We’re refreshed, motivated, and inspired. Somewhere between a fan girl love fest and a shout-out-palooza, Steph and Val are debriefing our experiences from the Women of the Vine Symposium in Napa and the SWE Spirits Mini Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, respectively. From bourbon balls to champagne and music video pairings, there are all kinds of nuggets tucked into this sassy and “spirited” episode.
Val: “Welcome Wine-Two-Five listeners! This is episode 53 and we’re all about wine events and news for you this week.”
Steph: “Oh yes, some of you are returning from spring break, and we are returning from a few wine events. We have lots to share, so we hope you’re all ready to get back to it!”
Drinking:
Val: Commanderie de la Bargemone Rose 2015, Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, France. That’s right, the 2015 rose’ wines are on the shelves. This one is dry, aromatic, and made with 30% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon,15% Cinsault, some vines are almost 30 years old. This estate was founded in the 13th century by the knights of Templar, just an interesting note. The bottle runs between $16 and $18.
Steph: one of the tubes o’wine from VineBox – 2014 Chateau de l’Engarran “Cuvee Sainte Cecile” from Languedoc-Roussillon and a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault.
Discussion:
Val: “Well, Steph, I know we have a lot of information to share with our listeners about where we were the last 10 days or so. Let’s talk about the Women of the Vine, what you learned, and what we should look forward to.”
Steph: “What I learned:
- First of all, WOTV isn’t a wine tasting or wine education event. It really is a professional development and networking event for women in the wine industry. Now, men are invited – and there was 5 of them in attendance – but the focus is on women.
- The 2 Keynote speakers made the entire trip and expense worth it! The 1st was Lynda Spillane who is a public speaking coach & speechwriter. Her impressive career includes working with Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, President Obama, and King Abdullah II of Jordan. I took 6 pages of notes! She gave us techniques to use for script writing, performance design, and even addressed audience questions about Power Point. We’ll have a link in our show notes for you to connect with Lynda and learn more about her workshops, etc. So moving along, the next day, there was another showstopper on stage – the President & CEO of Krug Champagne, Maggie Henriquez. Holy Smokes! Her standing ovation was well deserved as she brought down the house. She was even asked by a woman in the audience to run for president of the USA. To which Maggie replied – she couldn’t because she’s Venezuelan. She mesmerized the audience with her honesty, enthusiasm, and strength. She was classy and witty. Basically, there isn’t anything that Maggie can’t do, and she made me believe that anything is possible. Best of all, she encouraged you to be yourself and “never negotiate your values”. I tweeted a lot during her speech and even got a little teary-eyed.
- I’m not kidding when I say the 2 days that I was in Napa for WOTV were tremendously impactful. One take-away that was valuable is the interest people have in our Wine Two Five podcast. I am a very happy camper about that! Bring on the new listeners AND new guests!
“What to look forwa
rd to:
- Mark your calendars for next year’s dates – March 13-15, 2017 back at the Meritage for the 3rd year in a row.
- I look forward to creating more new friendships, like my buddy Christina Staalstrom, COO of Arctic Wine & Spirits. We connected the first night during the Spritz & Splash at the Pool cocktail hour. I am lucky to know Christina, and she gave me great advice. We definitely will stay in touch. It was also nice to see people I met from last year, so looking forward to catching up with familiar people again next year.
- You can become a member of the Women of the Vine Alliance and watch for upcoming regional events – kind of like mini-symposiums. Speaking of which…
“And you, Val, how was your experience at the SWE’s first mini-conference in Louisville? What can we look forward to and what did you learn?”
Val: “Well, this was the first ever spirits conference the Society of Wine Educators has done, so … guess where the next one might be? Guesses??? That is what they are looking at but it hasn’t been confirmed. It will most likely be in April of next year as well.
“I have to say, I learned a little bit more about Bourbon and different brands, as well as what’s going on in the industry from Eric Gregory & Adam Johnson of the Kentucky Distillers Association. We toured five distilleries, had a lecture by Master Distiller Chris Morris and tasting of Woodford Reserve bourbons. I also learned how to build a cocktail. We practiced last night on different Manhattan cocktails – and we have new ice cube molds on order. Just sayin’.
“We did meet Master
Distiller Jimmy Russell and I felt I should have apologized for what I did to a bottle of Wild Turkey back in the ‘90’s … while listening to Tanya Tucker … after the bottle of “20th Tactical Fighter Wing” wine was gone. It wasn’t pretty. And although Jim Beam and I were not friends 25 years ago, we did make up and brought home a bottle of Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve.
“Finally, we did chat with Stacie Chandler of Art Eatables where they make chocolate bourbon truffles. The owner is Kelly who is a Bourbon-Certified Chocolatier – the first one in the world – through The Stave and Thief Society; it’s incredible how each brand of bourbon can be distinguished in the different candies. They were recognized as the “Best Candy Store in Kentucky” by Food Network. I’d love to do a Bourbon and Chocolate Tasting with her sometime … maybe before the holidays, since they have a “12 Days of Bourbon” gift box that we MUST pre-order this year.”
Factoid:
Steph: “I’d like to give more attention to the House of Krug, especially because I admire Maggie. Here are some facts to nibble on:
- Did you know… Krug dates back to 1843, when in his early 40’s, Joseph Krug founded the Champagne house.
- Krug did not make a rose until 1983. However, the Krug house now offers 6 different Champagnes.
- Now every Krug bottle produced has its very own ID that you can scan with the free Krug app. Each bottle has its own story! AND music experience! You can watch the video that explains the music and wine connection to learn more. The link is in our show notes.”
Winoradar:
Val: “For those of you interested in studying spirits, such as whisky, bourbon, gin and all those good things, the Society of Wine Educators has just this week released the 2016 study guide. Here’s what else is exciting: if you’re studying for the exam and have a professional membership with the SWE and have registered, there is a FREE online prep class for you starting in July with none other than the lovely Jane Nickles – you may remember her from last fall on our podcast, and if you get a chance to study with her you won’t want to pass that up. More details here: http://winewitandwisdomswe.com/2016/04/11/the-new-css-is-here-the-new-css-is-here/
Gems of Eastern Europe preview. Photo courtesy of www.vivamoldova.com
“We are also doing a “Gems of Eastern Europe” Certification Summit on the 23rd of April. We’ll be talking about Polish Vodka, Tokaji Aszu, and the wines of Croatia and Romania, among other topics. You must have a registration and be a member of SWE.”
Steph: “Quick reminder of our Wine Two Five Anniversary Soiree happening this Saturday April 16th in Denver! Contact us for your personal invite to our intimate event. ” **UPDATE: DUE TO WEATHER OUR ANNIVERSARY SOIREE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH**
Shoutouts:
Steph: “I applaud each and every speaker, all 64, that had the courage to go on stage at the Women of the Vine, both men and women, who I’m sure were nervous. Thank you!
“One more – I have to recommend Evans Transportation Services if you are going to Napa or Sonoma from San Francisco airport or Oakland airport. They were slick, easy and reliable. Only $45 each way and they drop you right at the front door of your hotel.”
Val: “Shoutout to SWE Team who made the Bourbon Conference come together, and the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY. I have to say we enjoyed the J. Graham restaurant experience so much we ate there for several breakfasts and lunches. Scott took tremendous care of us and is a wine lover getting ready to go to Italy and do some wine touring.
“Also, shoutout to the Bubbleista, Davon. I met her at the spirits conference and had a chance to chat with her and her charming husband during both dinners. She’s as effervescent as her tag line suggests and is also known as The Martha Stewart of Champagne (by the way, that is trademarked – as Davon is also a trademark attorney). I look forward to clinking glasses with you again in the future!
“Annnnd that’s all we have for this week. Next week we’ll get back on the Zinfandel train and have a special guest from a legendary winery in American history. We’re super excited to bring this gentleman to you and have him share this story!
“Connect with me on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and on the Vino With Val FB page, and on instagram as Vino with Val.
“You can find Steph on Twitter @Albarellosoap and on the AlbarelloSoap FB page, and check out our videos on the Albarello YouTube channel!”
Steph: “You can visit us on the WineTwoFive website, FB page, Twitter, Pinterest & YouTube. You can also email us at winetwofive@gmail.com.
“Also please share Wine Two Five with your friends and online community.
“We appreciate all your involvement and feedback and especially iTunes reviews.
One more thing… Don’t forget to use the #W25Challenge when you are trying new wines and drinks.
So until next week – Cheers!”