Erotic Art, 3D Labels and Freedom Rings

My gaze simultaneously melted and froze upon them… wrapped up, tied, knotted up, bound. I walked in the door to the live display by artist Lew Rubens featuring a rope suspension demonstration by two scantilly-clad women wrapped up in various displays of bondage, "interacting" with each other while suspended from 18-foot swings.

These brave women squirmed and writhed their bodies before a crowd of onlookers in an odd combination of grace and freedom juxtaposed against the limiting constraints of the ties that bound them. Independence. A glass of free but tasteless sparkling wine in hand, my mind first wondered why I wasn't drinking Naked Winery or even Hip Chicks Do Wine, what a missed opportunity for them, but then my silly little mind actually wandered (for a moment) to the similarities a winemaker might experience trying to delicately coax the fruit into brilliance, sometimes relying on intuition and instincts even when it goes against the confining and rigid formalities of education and expectation.

Ok, I know, first of all, how in the world do I let myself get dragged into these crazy things? And second, what in the world am I doing thinking about wine at a 3D Erotic Art and Live Bondage Exhibit? Tamara, get your mind out of the cellar. So, get there with me. Forget about the girls all tied up with string like pretty little packages, waiting to be unwrapped as they're swinging before you upside down, legs all awry for just a moment and focus on my words. FOCUS ON MY WORDS… 3D erotic art. The real reason I came. My friend told me about an erotic 3D art exhibit during Portland's First Thursday, and the geeky graphic designer and deep-down naughty girl in me were all but on fire—she neglected to mention the word "bondage." Hmmm. The real irony is we were supposed to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D earlier in the day, but plans fell through and we ended up viewing Bondage 3D art instead. I'm not sure which is better, world-class animation or world class-less art, but it did inspire an idea for a collectible wine label the likes of which I can't believe hasn't ever been done.

I want to design a 3-D wine label. How cool would that be? All I need is a winery who's looking for the most unique label ever imagined. How can I copywrite a concept? I'm picturing Owen Roe's Sinister Hand, actually looking like it's oozing blood. Or Van Duzer with all the godess's hair flying around - or perhaps it's a whole new story, you know how I love new stories. The 3D glasses could be included on the bottle that had contact info as well as a shelf talker. This would blow critter labels out of the water! I am often reminded how stories and inspiration are everywhere, sometimes in the most unexpected places, if we remain open to them, even when it goes against formalities and expectation. Take an example from me this holiday weekend… relax, open your mind, shake loose whatever ties are binding you and just let freedom ring. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

My Pinot is Bigger than Your Pinot

Come on, who's Pinot's really bigger? Do you think one area in the world, hands down, makes the very best Pinot noir? You know you have an opinion. Well, on July 15, from 6-9pm (PT), this varietal's gonna duke it out on Twitter once and for all and we're placing the fate of the winner in your hands. The whole world will be watching on July 15, 2010 from 5pm-7pm PT/8pm–10pm ET, when, for the first time ever, Pinot lovers gather from far and wide to participate in a #PinotNoir Twitter Community Tasting.  The online community will have the rare opportunity to taste, tweet and vote for which ever Pinot noir appelation they think produces the most mouthwatering, perfectly balanced and complex wines. The people will decide which region they want to see crowned winner at the end of the night. Talk about bragging rights. 

For those new to the Twitterverse, a Twitter Tasting is just a simple online tasting party. For two hours, people from all over will be tasting and talking about Pinot noir in various settings—from bars, restaurants, tasting rooms—even the comfort of their own home. For more information about Twitter Community Wine Tastings, visit http://www.facebook.com/TasteAndTweet

You should know though that this isn't just an ordinary Twitter Tasting. This is the ultimate Pinot Play-Off! You may remember some of the successful tasting events of the past, beginning with Rick Bakas of St. Supery's brainchild #Chardonnay and continuing with Josh Wade of Drink Nectar's #WAMerlot and then his ingenious follow-up #WAwine. According to Josh, 370 people on Twitter and about 50 people on Facebook contributed 1850-2000 updates about #WAWine. Additionally, it's estimated between 1000-1500 (approx) people attended various tasting events across the state. Well, the Pinot Play-Offs are going to blow those away!

What sets this event apart from any other Twitter Tasting? People everywhere will have the unique opportunity to determine which Pinot producing region reigns supreme simply by tweeting and using an additional two-character hashtag after #PinotNoir. For example, if you’re favorite Pinot is from Oregon, simply tag the end of your tweets with: #PinotNoir #WV and voila voila, you've voted… easy breezy.

Some examples:

#WV – Willamette Valley, Oregon

#NV – Napa Valley, CA

#RR – Russian River Valley, CA

#CN – Carneros, CA

#SB – Santa Barbara, CA

#SN – Sonoma Coast, CA

#MN – Mendocino, CA

#SC – Santa Cruz, CA

#BU – Burgundy, FR

#NZ – New Zealand

#?? – Add your own!

The evening will culminate with tallying the votes and giving the winning wine region the hearty pat on the back they've worked so hard to earn—right there, directly in front of the online world, for millions of people to see! And yes, we will really be counting the votes. No, nobody's for sale (right Joe?). Definitely YOUR VOTE COUNTS, so vote (Tweet) often!  Which region will emerge as the champion? You can probably guess who I'm rooting for, but who knows, maybe I'll surprise you and open myself up to a little gem from the Russian River Valley.

For more detailed information, please visit the invitation created by my Pinot-partner-in-crime Ed Thralls of Wine Tonite at http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com/. Ed's even been helpful enough to include some basic instructions on how to get started on Twitter (so no excuses!!) and this blogpost by him could help you truly maximize your sales for this event! 

All eyes will be on Pinot Noir between now and July 15th, so don’t miss the opportunity to have your brand in the spotlight and your region a contender for the title. If you have any questions or need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me (tbelgard@gmail.com). Spread the word and share this invitation with all the Pinot players you possibly know. This is one party the cops won't break up and one brawl that won't end up with pepper spray (well, not unless you want it to). It will however end with countless bottles of Pinot Noir being opened, consumed and talked about around the globe. My fickle Pinot noir will be the center of attention. As it should be.

If you're a winery, there are a number of ways you can make sure you're involved. First of all, I can't encourage you enough to try and get your wine into Tweeters hands. If you're on Twitter, you probably have a good idea of who the wine Tweeters and/or bloggers are. If not, we need to talk. Seriously. Another way to be involved is to organize Twitter tasting events with your cellar club and fan base. Invite these people in during the tasting time and offer them a little something special, they will be Tweeting (talking) about your brand with their entire following (which could be anywhere from 100-100,000 or more people who actually care about what they have to say). Oregon wineries, this could be just the easy kickoff into IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) you're looking for. Wineries and retail establishments everywhere can offer discounted "Taste Packs" for sale at retail or on their websites. If you're not sure how to promote this event, please contact me, I'm here to make it an overwhelming success—let me help you.
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One of my favorite women in wine, Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier (whom I actually got to see speak at the Wine Bloggers Conference last week), is the designer of the new TheOne stemware collection and is also participating in this event. She's provided a a very special offer to participants, so be sure to take advantage:

50% off a 4-pack or single red stem of TheOneTM

4-Pack ($24.96 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupBox

Red Stem ($6.25 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupSingle

Order Here

The Future of Wine Writing… Forget Poodles & Blobbers - Wordless #WW

Top 10 Things I Learned at Wine Camp

I really could have titled this post the Top 10 Things I Learned from DrinkNectar's Josh Wade because one day, at wine camp, I might have learned as much from him as I did from any of the breakout sessions. After a moment of reflection though, I realized how valuable that information he shared with me really was and decided to selfishly hoard (most of) it for myself. So, in my crazy Top- 1o style, I offer you The Top 10 Things I Learned at Wine Camp instead. I've tried to include the incredible teachers who enlightened me with their invaluable lessons, but periodically, the mass consumption of magnificent wine has fuzzied both my notes and my memories.

1. Don't just blog, write. (Steve Heimoff, SteveHeimoff)

2. Sometimes you're worthy in your unworthiness. (Hardee Wallace, DirtySouthWine)

3. You should have an "about me" page on your blog to draw people deeper into your site. (Josh Wade, DrinkNectar)

4. Unrequited love is the only kind that lasts. (Lettie Teague, lettieteague)

5. Think of wine as an additional condiment, like ketchup. (The Food Network's celebrity chef Jeffrey Saad, Passion For Food)

6. Acidity is a flavor, tannin is a feeling. (Overheard and beg to differ; acidity is a feeling too.)

7. A bad day in wine country is better than a good day in the office (William Allen, Simple Hedonisms)

8. Remember to use all of your sensory experiences when tasting wine. See it, smell it, feel it, taste it. (Meg Houston Maker, MakersTable) Shhhh, be vewy, vewey quiet… Can you hear the wine?

9. Walla Walla can mean water water in the native american lanaguage, but more traditionally it's defined as "Many Rivers."

10. What happens at Wine Camp, stays at Wine Camp.

How About a Little Toilet Wine?

It's official; toilet training is the job from hell. I think it's quite possibly the worst part of parenthood, well it is for me anyway. On day five of "Potty Training Boot Camp" I can't imagine how we're going to get from where we are now to being able to have freedom again. We've been trapped in our house, chained to the smallest room by the invisible shackles of stubbornness, leaving only for a quick trip to get Burger King fries and Fanta orange soda on day four, when Shayden figured out if he didn't eat or drink he wouldn't have to use the bathroom. Thankfully, Fanta and fries won that battle.

This past week, there have been a few frightening moments where I've found myself longing for a glass of wine before 1:00pm, something to just lighten my spirit and give me the boost I need to muster up that extra bit of patience and empathy. Was it potty training that turned many housewives of the past into raging alcoholics, making them drink all day long? Sitting in the bathroom for hours, one's mind tends to wander. While staring at that shiny porcelain bowl, I dreamily thought about "Toilet Wine," and like Homer salivating over a doughnut, the mere suggestion of some powerful hooch made by prison convicts made me realize at that moment, I'd probably even down a glass of Boones Farm.

So,as the aromas of my son's urine wafted up from the floor below filling my nasal cavities with the intense smell of ammonia, I tried to imagine it was cat pee aromas from a lovely French Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc from the New Zealand's Marlborough region instead--ahhhhh Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush, even a wine with a silly name like that could be a savior.

I keep thinking back on one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, and the main character Andy Dufresne  ... "who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side". As I clean up the floor and the toilet, and everything else within spraying distance, the one thing that's getting me through the week is knowing at some point it's going to click for him--it has to. We will come out clean on the other side. My patience is being tested, and my family duties (bad pun intended) have pulled me away from my blog, social media and the big wide world of wine. So, while I'm not busy celebrating new life or being consumed with diapers and feeding schedules like my good buddy Suburban Wino (who has still miraculously and unbelievably found time to blog and tweet), I am tied up with my family and, yes, I'm sure it comes as no surprise, there are some things that will always be more important than wine. Until we sip again.

Cheers!

I should probably mention, this blog post was actually composed in the body of an email, because after 10 very long years, my old computer finally died. Not to let that be the sucker punch that would land me face down on the mat, I borrowed my 22-year-old son's laptop (or what I thought was a laptop), but discovered it didn't even have Acrobat Reader or Word. When I asked him about not having basic programs on his computer, I was informed it was a media center, not a laptop. Ahhhh. Blogging via email it is. Thanks for your patience, in fact, let's drink to it.

Wordless #WineWednesday - Now That's What I Call a Rack!

Top 10 Favorite Wineries to Chill Out in Summer

This weekend's summer-like weather in Oregon reminded me that the warm season has probably already set in, perhaps even taking a choke hold around much of the country. As I continued my winery trek, with blue skies and a warm glowing sun finally accompanying me, it dawned on me how many people might now be looking for the optimum places to hang out and soak up some of this yummy sunshine while sipping some of the best wine around. Since I've already done so much of the legwork, allow me to share with you the following list of what I think are some of Oregon's best-kept secret winery outdoor spaces:

1. Bethel Heights

2. Adelsheim Vineyard

3. Cana's Feast Winery

4. Winderlea Wine Company

5. Vista Hills Vineyard

6. Elk Cove Vineyards

7. Penner-Ash Wine Cellars

8. Van Duzer Vineyards

9. Stoller

10. Anne Amie Vineyards

Though the season is typically not too long (summer really doesn't take hold until July in Oregon), the state takes its summer sunshine seriously. This list is just a sampling of the many great tasting rooms with lovely patios and decks to absorb scenic vineyard and valley views. Dig into my list of wineries and find out which ones are doing up the season just right, you'll find Bocce, disc golf, luncheons, bruncheons, views, music, hikes and much, much more. Summertime, and the living is easy. Until we sip again…

Cheers!