition published for the Women’s Conference will be available at the Devone Designs Perfect Fit Jewelry display in the … Read More
Last week I was invited by the Tasting Panel to test drive the winners from the San Francisco International Wine Competition for myself. The event, held at Waterloo and City near Venice in Los Angeles, was self paced and self pour and organized in a recommended order. Friend Kathy Talley joined me; we didn’t always agree so it was fun to compare notes. Here are some observations: Continue reading →
It seems to me that if a winery donates wine for an event, the wine should be respected: served in wine glasses by someone who knows a bit about the wine, and with information about the wine available.
So when Frei Brothers donated several cases of wine to me to use at various arts, cultural, and environmental events, I spent some time becoming familiar with the wine and producing materials for a display on the table for those interested in learning more. I would also be pouring the wine.
Last spring I enrolled in a 14 week Women’s Economic Ventures Self-Employment Training class and wrote a business plan for “The Write Alley Coaching and Writing Strategies.” As a writing coach, I work with small businesses owned by women, artists, and wineries on writing and using social media tools; I am available to provide content as well.
The day I signed up, my husband broke his C2. With help from my family and friends, I graduated with honors, served as class speaker AND I nursed my husband to a full recovery. I was ready to get in the swing of business and blogging when I was offered two summer school classes which started the same week as the Wine Blogger’s Conference–the equivalent of working time and a half. How could I say no to a paycheck like that after being on unemployment while my husband was on disability for four months? As the term neared the close, my mother, one of my coaches, and someone I was going to be coaching on developing a blog and publishing a series of books, died suddenly and unexpectedly.
Because of the challenges I faced this past year, WEV nominated me to the Women’s Conference to speak and get a makeover.
And yesterday I was selected for this amazing opportunity. Learn more below.
I don’t think of myself as the auditioning for a reality show type of person. Yet that’s what I found myself doing nearly three weeks ago when I was nominated by Tea Silvestre of Women’s Economic Ventures for a makeover by the Style Network show “How Do I Look?” hosted by Jeannie Mai. The big “reveal” is slated to be held on the Main Stage of the Women’s Conference as part of the Day of Transformation and Healing with Maria Shriver interviewing t … Read More
The annual Black Rock Arts Festival aka Burning Man is currently a huge happening out in the Nevada Desert northeast of Reno.
And that’s where I’d like to be this Wine Wednesday, tasting and talking wine at the Black Rock Wine Cellar centrally located on the Esplanade and 7:30 near center camp.It would also be a super fun place to participate in tomorrow’s Cabernet Day organized by Rick Bakas.
Welcome to the Black Rock Wine Cellar, the premier provider of refrigerated wine storage to the citizens of Black Rock City! Established in 2008 by the Golden Cafe, the Black Rock Wine Cellar and its subterranean wine storage facility exist for one week each year, during the Burning Man arts festival. The unrelenting heat and dessicating air of the Black Rock Desert is no place for wine! If you have a special bottle in need of tender loving care, we invite you visit us on the playa and speak to our sommelier.
There is no fee for storage, and you need not share the sweet nectar with us, although we will likely be proud to share some of our own favorite bottles with you. Our unique service is made possible through monetary donations to support the storage, transport, and operation of our refrigeration infrastructure, as well as donations of exotic breads and cheeses to sustain our dedicated staff of wine snobs. Most importantly, if you have experience in excavation or masonry, we need you on our construction team!
Curious to learn more about Burning Man? I attended my first Burn in 1992, I’ve written a lot about Burning Man over at Art Predator.
When I heard about the benefit concert for VCCool Saturday, August 28th at Zanzilla (2750 East Main Street, Ventura), I offered to contact Frei Brothers Winery to see whether they would donate wine for the event.
Why Frei Brothers? Because VCCool works on issues of sustainablity for people and planet, including bicycle safety, local food policy, natural building, sustainable community planning, and so much more. VCCOOL is a global warming or climate change activist group. They promote ways to reduce your carbon footprint and they organize events like the bike rodeo. VCCOOL Members live consciously and purchase food, wine and products that are produced sustainably. The VCCOOL fund raising concert will offer traditional, old time good time music and room to dance for $20. Members are making treats and there will be non-alcoholic drinks as well as wine pours for $5 each from Frei Brothers.
And so why Frei Brothers? Because at the Wine Blogger’s Conference 2009 in Santa Rosa CA, I tasted the Frei Brothers syrah (yum!) and learned about their pro-environment policies. For a rather large organization (200,000 cases), Frei is trying its best to be good to the land that the brothers have been responsible for for for over 100 years.
Frei Brothers is driven by an “overriding principle to conduct business in a manner that will protect and preserve the environment.” This includes exceeding government regulations and setting aside an acre of land for every one planted with vines to protect the natural environment in which indigenous animals live. This blog post by Rob Bralow includes an interview with Chief Viticulturist Jim Collins discussing specifics. Not to mention that Frei makes great wine; just to make sure, I tested out a glass of the chardonnay last night–nice and balanced, it will be a pleaser today chilled down!
So enjoy Frei Brothers Reserve Wine while mingling with friends new and old, and getting down with the music of: The Jug or Nots (jug band), the Rachel Morris Little Big Band ( original works including “Earth Day” and “White Trash Boy”), and Mule Skynner (classic rock). The VCCool Benefit concert is held in yoga studio of Zan Ferris who graciously donated her gorgeous space for this event. This hidden oasis and the music too, can be found below Smart and Final off Main. Directions
Frei Brothers generously donated four cases (two syrah, one chardonnay, and one cabernet) so there will wine for an upcoming pro-arts and cycling event also Sept 3 at Art City. Thank You Frei Brothers, for doing right by the land and for your donation!
Instead of going to the European Wine Bloggers Conference this year in Vienna, I put those plans on hold when I was nominated and then selected for a makeover and to speak at this year’s Women’s Conference in Long Beach.
When I heard about the benefit concert for VCCool Saturday, August 28th
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 