Wine Community Pitches In for Haiti

This story of help sent to Haiti after the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake sets itself apart indeed. Design Diva Lavinia Campo, my High School bestie and the muse for my Meet Gewürztraminer – The Diva - September 7, 2011 blog post connected me to the I Am Haiti Art Scarves Project in late October.

At the behest of some concerned friends who implored him to reach into his network for donations to an orphanage in the town of Maranatha that was destroyed in the earthquake, documentarian Kevin O’Hanlon, founder of Films on Artists (follow @FilmsOnArtists on Twitter) took a unique approach to front line aid. In collaboration with Haitian born artist Richard Laurent, he brought paint, brushes and canvases to Haiti and encouraged the children of Maranatha School and Orphanage to paint the future they envisioned. Thus, in their very first artistic creations, they brought their innermost desires out front and took their lives into their own hands. Soon after, some of the works were sold at Kevin’s Rogue Space Gallery at the Chelsea Fine Arts Building in Manhattan to finance the reconstruction of the orphanage. That was just the beginning.


Kevin’s continued efforts have brought a great deal of attention to this project, including that of Frank and Caroline Fleischer, founders of the non-profit Franca Art and Fashion. Caroline, CEO of fashion industry consulting firm Talents For Fashion, envisioned a line of luxury scarves featuring the children’s artwork. Frank is the CEO of major textile manufacturers TMS Fashion, whose client list includes ESPRIT and Topshop. The scarves, which are digitally printed on the finest cashmere, will go on sale this Friday evening at the I Am Haiti Art Scarves reception in Chelsea (details below). They will sell for $100.00 apiece. Fifty percent of the proceeds – 100% of the profit – from the sale of the scarves will continue to sustain the Maranatha School and Orphanage.

Friday night’s event is sponsored in part by two generous wine providers so you can sip and shop in style:

South Pacific Wines LLC
For ten years, New York-based Kiwis Mei Fong and Michael Carr-Smith have brought a lovingly curated boutique selection of New Zealand wines into the United States from the regions of Hawkes Bay and Marlborough, with the recent addition of a Pinot Noir from the world’s most southerly wine region, my beloved Central Otago. The white wines, including a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and a barrel fermented Hawkes Bay Chardonnay from the flagship Crossroads label and the Unoaked Chardonnay and Pinot Gris that form the Curious Cove line, will be featured at this Friday’s event. Expect clean, crisp wines that have ripe fruit character and beautiful balance – even the 2007 Unoaked Chardonnay drinks like fresh juice! The author is proud to be an independent sales representative in Brooklyn and Manhattan for this importer. Contact veronique@southpacwines.com for retail and restaurant inquiries.

Available at Harlem Vintage in Manhattan and Zap Wines and Spirits on Court Street in Brooklyn.

Follow @CrossroadsWines on Twitter

Bouké Wines
Fellow WSET Diploma of Wine and Spirit graduate Lisa Donneson DWS founded Bouké in 2007 “to satisfy the tastes of an emerging generation of American wine drinkers who share her belief that wine should be an everyday pleasure for the senses” – a woman after my own heart! I had the pleasure of stocking her wines at my erstwhile Stapleton, Staten Island store, including her full bodied, beautifully balanced red blend and the slightly effervescent, super pretty Pérlant. She is providing a mixed case of her white and rosé wines for the evening. What a treat for all of our deserving I Am Haiti Art Scarves supporters!

Available at Harlem Vintage in Manhattan and Red White and Bubbly in Brooklyn. Find more stockists at www.boukewines.com

Follow @Boukewines on Twitter

I Am Haiti Art Scarves Introduction Reception
Franca Gallery
526 West 26th Street, #417
Chelsea, NYC
Reception
Friday December 9, 6-10pm
More Documentary Screenings and Events
Saturday December 10, noon - 8pm
Sunday December 11, noon - 8pm

For more information:

Visit http://iamhaitiscarves.com/
Press/Media Contact:

Marie Theodore 646.529.9349/ MarieDrivenpr@gmail.com

Follow @MarieDriven on Twitter
http://Mariedrivenonthescene.com/
For General Entry:
Teamexecutionpr@gmail.com

Meet Pinot Noir - The Princess

Everything I know about Pinot Noir says princess. She’s that girl who demands and gets everything she wants. She’s stunning with a great figure, and she is generous to those who fulfill her desires – but she is definitely not easy. Her shoe and handbag styles are always on point. Her wardrobe is a collection of designer originals and runway fashions from the most recent shows in Paris, Milan and New York. When she’s fully decked out with high-end jewelry to accent it all, she’s absolutely fabulous. Just one look and you know she’s worth all the trouble.

As a grapevine, Pinot Noir is demanding. It is difficult to grow and disease prone. Thin skins make growing and harvest timing a serious matter – thin out the vine’s leaves too much or let them hang too long on the vine and the grapes may sunburn, or if there’s rain, they can swell, split and rot. In the winery, she’s no less challenging. Anyone who takes on the duty of ushering Pinot Noir from grape to glass must have a great deal of love and patience for the variety. Those who do are able to coax its characteristic red berry aromas and flavors to the fore are a special breed indeed. With judicious use of oak, they bring out other treats, including cola and smoky bacon or barbecue notes. The thing that makes Pinot Noir so amazing is structure. On the palate, the worst Pinots are anemic, but the best exhibit precise balance and substance – just enough tannin, acidity, alcohol and amplitude of fruit character to make each mouthful a nearly religious experience.

Purchasing Pinot Noir is almost as tricky as growing and making wine out of it. Burgundy is the French bastion of Pinot Noir. It is very rarely blended here, so any red Burgundy (or properly, Bourgogne) is 100% Pinot. This is where the easy part ends. When it comes to Burgundy, or most Pinot Noir in the world for that matter, knowing the producer and his/her style is paramount. Even in tiny villages in the Côte de Nuits, two wines made from the same vineyard by two different producers in the same vintage can taste greatly different – both can be amazing in general, but one may appeal to you more than the other. The only way to find out is to taste them both. Buying Oregon Pinot Noir posses a similar challenge. Willamette Valley is Oregon’s most famous region, and Pinot is its claim to fame, but not all Willamette Pinot is created equal, and since the 2004 film Sideways popularized the varietal, prices of Pinot Noir from Oregon and California have increased much faster than other wine prices, but the quality has not increased in tandem in many cases. The one source for consistent Pinot Noir, surprisingly, is the Marlborough region of New Zealand. In this realm, prices are reasonable, and you can almost choose blindly to get the glass of wine you want every time no matter the producer. New Zealand’s Martinborough and Central Otago regions produce more noteworthy Pinot Noir, although they present a similar predicament as Burgundy and Oregon – purchase by producer.

And did you know...
Pinot Noir is a component of champagne? Yes, that which we pop is made from a blend of white wine grapes Chardonnay, and red wine grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (not fermented on skins so no pigement for non vntage brut - they are left in to make rosé).

Pinot Noir for Your Palate
If you grew up eating high-end food made from high quality ingredients and fresh meals cooked frequently then Pinot Noir is right up your alley. A palate that has been reared on or become accustomed to fresh, high quality ingredients is geared to appreciating the fine nuances of this wine. If you have been and still are constantly inundated with the up front flavor of instant gratification foods, you might miss the point. Nonetheless, you should pick a night to relax, spend $18 on a bottle of Pinot Noir, and cook something simple for dinner. You can enjoy Pinot Noir with tuna and salmon seared rare or sashimi style (hold the soy sauce). Cheese choices include a lighter cheddar, gouda or gruyere – you’d be surprised to enjoy a glass with an omelet. I also love Pinot Noir with pork, particularly loin.

Your Homework
Your homework for this week and weekend is to try 3 Pinot Noirs. Ask your favorite retailer or browse your favorite wine website for a Bourgogne Rouge. You will easily find Pinot Noir in any wine shop or liquor store you enter, but I strongly suggest that you spend at least $15.00 per bottle. Pinot Noir under that point has been consistently disappointing. Find yourself Pinot Noirs from Oregon, California and New Zealand. Do Tweet your notes to @wineLIFE_ #PinotNoirHW. Tell us which one was your favorite (please include the wine’s name, vintage and region), how much you paid for it and its best qualities. You can also post notes on the wineLIFE Facebook wall. Enjoy!

Pictured: Hospices de Beaune Volnay-Santenots 2005 1er Cru and Treleaven Pinot Noir 2009 Cayuga Lake AVA New York, retailed at wineLIFE for $17.99

Support your Nabe Retailer on Earth Day

There’s no doubt that doing what it takes to care for farm land in this way ensures a great future for the people who eat and drink from it - sparing their vines and soils from chemicals, letting nature take its course. The naturally farmed vineyard has been a wild and beautiful sight every time I’ve seen it around the world.

Some of my fave Biodynamic Organic Sustainable (BOS) wines:
Grove Mill Winery, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, NZ
Sokol Blosser, Willamette Valley, OR
Jean Luc Colombo, Cornas, (northern) Rhône Valley, France
Felton Road, Bannockburn, Central Otago NZ

My best advice: visit your good neighborhood wine retailer - an attractive store with knowledgeable staff who enjoy wine are indicators that they will a. Have a healthy selection of these wines to show you and b. Enjoy talking about the wines with you.

Shop small retailers on Earth Day www.awinelifestyle.com.

written on Thursday, April 22nd to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Sorry for the delay!