Goddess of Wine

Wining by proxy...staff writer Marya Glur fills us in on the Union des Grand Crus...

2012-01-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the Goddess doesn't get to attend wine events. Sob! Luckily, she has a band of merry and hearty wineaux who provide eyewitness accounts for her. Today, a special post by Staff Writer, Marya Glur, about an extraordinary annual event. Read on, and thanks, Marya! Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux January 21, 2012 Fairmont Hotel, Santa Monica, CA By Marya J. Glur The first time I attended

First winings of the year...

2012-01-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

Took a month off from writing so that I would spare you all yet another year end recap. Suffice to say that 2011 had its ups and downs and a whole lotta great wine and food. And we're getting 2012 off to a busy start. New Year's Eve - A few of us met at Debra B's atelier. We shared a few bottles of Kirkland Champagne (yep, Costco imports actual Champagne under their label - and it's pretty good

Thinking about future wining...

2011-12-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

Been trying to figure out why I've been so down this month. Mercury has been retrograde for the last 3 weeks. That could be part of it. Coming up on the third anniversary of my mom's death, and I miss her more than ever, so that's part of it, too. It's also my birthday week, and I'm hitting a big milestone this year. I've had mixed feelings about it. In this weird world of Los Angeles/Hollywood,

Random thoughts...

2011-12-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

Time goes by so quickly. I'm always surprised that another week or two or more has elapsed since I sat down to write a post. I really admire writers who crank out post after post, article after article, and never seem to run out of topics or energy. Of course, those writers are probably getting paid for their work, which is a real incentive to make it happen! Dinner at the Joust Since

Wining thankfully...

2011-11-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. Articles abound - what wine to pair with turkey, what recipes to use, what we're thankful for. Christmas music fills the air...etc. I'm thankful, too. Thankful that I get to play in the wine biz - tasting great wines and delicious foods, hanging with winemakers and writers and enthusiasts, dreaming of the day I can put the day job aside and focus 100% on wine.

Guerrilla wining...

2011-11-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

One of the perks of being the Goddess of Wine is that people send me wine! A few weeks ago, winemaker Bruce Patch of Wine Guerrilla sent me a box of wine to taste. Well, not a box of wine - a box with 3 bottles of wine! I couldn't get to it right away due to a head cold (hard to smell and taste with a code in by dose), but when I could smell again, I pulled together a tasting with the team: Debra

Wine Camping with the Goddess at LearnAboutWine...

2011-11-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeedy! The Goddess returns to LearnAboutWine's Wine Camp on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th! This is your chance to: Learn about wine in a fun, safe environment while tasting terrific wines and delicious snacks! Meet me - the Goddess of Wine herself! And JD, too! Here's the scoop from LearnAboutWine- hope you can join us! Learn the wine basics from A - Z! Taste seven

Sneak peeking at Paso Garagiste...

2011-10-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

Photo by Xochitl Maiman Made a last minute decision to hit the road to visit The Cellar in Santa Clarita last Thursday (10/13). Why? Because there was a special ‘sneak peek’ at a few wineries who will be participating in the upcoming Paso Garagiste festival on November 12th. As I’m a big fan of Paso wines, and will be heading to the event next month, I thought I’d get a head start. I hadn

And the winners of the "Harvest Passport" Giveaway are...

2011-10-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

www.vcwines.com Congratulations to Sherry Lynn, Cheryl Antonelli Dellepiane and Paula Higdon - they are each receiving one pair of "Harvest Passport" tickets for November! They get to wine their way through 6 artisan wineries in Ventura County! Thanks to all who participated. I hope you all will go ahead and purchase tickets and enjoy the fruits of these wonderful wineries' labors.

Special Ticket Giveaway - Wine your way thru Ventura County!

2011-10-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

OK, all you wineaux out there! Here's the giveaway: The Goddess has 3 pairs of "Harvest Passport" tickets that will let the recipients wine their way thru Ventura County during the month of November!! The 5th, 10th and 15th person to message me thru Facebook will receive one pair of tickets each!! This is a $70 value. The winners will pick up the tickets at one of six Ventura County

Wining in Ventura County - all November long!

2011-10-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

“Harvest Passport” Entices Ventura County Wine Lovers to Celebrate the Season The Ventura County Winery Association is holding a passport tasting event throughout November, inviting guests to enjoy a five-wine tasting flight at each of six local wineries www.vcwines.com VENTURA, CA; (September 20, 2011) – This November, the six urban wineries that comprise the Ventura County Winery Association

Cooking for Love...rocked!

2011-10-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note as I am too tired to think clearly at the moment... I was proud to be the Event Sommelier for Cooking for Love, a spectacular event to benefit Break the Cycle. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you to all the wineries who participated! It was an extraordinary evening, and I am honored to say that I have been asked to return next year in the same capacity. Those

Hang in Paso with the Goddess in November...

2011-10-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

November 12th - It's the Paso Garagiste Festival! The Goddess and various friends will be there. Will you? Here's the scoop: Artisan Wine Trend Gains Momentum at Paso Garagiste FestivalForty Emerging Winemakers Sign On to Pour at November Event; Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture Program to Benefit; Limited Tickets Available Paso Robles, Ca – September 14, 2011 – Paso Garagiste today announced

Much Wining to take place...

2011-10-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

Want a chance to meeting the Goddess and JD? October 9th - Cooking for Love - a huge charity event to benefit Break the Cycle! I'm the Event Sommelier and have assembled almost a dozen wineries to go with the tasty offerings from all of the great restaurants in Los Angeles! Come and taste Shai Cellars, Martian Vineyards, Patel Winery, Chamisal, Roadhouse Winery, The Naked Grape, Bedford Winery,

Random wining...as usual...

2011-09-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

The quarterly wine dinner extravaganza took place at FAB's Corner Cucina on the 21st. Manager and wine aficionado Amelia and Chef Ian once again put together an interesting and delicious meal with brilliant wine pairings: Lamb chop perfection! 2005 Domaine Terlato-Chapoutier, Australian blend of Shiraz and Viognier paired with a perfect lamb chop sitting on diced butternut squash and

Wining by proxy...Austria Uncorked & Drink Ribera, Drink Spain...

2011-09-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, the Goddess' First Acolyte, JD, ventured to the SLS Hotel for concurrent tastings - Austrian wines and Spanish wines from Ribera del Duero. It took him a while to report, but here it is! As is often the case, the events were at a hotel in a busy, hard to reach area with no real parking other than the valet at the hotel. I turned over the truck. A person in front said that while

Random wining...

2011-09-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Every time I complain that I don't have enough time to write about all my wine adventures, it just sounds like bragging...but JD and I have been all over the place! 8/20 - Showed some support for SSH at a small tasting of mostly local wines at J. Hamilton Wines (actually at The Plug Nickel) in Westlake Village, about whom there will be a separate post. Got to spend a bit of quality time chatting

Exciting news from Four Brix Winery!

2011-09-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

So exciting! My friends at Four Brix are having their Grand Opening on September 17th and 18th! You should go! Four Brix Winery, part of the Ventura County Winery Association, celebrates the Grand Opening of its urban winery and tasting room. Ventura County wine lovers have an excuse to sip and celebrate California Wine Month this September with the opening of Ventura's only full-fledged

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Tasting Room...

2011-08-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was feeling like we've been going non-stop. Then I took a look at my calendar and realized there was a reason for that: We've been going non-stop! Geez, no wonder we're tired! 7/20 - Kickoff lunch for Break the Cycle - Cooking for Love - How do I convince small production, artisan winemakers to donate wine for me to pour at this event? Suggestions? Better yet: Donations? Anyone? Anyone?

A lot of wining in a very short time...

2011-07-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Panini @ VWC - Yum! Headed up to the Valencia Wine Company for the monthly meeting of the Grape of the Night back on the 11th. This month's grape was Cabernet Franc, and we had 7 wines to sample, ranging from inexpensive 'supermarket' wine to seriously overpriced. Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and

Wining and whiling away the time...

2011-07-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Time goes by so fast. Fortunately, we're doing a lot of wine tasting while it's going by! Shai @Santa Barbara 6/25 - Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the Natural History Museum - At the very last minute, Shawn Shai Halahmy pinged me to ask if we could help him pour his wines in Santa Barbara. We said 'Sure!' and headed North. We weren't familiar with this particular festival, but it was huge!

WHining and wining...

2011-06-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Pre LAWineFest The Goddess and JD are TIRED. We are just beat. Between the 6th Annual LAWineFest, the Arte in Junio event at the Beauty Lounge, wine events and winemaker dinners, and moving the parental units to a new location, we are tired. We have been up and down the coast between home and Morro Bay several times this month, with more to come as we clear out the old place and determine what

Wining and adventures in Pasadena...

2011-05-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

We set off early Saturday - breakfast with the usual gang at Lancers, plus a couple of Pete's nieces (new friends we now adore). Over to the Beauty Lounge in Pasadena, where Gina made us look shiny and new, and on to more adventures in wine. Tasting @ Heritage It was too early for most of the wine bars in Pasadena to be open, so we walked over to Heritage Wine and Spirits. We hadn't been there

Still wining...really!

2011-05-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah...I know...haven't written recently. But I've been busy!! Been getting my somm's and pourers in place for the upcoming LAWineFest 2011! There's still time for you to let me know if you want to help. There will be over 500 wines and spirits to taste, plus great food from local restaurants and food trucks. There will be special programs - Wine, Scotch and Sake tasting, plus wine and

So much wining...so little time to write!

2011-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was trying to figure out why I haven't written in the last month, and I realized it's because JD and I have been running all over the place tasting wines, eating great food, and just generally having a good time, except for the broken nose. But that's another story. Here's what's been going on in the last month or so. And it doesn't include various dinners with friends and meetings about the