BottleBlog by Bottlenotes: wine tasting notes, wine tasting event info, wine tasting trip recommendations, and more.

1978

“1978”

There are a myriad of fulcra in a young woman’s life; turning 30 is a fairly universal one. I couldn’t have been more blessed to have been able to celebrate with “friends who are family and family who are friends” for an entire weekend. To be surrounded by so many people who mean so much to me from childhood, college, grad school, and through the Bottlenotes years truly moved me.

According to the “1978 vintage” cards that I received, 1978 was a year of the first test tube baby, an accord between Egypt and Israel, when Dallas premiered on TV (launching the nighttime soap opera), and when ABBA began an international tour. Similar themes of invention, enlightened discourse, entertainment, and guests with an air of timelessness and style seemed to characterize my Ma(i)sonry-based birthday party on 10/5/08.

On the eve of my transition from first to second act of life (to quote Jane Fonda), family members and out of town guests indulged in three iconic wines of the 1978 vintage. The first was a magnum of 1978 Hospices de Beaune that came as a gift from my dearest friends in  San Francisco with whom I visited Burgundy in July 2008. Sinewy, cloudy ruby in color, with bright Bing cherry notes, the only compliant about this delightful  Burgundy was that we “only had one bottle (magnum) of it.”

The second was a 1978 Chateau Haut Brion, also a magnum and my gosh did this tasting experience confirm why Haut Brion is a first growth. After thirty years, the wine still showed power tempered by grace, offering an overtly smoky character punctuated by flavors of stewed tomatoes and beef jerky. To be that bold yet lean at thirty- I was inspired. One guest described this wine as “ethereal.”

We closed the evening with a 1978 port, graciously hunted down by my best friend since age 12 and her husband. Crystal clear, scintillating rust in color, this port was one helluva an elegant dessert wine.

Part of my great love for wine arrives from the inherent tension between its agricultural/artistic nature; for the challenge of describing its complex nuances; for the fact that it serves as windows into political systems, culture, cuisine, people, passion; and of course, for the sheer pleasure of its enjoyment.

We capped off this “study in 78” with a quintessential wine country “backyard affair” while sipping Champagne & rosé with 30 of my favorite Bay Area friends on my actual 30^th. Let’s just say it was a celebration of “epic proportions,” to quote a dear friend.

My greatest joy would be to celebrate with all those who participated again at 40. I wonder how those 1978’s will show then…

AJR

"The Match.com of Wine"

I have long been referring to Bottlenotes as the "Match.com of wine," as we strive on a monthly basis to match the hand-selected, beautifully crafted, boutique & estate wines from the Bottlenotes portfolio to our members' personal tastes. I gotta admit, it's pretty fun to see the iconic Wine Enthusiast use the same epithet. They cleverly entitled their article on us "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," and even more cleverly encouraged readers to view us as a "tasting room that's open 24/7." Thank you Chelan David for the wonderful online PR!

The piece has inspired me to announce that as of this fall, Bottlenotes members will be able to come to Bottlenotes.com and get real time wine recommendations. Our personalized sommelier service will broaden from that which is currently available in the form of personalized recommendations to our wine club members, via their wine club shipments, to a service that is available to you at any hour of the day or night. (And because I simply can't resist, for those of you who, like I, were up to 3:30 am finishing the 7th Harry Potter one night this week:) Think of us as your very own lightening bolt scar, always with you, a resource that will take you into the mind of Bottlenotes, tapping into our recommendation wizardry. In other words, your match-maker is about to start working overtime.

(Alyssa Rapp, Founder & CEO, Bottlenotes, Inc.)

Bottlenotes Goes to the Oscars

Bottlenotes Goes to the Oscars

When you think about the Oscars, presumably images of designer evening ware, beautiful stars on the red carpet, & moments of anticipation about who will win Best Actor or Best Picture come to mind. What’s not as well advertised, however, is how much SWAG there is surrounding the Oscars.

What is “swag?” The term swag refers to all the promotional products & services (“stuff”) that celebrities receive in conjunction with an industry event. The Emmy’s have swag events, the HBO Comedy Festival has swag events, Sundance has swag events, and of course the Oscars have Swag events.

There are numerous swag events that go on from the Sunday before the Oscars to the big day itself. The events range in style from private estates in Beverly Hills that are turned into spas, visited by the likes of stars as bright as Oprah and as dim as Monica Lewinsky.

Swag events also come in the form of pseudo-trade shows: big rooms at major hotels like the West Hollywood Hyatt where we were, that are teaming with exciting new products and services. The stars then parade around the products and their representatives, picking up swag (promotional products/gear) along the yellow brick road. Photographers snap as many photos as possible with the stars and the promotional materials – for the PR benefit of the Swag tent producer (individuals & entities who create such swag events for a living), and of course for us participants.

Bottlenotes had the great fortune of participating in both types of SWAG events surrounding this year’s Academy Awards. We talked to representatives from In Style, People, Star, Fox News, and other members of the press all day, for three days. AT the events, we chatted up the passerby’s, luring them to our lair by pouring some of our favorite Bottlenotes wines. That wine list is available at www.bottlenotes.com/oscarwines 

At this swag event, we had the great pleasure of canoodling with a wide range of C+- A- stars, including members of the cast of Sex & the City to Olympic athlete alike. We even snagged a celebrity member or two. For information on them, you’ll have to stay tuned for the Celebrity Notes section of the site- launching in March 2007!

My favorite quotes from the festivities:

-“I don’t think I could live here.” (Bayard Collins, 30 minutes after arriving in LA by car for the first time)

--LA is SUCH a strange place (repeated four times over the course of 48 hours by fellow Swag participant)

-“Thank god WE get to work with people of substance- and that our husbands or boyfriends where less make up than we do!” (Kim Donaldson)

Winecyclopedia

Some websites provide information on wine regions and some discuss various varieties of wine and their tastes.  Others give detailed information on specific wines and wineries.   Bottlenotes Winecyclopedia, once completed, will offer a comprehensive overview of every category listed above, and more.  Combine this enormously useful research tool with a Bottlenotes personalized wine club, and you’ll really have the complete wine package.

What do I mean by this?  Well, before signing up for a specific club, you’ll be able to scroll across the interactive Winecyclopedia region guide map, reading up on the specifics of every important wine region on the globe.  If you’re relatively new to wine (like me), this should give you a broad background from which to begin your learning.  If you’re more experienced, the Winecyclopedia will refresh your memory and offer interesting historical insights and wine recommendations by region.  Compare these suggestions to your own preferences and other experts’ notes available on the Bottlenotes website, and you should have a good idea of what wines you want to try next.

Now it’s easy!  Just pick the club that has the most to offer your palate, or browse the online store for the wines you’ve read about earlier.  Just make sure you rate each bottle after drinking it—that way it’ll be even easier to hone in on a few dream wines for next time.

Matt Inkeles—Bottlenotes Intern, Summer 2006

BottleBlog is live!

Hello Friends, Family, Colleagues, and Bottlenotes Fans,

It's official. BottleBlog is up and running. Exciting for us to enter the world of bloggers- intrigued to see how BottleBlog plays out. Will it become a depot of wine reviews by Bottlenotes members or critiques of the Bottlenotes portfolio? Recanting of great meals at favorite restaurants, or perhaps tales of lore from recent trips to wine country? Experiences by the Bottlenotes team living the fabulous rollercoaster of start-up life? Time will tell.

No matter what, we hope you enjoy and participate in the news and updates. As always, freedom of speech is encouraged and candid feedback is always welcome!

Cheers,

Alyssa