Scarily Scintillating Halloween

A wine and candy tasting for your adult trick or treaters

Did you say candy and wine? If you get bored sitting around waiting for the cute kids to ring your doorbell this Halloween, how about hosting a Halloween-themed wine tasting party? This will be a huge hit for you friends and all the adult trick or treaters.

You’ll really impress your guests by pulling out your copy of WineParty and offering a wine game to the adults who visit your house on Halloween. When they arrive offer them a taste of the blinded wine and ask them to guess what kind of wine it is. If they guess correctly, they get a tasty treat, if not they get your most devilishly devised trick.

While many people think that wine and candy don’t mix, we disagree. Get all your favorite Halloween candies, and offer a selection of wines that might pair well with them. Here are some ghoulishly delicious combos*:

1) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and California Meritage
2) Sweet Tarts and Sauvignon Blanc
3) Candy corn and dry Riesling
4) Almond Joy and Syrah
5) Snickers and Cabernet Sauvignon
6) M&Ms and Zinfandel
7) 3 Muscateers and Malbec
8) Hershey’s Kisses and Merlot
9) Butterfinger and Chianti or Sangiovese
10) Hot Tamales and Pinot Grigio
11) Nestle Crunch and Dry Rose

*WARNING: some of these pairings might be a fright. You decide!

If you’re hoping for a bit more elegant of an evening, serve your adult guests a selection of quality dark chocolates paired with red wines, Madeira, Port, or even some ales or dark beers (Barley Wines are particularly delightful).

CocktailSmarts Preview

Getting Ready for CocktailSmarts
Preview & Recipe

The final proofs for CocktailSmarts arrived today, and we couldn’t be more excited about our newest creation. I admit, historically I’ve shied away from making drinks at home (and for that matter drinking them when I’m out). But as we’ve developed this product, the whole art of the cocktail has become quite intriguing to me, and I’ve been trying out lots of fun concoctions both in and out. Over the next few months, we’ll share with you some fun cocktail recipes and facts, including a particularly yummy one this week.

Like our other products, CocktailSmarts has the fascinating question and answer cards with a scorepad that you can play at your next cocktail party. And the Companion Guide is packed with tips and tricks about how to make drinks at home. This time we’re also including a dozen festive coasters with drink recipes and it comes in a fantastic tin that will make is an especially stylish addition to any home bar or coffee table.

We’re busy planning launch parties in New York and San Francisco later in the year, and if you haven’t already done so, sign up for our newsletter now.

We’ll be sending out information about these parties as we get closer to the date, and the guest list is sure to fill up fast. We’re curious about your favorite drinks and bartenders. If you have drinks, bars, or cool bartenders, you think people need to know about, send a note to cocktail@smartsco.com and we may to blog about them.

In the meantime, we thought we’d share with you some of the recipes and factoids that will be in CocktailSmarts.

Question: What do you get when you add gin to an Americano?

Answer: Negroni

If you want to make one of these popular drinks at home, here’s how:

1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
Orange slice or twist
Yield: 1 drink

* Note: In this drink, gin replaces club soda.

Combine gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth in a cocktail shaker with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled short glass such as an old-fashioned. Add a splash of club soda to taste, garnish with the orange slice, and serve. This drink can be served up or on the rocks, although in the U.S., the up version is usually served by default.

All three ingredients can be combined in a pint glass with ice, stirred and strained into a chilled cocktail glass, or served over ice in an old-fashioned glass.

Cars in Carmel

Artichokes, Land Rovers & Concours d’Elegance

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a simply decadent day of food, wine, perfume, and cars down in Carmel, one of the most beautiful locals California has to offer. After driving through picturesque farmland on Highway 1 and entering Carmel, a police car raced around us to stop traffic. While normally, one would be pretty bummed to be the first car to be stopped, we quickly realized this was a good thing as we got a front row seat for the “Tour” of the cars participating in this year’s Concours d’Elegance. The Concours is “an international gathering of automotive enthusiasts for ‘a celebration of the automobile’”. In other words, a really cool car competition and exhibition featuring some of the most luxurious classic cars from around the world.


With the fancy cars and wealth enthusiasts in town, all sorts of luxury goods companies take the opportunity to show off their stuff. So when a friend got an invitation to the Land Rover Experience Driving School at Quail Lodge in Carmel, we jumped on it. After checking in at the stunning golf club, we jumped in the Land Rovers with a professional driver who gave us a mini-class in off road driving. Our instructor trains special forces troops for the U.S. military, so he certainly knew what he was doing. I’m typically not a fan of cars (in fact I don’t even have one any more, opting for the bus), but I have to admit, it was pretty fun. I was a bit scared on the back roads, but the Land Rover pretty much does everything for you (including handling the breaking as you go downhill), so I felt quite safe. An exhilarating 1.5 miles / hour!

After our road trip, the event promoters had all sorts of activities for us – including a cooking class and a perfume class featuring L’Artisan Parfumeur, which apparently is the perfume of choice for the stars. My favorite was their “La Chasse Aux Papillons” which, I’m told is the perfume of choice of Kirsten Dunst.

The best part of the day was the cooking class, from Tony Baker, the exec chef at Montrio Bistro in Monterey. We had a great time, learning how to make fire roasted artichokes with a spicy, Moroccan style charmoula mayonnaise dip. So delicious! Being a native to the SF Bay Area, I grew up on artichokes, but always just had the old standbys – steamed with mayo & lemon. It’s definitely worth experimenting with these yummy thistles. You can now find them year-round, but they are in fact perennials that bloom twice a year—peaking in March & September. There are four types of chokes: Green Globe, Imperial Start, Desert Glob, and the Big Heart. The Green Globes are typically considered the best.

Many argue that it’s difficult to pair a wine with artichokes, but I think a mellow low-acid white wine, such as Riesling would do quite well. Or better yet, I’m thinking a nice amber beer (easy on the hops) would make a great companion. I think I’ll have to do some experimentation on the subject – I'll keep you posted.

Drink Wine. Save Water.

Drink Wine. Save Water.

That’s the name of a recent Wine & Spirits Magazine winetasting event in Seattle where SmartsCo featured a mystery winetasting using WineParty and WineSmarts. The crowd was great..over 250 fun people eager to try great wines from all over, including Portugal, Spain, France, California, Washington, and more. All while raising money to protect the Puget Sound, with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance





If you want to test your WineSmarts as well, here are the questions and answers from the event. Thanks to all the wineries who offered their wines for everyone to taste in our mystery winetasting!

Name another term many California winemakers use for sauvignon blanc.

A) Chardonnay
B) White grape
C) Fumé Blanc
D) California Blanc


ANSWER: C) Fumé Blanc
Back in the 1960s, it was difficult to sell Sauvignon Blanc wines, so California winemaking pioneer Robert Mondavi coined the term Fumé Blanc to glamorize this grape and persuade more Americans to drink it. We tasted the Chilean Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine #2 Hint
True or False: Chardonnay is often found in white wines from Bordeaux.

ANSWER: FALSE
The white wines of Bordeaux star Sauvignon Blanc. It’s the whites from Burgundy that star Chardonnay. The wine we tasted was from Geyser Peak.


Wine #3 Hint
This wine, described as "full-bodied, tannic, with hints of tobacco and black currant" likely describes:
A) Beaujolais
B) Cabernet Sauvignon
C) Merlot
D) Viognier

ANSWER: B) Cabernet Sauvignon
We tasted Cabernets from both Smoking Loon and Concha Y Toro.

Wine #4 Hint
During Prohibition, what type of wine grape was still widely grown in California?
A) Concord
B) Cabernet Sauvignon
C) Pinot Noir
D) Zinfandel

ANSWER: D) Zinfandel
Zinfandel was often shipped from California to the East Coast where family wine makers (often the mafia) made it into wine. Prohibition laws prohibited mass commercial winemaking, except for use as sacramental wine, medicine, or food flavoring. However, it allowed family, or home, winemaking. We tasted Dancing Bull Zinfandel.

Delicious Outdoor Summer Dinner...lots of grilling

Delicious Outdoor Summer Dinner...lots of grilling

I was recently lucky enough to be invited by my friends Matt and Ron to a delicious evening of food and wine hosted by Heidi and Chris (Chris is the owner and impresario of the delicious Park Avenue Bar and Grill at 4184 Piedmont in the East Bay. No website yet, but check it out – open 7 days each week. 510-985-0990). Dinner was so yummy that I thought I’d share it with others in case they want to replicate it.

I felt like I was in a photo shoot for an elegant gourmet magazine, so I took lots of pictures. The evening started with an informal offering of wine glasses placed on a beautiful green (my favorite color) tray, near a bucket filled with ice and several kinds of wine for the tasting. I had a delicious Markham Sauvignon Blanc and a Domaine De Pellehaut -- a light, citrus-y, summer rosé.

Our hosts set out several cheeses, and I had found a fig-almond spread that was great with the stronger cheeses. Chris shucked several kinds of oysters including Kumamoto – tiny little oysters, that even I, scared of oysters, could try. He prepared them with a squeeze of lemon and champagne vinegar with shallots. Yum!

On to the main course, where Chris grilled asparagus and yellow squash (that cool implement I’m waving around is called a Pig Tail– shaped just like a pig’s tail and perfect for spearing veggies on the grill).
I learned a good grilling tip – that the hot spot of the grill is near the hinges where the grill closes because the walls are higher and the heat reflects there.

Heidi prepared crisp, thin layers of polenta with tomato sauce; iceberg with blue cheese dressing (unlike any blue cheese dressing I have had at a restaurant..this was creamy and smooth and not overpowering). And they grilled fresh wild salmon that their friends Brad and Tony had recently caught. Yum!

One of the wines we were lucky enough to try was Flowers Pinot Noir. And then for dessert (always my fave meal) Matt and Ron grilled fresh peaches and figs and served them warm with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

We ate this with dessert wines, brilliantly suggested by the folks at K and L wines. We had a delicate, slightly sweet rosé sparkling: Cerdon de Bugey from Caveau de St. July, which is a mix of Gamy and Pulsard grapes--slight peach flavors, and, as Ron described it "summer in a glass." We also had a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Domaine Bouletin--sweet and yum. Both were very resonable, under $14.00.


MENU
3-kinds of 0ysters
cheeses
Guacamole

Grilled salmon
Polenta and tomato sauce
Iceberg wedges and blue-cheese dressing
Crab legs
Grillesd asparagus and yellow squash

Grilled peaches and figs with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

Keeping Cool in the City

Tricks for Staying Cool on Sweltering Days

Here at the SmartsCo offices in San Francisco, we’re typically clad in jeans and sweaters of some sort. The only difference between summer and winter is whether we wear sandals or boots on our feet. And our favorite item on the lunch menu is a nice bowl of soup from some of our favorite nearby jaunts such as Kate O’Briens or Town Hall. But this summer is quite different ...

Typically we San Franciscans get a nice little chuckle in the summer as we relish in our 55 to 65 degree weather knowing that our neighbors just over the hill are sweating it out in 100 degrees temperatures.

We relish in the fact that if we feel cold in the summer, we can take a short drive, ferry or better yet bike ride to Sam’s Cafe in Tiburon and enjoy the warm weather over tasty Ramoz Fizz and Crab Louie, and then return to our typically foggy home and snuggle up under a nice warm blanket. The best part of living in San Francisco is we can choose whether we’re hot or cool.

But this summer is quite different. It’s hot! Really hot! And most of us don’t have fans, much less air conditioners. And at SmartsCo HQ, we are on the top floor of a building with no AC that just sucks in the hot air. Currently our thermostat reads 94 degrees, and it’s actually cooler than yesterday. So, what are we doing to keep cool?

Ice, Ice Baby

This morning I grabbed a bag of ice for the office. To quote one of our team members “It’s like Christmas morning. The best gift ever.” Who knew a little ice could make such a difference. Not only are our coffees and waters iced, we can drench ourselves with the ice.

Don’t Pass the Buck

While typically a Peet’s girl myself, unfortunately, their shops typically aren’t so great for hanging out. But Starbucks generally has great seating, and they’re air conditioned. We’ve been sucking down their herbal berry ice tea and even bringing our laptops to do some work.

Cold Soup

While our hot soup preference isn’t too appetizing these days, cold soup can really hit the spot. While gazpacho is the obvious choice, I’ve been indulging in some really yummy ones lately, including: cold sorrel soup (delish), cold cucumber soup, and cold asparagus soup.

Creative Salads

Green salads don’t have to be boring, especially with all the great wonderful fruits and veggies that are in season right now. Last week I made a delicious salad with: sugar snap peas, jicama, fresh corn (cut it off the cob uncooked), tomatoes, red peppers, and some black beans. Toss on a spicy vinaigrette and it’s fun time. Or throw in strawberries, melons or even peaches to a green salad and it’s really refreshing.


H20 Melon

I could just eat watermelon all day long. Not only super refreshing, it’s actually quite low in calories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Pass the Prosecco Please – or other light wine

When all else fails, have some wine. It certainly seems like sundown comes quicker. We typically keep the office fridge stocked with the very reasonably priced Vinho Verdhe from Broadbent Selections. It’s slightly effervescent and low in alcohol so we can continue to function at full capacity. Or when we really need some bubbles to wake us up, we’ll pop open a bottle of Italian Prosecco – which are typically bright and cheerful, and good bargains to boot.



That’s all I can think of to stay cool on this blistering hot day. If anyone else has brilliant ideas, we’d love to hear them. I’m proud to announce that last month I became car-less, which is my attempt to do my small part to stop contributing to global warming. So it’s all public transportation and in the rare occurrences that I need a car, I check out one from our friends at ZipCar. Not only am I saving $100s / month, I never have to worry about high gas prices (gas is included with ZipCar), insurance, and I don't have to worry what day street cleaning is. Why I didn’t do this sooner is the biggest mystery.

Summer and Beer - the perfect pairing

Summer and Beer - the perfect pairing

I'm going to try not to sound like a bad beer commercial here, but there is something wonderful about a beer on a hot summer day. And since I'm a SmartsCo girl, I can't just have a beer, I need to gather some friends around to compare a variety of beers and have a beer tasting. Until we developed BeerSmarts, I didn't know the difference between a lager and an ale, or about the huge variety of beers available.

In BeerSmarts, our writer Joe Cummins, and editor Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery, shared a great description of the difference between lager and ale, and an overview of ales. So chill your glass and read on... (and if you want to check out his tips for throwing your own beer tasting party, visit our party tips page.

Ale and Lager--What's the difference?

There are two main species of yeast for fermenting beer, and they make the two types of beer we have today: ale and lager. Within these two species are thousands of strains.

ALE has been brewed since ancient times and was mostly unhopped until the 15th century. Ale is fermented at warm temperatures where the yeast rises to the top. Such “top-fermenting” yeast works very quickly, which is why ale is generally aged for only a few weeks at most. It tends to be fruity in flavor.

LAGER is the type of beer most casual American drinkers are familiar with. Lagers are bottom fermenting, which means that the yeast ferments at colder temperatures, and sinks to the bottom of the vat. Traditionally the beer is then aged for months (however mass market lagers are usually only aged for a couple of weeks). Lager tends to be smooth and subtle in flavor, and today accounts for most of the beer consumed in the world.

A Spotlight on lagers


Pilsner
Pilsner originated in the 19th century in what is now the Czech Republic. This dry, superbly golden, carbonated beer took an ale-weary world by storm and today is still the most popular beer around. Beers such as Budweiser and Miller are based on the Pilsner style although they use some different ingredients and are less flavorful than the original.


Bock / Doppelbock
Bock is a strong and malty beer that originated in the German city of Einbeck. It was originally brewed late in the harvest season, stored all winter and tapped in the spring. A stronger bock beer is known as doppelbock.

Oktoberfest (Märzen)
Hearty and full of malt flavor, these beers are traditionally brewed in the sp ring (märzen means March in German) to last through the summer into the fall. A nice accompaniment to an Oktoberfest celebration.

Malt Liquor
Malt liquors usually have added rice, corn or refined sugars (as do almost all mass-market beers), although so

me states define malt liquor as any beer that has over 5 percent alcohol. Colloquially speaking, malt liquors (Olde English 800, etc.) are cheap strong lagers made by large breweries.

Helles
Helles means “bright” in German, and these pale, golden beers are easy-drinking and slightly less bitter than their neighboring Czech pilsners. Helles is the most popular beer style in Bavaria.

Dunkel
Dunkels (meaning “dark” in German), are smooth reddish-brown beers made with gently toasted barley malts, creating soft caramel, nutty, and coffee flavors.

Standard American Lager
These tend to be quite bland, light-bodied, pale in color, with lots of fizz. The big-name U.S. brands follow this style.

Paris food and wine tips from local expert! (Sneak preview of ParisSmarts)

It's hot in our little SmartsCo office, so I'm imagining I'm drinking a crisp, cool glass of rosé, while sitting in a little cafe in Paris. In you happen to be lucky enough to be going there soon, we've compiled off-the-beaten-path food and drink suggestions from our newest game, ParisSmarts, edited by Gourmet Magazine's European correspondent Alec Lobrano. He shared some of his favorites, and if you like these...pick up a copy of our new ParisSmarts, for even more suggestions and discoveries in the City of Light.

Alcoholic Sorbet
BERTHILLON

Ty their champagne-infused sorbet. Mmmm … it's a cocktail in a cone.
31 rue St. Louis en l'Ile ,4th
01.43.54.31.61

Crème Brûlée
CAFÉ DU MARCHÉ
Crème Brûlée is elevated to an art form here in the heart of the Rue Cler neighborhood.
38 rue Cler, 7th
01.47.05.51.27

French-Asian Fusion
LE RÉFECTOIRE
This campy take on French school cafeterias (réfectoires in French) features furniture that may take you back to your days in grade school, except with a trendy flair and great food.
80 boulevard Richard Lenoir, 11th
01.48.06.74.85

Macaroons
LADUREE
Traditionally rich and unbelievably light, the macaroons here are one of Paris's most decadent desserts. They are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and come in an amazing range of flavors including chocolate, raspberry, lime basil and blackcurrant violet. Several in Paris. Try the elegant tearoom at:
16 rue Royale, 8th
01.42.60.21.79


Organic Vegetables
MARCHÉ BIOLOGIQUE
The place-to-be on Sunday mornings for any lover of expertly farmed, all-natural produce.
Boulevard Raspail, 7th

Stinky Cheese
BARTHELEMY
Local and international fromage-philes shop at this Paris landmark. When it's in season, the Vacherin here is the best in the world.
51 rue de Grenelle, 7th
01.45.48.56.75


'60s Bar
POLLY MAGOO
This casual cult bar opened in 1967 and hasn't aged since. Hear that? It's the Doors, probably on vinyl …
11 rue St. Jacques, 5th
01.46.33.33.64

African Bar
IMPALA LOUNGE
The Impala Lounge is more than an African theme bar -- it's also one of the hottest spots in the city, popular for its Afro vibe and original cocktail concoctions. Don't be surprised to see ostrich steaks on the menu.
2 rue de Berri, 8th
01.43.59.12.66

Traveling to Spain in my glass

Sometimes there’s no time for an actual real-world trip, and a winetasting works quite nicely as a virtual one. Last week Julie and I went to a Spanish tasting (never been to Spain. would like to go), and discovered all sorts of wonderful wines We were lucky to find out about this event thanks to our friends Meredith and Jane at a Chow Magazine.

The event was put on by the folks from WinesFromSpain, and it was delightful. I left refreshed, educated, and no jet lag. Many big tastings feel a little crazed with everyone drinking and scouring the room for some little bit of cheese, and they're not always that much fun. This, however, was great–in a beautiful light-filled space in Yerba Buena Gardens–a modern art complex in SF, with lots of Spanish wineries showing off their wines. It was all very relaxed and social. AND there was excellent tapas, everywhere, which makes everyone happier.

Now for the wines. I enjoyed several of them and it was hard to spit out some of them (I’m getting better…not splashing myself or others quite so much) and now I want SmartsCo to create a WinePassport: Spain, like our other WinePassports. because there’s so much to learn and discover. If you think that would be a good idea, send us an email at info@smartsco.com with what you’d like to learn about Spanish wines.

From Bodegas Martín Códax

Martín Códax Albariño 2005, D.O. Rías Baixas. Albariño is a white grape varietal that tends to create wines with a good amount of fruit and a lot of acidity to balance it out. And the region Rías Baixas in the northwest corner of Spain is known for its Albariño. This wine was lovely – I want some for my home right now. It has tastes of green apple, pears, and a great amount of acid to make it stand up to salty seafood.

Burgáns Albariño 2005, Bodegas Martín Códax. This is a more widely available wine – available in 42 states according to the woman pouring the wine, but to me, it’s less interesting and more like an American Chardonnay – more round and fruity and sweet. People who like those wines might really enjoy this.

Cuatros Pasos 2004, Bodegas Martín Códax, D.O. Bierzo. OK – I had to taste this red wine because it has three bright red bear paws on the label, and it’s named Four paws because the winemakers found tracks in their vineyard. It’s made from a grape I hadn’t heard of before, Mencia. It’s a very hard grape to work with. And it is waaaay unusual. It smells really smoky, which I was told is one of the characteristics of the grape. And it tastes like smoked wood. Almost like a campfire with some beef jerky (which, I have to admit, I have never eaten but fer sher know the smell well).

Other favorites were from Codorníu, which is the largest bubbly producer in Spain (I've been told they have a great visiting tasting room), Their Cuvée Raventós Brut, D.O. Cava was amazing. Made mostly from chardonnay it was, as the experts say, YUM. Tastes of pecans, yeasty, vanilla, dry, with a long finish. I tried several of their wines and was similarly really into them

Vinña Pomal Crianza, 2000 Bilbaínas, DOCa Rioja. This is made from the Tempranillo grape and is amazing. The aromas are of cooked dark fruites like berries and cherries and a little bit of cedar. Just the aromas feel rich. And then at the first sip it tasted just like the aroma – you could eat it with a fork. Wow.

WineSmarts editor celebrates new book

I went to a winetasting a few weeks ago celebrating WineSmarts editor and friend Ray Johnson’s new book, The Good Life Guide to Enjoying Wine. There was a nice crowd of about 30 people.
It was held at the Viansa wine bar in San Francisco, and in addition to tasting their Italian-inspired wines, we also got to taste some oldies but goodies that Ray generously shared with us.

Ray gave some great tips on wine and food pairing:

* Don't spend so much energy chasing the perfect wine and food match. Things change depending on what you feel like, who you’re with, etc.
* Avoid the trap of picking a single wine for a whole table of people—everyone has different tastes, so find out what kinds of flavors they like and order a few bottles.
* Pairing wine with sweet foods: try a wine sweeter than the food. For fruit, crèmes and pastries, try a sweet white. With black fruits or chocolate, try a red. And, Ray suggests, don’t forget Malmsy Madeira (Madeira is made on the island of Madeira just off of Portugal, and Malmsey is a grape that makes one of the richer, sweeter madeiras)--it’s especially delicious with Roquefort.
* Young trophy wines – when you have an elegant bottle that’s still young, pair it with a dish with lots of protein and salt to work with the heavy tannins.
*Old gems – taste an older wine before your guests do—sometimes they fade with time. You might want to serve it with something very delicate, or just enjoy it alone.

Here are the wines we tasted:
From Viansa,
I had a lovely, light, dry white, with some mineraly taste and a long finish. Tocai Friulano that would make a great summer white.
Tocai is a grape made famous in Italy and has recently been the subject of international disputes, because the name is so similar to the Hungarian Tokaji or Tokay, that makes a very different, sweet wine. Here’s more information on the Tokay dispute.




From Ray’s collection:
1) Sori’ Paitin Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, 2003

2) Poliziano, Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano, DOCG, 1999
100% Sangiovese

 3) Silvio Grasso, Barolo DOCG Pì Vigne, 1998
YUM. This is a wine made from the Nebbiolo grape which had an aroma of stewed black fruits. It had quite a bit of tannin but would have been great with food. Ray noted that “while Nebbiolo is typically hard as nails when young,” they can age beautifully.

Stuck in Dulles airport? Want some wine?

If you're flying through Dulles you might want to do something that is against your better judgment -- go out of your way to get a long layover there and check out the airport's Vino Volo. This great wine bar is a wonderful retreat from the depressing grays of the airport carpets and never-ending walkways.

Designed like a wine bar that might get rave reviews if it just opened in San Francisco, Vono Volo takes you away from airport exhaustion--you might even enjoy a slightly longer delay in your flight. VinoVolo (meaning wine flight - nice airport pun), offers a nice selection of wines by the glass as well as by the bottle--at reasonable prices considering it's the airport, along with tasty small bites such as fresh smoked salmon warpped around crab. The staff know what they're talking about and are friendly and hip --so much so that the two women next to me who were very happy, spent a good bit of the evening flirting with one of them.

I started with a flight of bubblies, because we just finished our WinePasport: Bubbly, a friendly guide to bubblies around the world, complete with nifty pop-out map, and I'm a little obsessed with all things sparkling. From Austria I tasted Steininger's sparkling which is a mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc from Austria ($36/bottle at Vino Volo).  It was rich and delicious, perfect with the smoked  salmon.

Another thing I loved about Vino Volo is that in addition to California wines and wines from around the world, they dedicated an entire flight of wines to Washington DC area wines--great local angle that also made being there feel like a real place as opposed to one of thousands of airport watering holes.

Wines are served on a little paper mat describing each wine with friendly tasting notes. Go visit! I can't wait until they open in other airports -- I may make my travel plans around that. Until then, visit them at Concourse C near Gate 4.

Winetasting in Argentina

I just spent a week in Buenos Aires, and all along the way tasted delicious (and inexpensive!) Argentinian wines...

I spent the last week in the busy, huge city of Buenos Aires. I was there with three friends, all of us celebrating our birthdays. We found that after our first day we had already acclimated to what Becca called the Argentinian Lifestyle--getting up at 10am, leaving the hotel by noon, walking around for a while, then enjoying a 2-3 hour lunch (we had very simple food, but that's the pace of lunch), and then dinner at around 9pm and asleep by 1am.

Some highlights: We explored the Teatro Colon, which is an intricately designed old opera house/theater that currently employs 1200 people to put on its operas and plays. We also walked around Palermo neighborhood--a bit like New York's SoHo, with elegant boutiques and quiet little streets.
The wines we had were excellent and almost all from the Mendoza region. Wines we enjoyed in restaurants were never over $15 U.S. and most were about $8-$10. And unlike in the U.S., restaurants barely mark up wines, so you can walk into a wine store and get the same wine for almost the same price.

Our best wine and food experience was our last night at Gran Bar Danzon --a hip, lively, dark and modern restaurant, bar and wine bar on the second floor in the Recoleta neighborhood. It was packed at 9pm on a Wednesday night, and we had delicious sushi (they serve all kinds of foods but we were craving sushi) and then chose 4 wines by the glass to try from their large list. The waitress brought all four, each with a little printed tag detailing which wine was which, with a few tasting notes. The pours were generous and it was all done with a great deal of fun rather than serious, quiet wine snobbery.

Our top two favorite wines from that night were:
Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés (my new favorite white wine grape), 2005. From the Cafayate area within Mendoza. This slightly rich white wine with great acid and fruit balance, has a floral nose, and a creamy texture. Reminded me of a viognier and it was a crowd pleaser with Margot, Ali, and Becca. These wines are made by a well-known woman winemaker--Susan Balbo.

Domingo Molina Malbec (the grape for which Argentina is famous), 2002. Bodega Domingo Hermanos. From the Cafayate area within Mendoza. Delicious medium bodied wine that was totally smooth.

Another favorite during our tastings at other restaurants were two wines by Alta Vista winery. We had a delicious Torrontés 2005 and a rich, smooth Malbec Grand Reserve.


Our other goal while we were in BA was to find the ultimate Alfajores. We tried several and found our favorite at a crowded little bakery in the Recolata neighborhood, called Cofiteria Panaderia "La Exposicion" - we also had a delicious chicken empanada there and could have spent several days tasting through their selections.

Now that I'm back home I'm off to search for the Argentinian delights available here....

Yep, it's us on TV and radio!

Jen and Julie featured in OPEN from American Express ad campaign

Perhaps recently while you were driving to work, watching TV, or flipping through a magazine, you saw or heard...us! While we haven't had people recognize us in the street yet, this ad campaign has been a great chance for us to introduce our games and guides to a larger audience... How did this happen?

The short answer is: we got incredibly lucky. The long answer is, we've worked really hard and have had some huge helping hands to get us to this point. A few years ago we applied for a small loan from Count Me In a great nonprofit dedicated to helping women-owned businesses grow. The application was simple and quick (when have your ever heard THAT about a loan?), and we got it. Then about a year later, the friendly, smart and helpful women at Count Me In got in touch with us and suggested we apply for a Make Mine a $Million (aka 3M) award (yes, that $ sign is supposed to be there), sponsored by Count Me In and OPEN from American Express.

We applied and got to the next level - a few minutes in front of a board of judges and an audience in Long Beach, California. Julie flew down and did a great job, and the judges were so impressed with everyone that they awarded not just three (the original number of winners), but all six. We all got access to financial and marketing support as well as mentorship and coaching, and access to an incredible network of smart and energetic women with great ideas.

American Express found out about us through this award, and with luck on our side, they selected us to be in the national TV and radio and print campaign. It was totally fun filming and recording -- everyone in the crew was amazing. Now we know why the Academy Award thank you's are so long - we only did a commercial and had a huge list. The commercial was directed by Jesse Dylan, a brilliant, creative, and all around nice guy.

Now what's next? A NEW group of smart, entrepreneurial women recently won 3M wards at a big event in San Francisco. So check out Make Mine a $Million and apply for the next round of awards in October in New York City. A million women business owners at or above a million dollars could create a lot of change in the worlds of policy, employment, and more...

Where are SmartsCo blogs?

We're busy SmartyPants, so if you want to find out about great food and wine experiences..we've got out blog here and on the SmartsCo website. You can also find coupons for some of our favorite wineries and other stores on our party tips page, which changes regularly.

If you're interested in reading about our experience as part of the Make Mine a $Million Business program sponsored by OPEN by American Express and Count Me In, visit our CMI blog. Here you'll hear all about our experience being featured in an ad campaign for American Express.
Cheers,
Jen and Julie