Before I got into the writing biz, I used to love going to wineries for fun. But now that I do it for work, I sometimes find myself being a bit blasé about some of the exciting wine and food events I get to experience. But my most recent wine adventure certainly reminded me that it is fun not only to sip wine, but also to explore the fascinating origins of where it comes from.

One of the many great aspects of sharing an office with wine marketing & communications firm, Charles Communications Associates, is that I get invites to enjoy the products of some of their stellar clients. So when I was invited to take a helicopter tour of their newest client Brassfield Estate, I jumped on it. (To be honest, I was most excited about the helicopter, but the day just kept getting better and better. 
 

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.

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.