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Aug
23
Mortons & Mondavis Collaborate on Nationwide Wine Event
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Morton's The Steakhouse and the Mondavi family are planning a nationwide wine dinner and charity auction on October 7, 2010 at Charles Krug Winery's historic Carriage House in Napa Valley to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The gathering will be broadcast simultaneously to 54 Morton's private dining rooms via satellite.
The evening's hosts will include Michael Mondavi of Folio Fine Wine Partners, Tim Mondavi and Marcia Mondavi Borger of Continuum Estate, and Peter Mondavi, Sr., Peter Mondavi, Jr. and Marc Mondavi of Charles Krug Winery.
The event will kick off an online auction of the first-ever red wine produced by the extended Mondavi family, Siamo Insieme, which means "We are Together" in Italian. The Mondavi family has collaborated to produce a 27-liter bottle (called a primat); a unique blend of Napa Valley grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, produced and blended by the second and third generation of the Mondavi family especially for this event. This bottle will be auctioned online on Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.'s website October 7, 2010 through October 30, 2010, with 100 percent of the winning auction bid benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Guests in 54 Morton's locations will be served the same menu and wines as guests at the Charles Krug Carriage House in Napa Valley. Menu items include tenderloin crostini and miniature crab cakes paired with Charles Krug - Peter Mondavi Family, Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, 2009; a harvest green salad topped with sea bass and roasted caper vinaigrette paired with Isabel Mondavi, Sonoma Carneros, Chardonnay 2008; an entree of New York strip sirloin, baked sweet onions with Gruyere, a roasted tomato stuffed with leap spinach and roasted Yukon Gold potato paired with Continuum, Napa Valley, 2007, M by Michael Mondavi, Animo Vineyard, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Charles Krug - Peter Mondavi Family, Napa Valley, VS Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006. The meal ends with cappuccino cream paired with Charles Krug - Peter Mondavi Family, Napa Valley, Zinfandel Port, Lot XIII.
Each Morton's private dining room is equipped with 1080i high-definition programming; a nine-foot screen and theatre-quality surround sound. Members of the Mondavi family's fourth generation will host the event at select locations around the country, from San Francisco to Miami to New York. At each restaurant location, guests will be invited to bid in a silent auction for a trio of premium wines, featuring an autographed bottle from Charles Krug Winery, Continuum Estate and Folio Fine Wine Partners. 100 percent of the winning auction bids from the wine trios will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tickets are $175 per person.
By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com
Aug
22
Pour Your Champagne The Beer Way
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Want to get the most bubbles out of your bubbly? Scientists (French scientists of course) have discovered that the best way to keep your sparkling wines effervescent is to pour it in a "beer-like" way.
Instead of pouring straight into the glass and waiting for the bubbles to settle before adding more, the best way is to pour the way you would to minimize the head on a beer, by tilting the glass and pouring the liquid down the side of the glass. This way the Champagne keeps its bubbles longer. The flute is also better at holding bubbles than the charming old-fashioned champagne coupes.
The French research found that the serving Champagne at lower temperatures helps keep it fizzy.
By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com
Aug
8
Jeannie Cho Lee Is the Asian Wine Market’s Own Julia Child
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Gary V.'s got nothing on Jeannie C.
The wine and Asian food pairings Jeannie Cho Lee dreams up are about as diverse as her background: Master of Wine from the Institute of Masters of Wine in London and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Born in Seoul, raised in the U.S., and now residing in Hong Kong where she's raising four children, Lee is the first Asian Master of Wine, and at the heart of the explosion of the Asian wine market. (Christie’s recently announced that the prominent Korean business house, SK Networks, will be auctioning off over 100 cases of premiere wines in Hong Kong next month.) Her work is, in many ways, an exercise in targeted messaging — that is, how to present her fusion sense of wine culture to an Asian audience that has its own customs and rituals and yet is less familiar with what she was exposed to growing up in the West.
It’s entrepreneurs like her that gnaw at your brain when you're questioning whether to pursue your ultimate dream or not. I mean, really, switching from public policy to fancy food and wine? We’ve all been at that point, the crossroads between practicality and creativity, and thanks to Lee we’ve got one more success model to look up to. And oh yeah, we get to enjoy her awesome recipe, wine, and restaurant suggestions as well. (Take a look at her blog for more on that). Without further ado, FastCompany.com presents to you Master Lee and the inside scoop on how she carved out a niche market for herself in crowded Hong Kong.
Source :: Fast Company
Jun
23
Whitesnake Launching New Wine
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What do pro golfers, porn stars, Oscar-winning actors and rock stars have in common? Celebrity wine. The latest entry into this packed field comes from 1980s hair metal band Whitesnake. Oh yes, they are still around and releasing the Whitesnake Zinfandel 2008 through De La Montanya wines on July 1. The Whitesnake website describes it as a “bodacious, cheeky little wine, filled to the brim with the spicy essence of sexy, slippery Snakeyness,” adding in a play on one of their hits: “Is this love?… I believe it is…” It will sell for around $30.
De La Montanya is a family winery that produces approximately 4,500 cases per year using grapes spanning five appellations from the Sonoma Coast to Lake County in Northern California. This isn’t their first rock star collaboration, they created the 2005 “Wanna Go Back” 2005 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, a collaboration with Eddie Money as well as a wine with Journey.
By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com
Jun
8
Jack Nicklaus Debuts New Wine Label
Filed Under Wine Labels, Wine Marketing | Comments Off
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus and Terlato Wines have released a new line of Nicklaus-branded wines. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Private Reserve, a Bordeaux-style blend, are getting their public debut at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament, being played June 3-6 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
The Cabernet Sauvignon was created from premium parcels of fruit in the Rutherford Bench district of Napa Valley while the Private Reserve used grapes from selected sites in Stags Leap. There are 500 cases of each wine, the Cabernet sells for $35 and the Private Reserve has a retail price of $43.
Nicklaus is a long-time wine collector. He and his sons, Jack II and Gary, visited the Terlato-owned vineyards in California to meet with TWI Chairman and Founder Anthony Terlato and his sons, Bill and John. Nicklaus joins a long tradition of golfer wines that include offerings from Arnold Palmer, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman. The wines are available through www.uncorked.com and at premier golf clubs and resorts throughout the United States.
By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com
