The Power of Positive Drinking

Friends,

I'm just back from the inaugural Wine Workout...with our own Erin Cronican shown here welcoming particpants in. The event was wonderful beyond words! The audience was as delicious as the wines. And we have already posted the evening's program online!

We started off with celebratory aperitifs...which some of us sipped through silly straws...accompanied by Chef Jake Klein's Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres.

Frog’s Leap 2005 Sauvignon Blanc and 2003 von Schleinitz Koberner Weisenberg Riesling Spatlese.

David Rothenberg delighted us with jazzy clarinet impressions of these wines before we launched into a lovely discussion about them.

Wine Workout Round Two consisted of a Trader Joe’s 2004 Merlot, and a Calistoga Estate 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon -- a wine and winery I love so much that I've signed on as the New York brand manager.

This was followed by a Katie and David duet in which she played Merlot and he was Cab, and by a discussion not only of the wines, but also of the sensory pathways that wine takes to the brain, and of how memories are made, stored and retrieved.

Wine Workout Round Three was a Frog’s Leap 2004 Zinfandel and a BIBICh Riserva Red 2005, from Croatia...especially poignant because that is the birthplace of Zinfandel, and because these thriving vineyards are on former war-torn land, exemplifying the excellent work of Roots of Peace and its Mine into Vines program.

Our final Wine Workout round featured Sideral 2002 from Chile's Rapel Valley and Altair 2002 from Cachapoal, Chile -- both of them elegant Bordeux-like blend.

Best of all, none of our guests wanted the evening to end. So those of us that could lingered on, drank more and made new friends.

Clearly, people left happy. Because when Erin, Jerry Speier and I closed the place down, Anna, who was manning coat check, claimed that she had heard such great feedback about everything, that she wants to come to our next event.

There will be many! By taking our Senses Survey, you can help determine where and when they will be!

Meantime, we’re already using the line that Amelia Amon came up with to describe the Wine Workout process: The Power of Positive Drinking.

Here’s hoping thatyou’re drinking wine that you love, and that it brings you to your senses every time.

Warmly,
Wendy Dubit and The Senses Bureau

The 1.23 Wine Workout!

Friends,

This year, amongst huge gratitude for just being here, my New Year’s resolutions include increased winefulness -- which is to say, a deepened enjoyment and sharing of wine...and all else in life...in ways that enhance happiness, health, love and learning.

For every good reason, I’m hoping you'll join me!

For starters, we’d love to count you among the guests at our inaugural Wine Workout on January 23, 2007, from 6:30 - 9 pm at Pulse Restaurant in The Sports Club/LA at Rockefeller Center. The 1.23 Wine Workout will benefit Roots of Peace and their "Mines into Vines" program, which transforms former minefields into thriving farmland.

What is The Wine Workout? It's a vibrant new exercise that uses tasting wine to strengthen and train the senses and mind.

To the many proclaimed health benefits of moderate wine consumption -- lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduced risks of heart attack, stroke, certain cancers and degenerative diseases among them -- The Wine Workout offers up a few more: Mindfully savoring wine becomes the practice that helps articulate the senses, define preferences and enhance how we create, integrate and reactivate memories. Plus, it is FUN!

Our 1.23 Wine Workout will be led by me; will showcase chef Jake Klein’s Asian-inspired fare; and will feature performance artist Katie Down of Glass Music, who will guide us in participatory Wine Glass Symphonies before and between Wine Workout rounds.

Celebratory aperitif and hors d’oeuvres will be followed by Glass Music Symphonies and by four sit-down rounds of compare-and-contrast Wine Workout tastings, designed to exercise the senses and mind.

Cost is $100 per person, inclusive of wine, food, music, materials, tax and tip.

Click here for full information and registration details.

Here's hoping to see you at our 1.23 Wine Workout, and here's wishing you a happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous New Year. May it abound with love and gladness beyond words and measure. And may it find us sharing many fine wines and times together!

Warmly and looking forward,
Wendy Dubit and The Senses Bureau

A Time of Winefulness....

Looking back, 2006 was one of my most wineful times ever!

From ringing it in with Roederer while watching midnight runners and fireworks in Central Park to helping family best friends make lifelong dreams come true with the launch of Calistoga Estate, it was a great year!

Throughout, I continued to deepen my love and knowledge of wine and the senses...and of the ways in which they enhance each other.

Highlights included:

* Reconnecting with some of my favorite folks from the wine world...among them Dave Stare of Dry Creek Vineyards, Michaela Rodeno of St. Supery, John Williams of Frog’s Leap, Terry Theise, the families Deutsch and DuBoeuf , Phyllis and Marvin Stirman of Calistoga Estate, and more.

* Learning more than ever before about everything from the true taste of terroir to the multi-faceted magnificence that goes on in our bodies and minds when we savor wine in and with every sense.

* Building The Senses Bureau in order to deepen and share sensory experiences and all the understanding and joy that goes with them.

* Collaborating with Kevin Zraly to write a chapter on Smell for his 2007 Complete Wine Course.

* Creating The Wine Workout as a way to strengthen and train the senses and brain.

* Savoring a 1998 Eyrie Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that Oregon winemaking pioneer David Lett had given me on my first visit to his vineyards.

* Sipping pink Champagne Pommery through a silly straw.

* Drinking to make a difference to countries like Israel and causes like Roots of Peace and SHARE.

* Celebrating major milestones and simple pleasures with family and friends.

Looking forward, I trust that 2007 will be even better!

Among other things, I’ve signed on as the New York Brand Manager for Calistoga Estate Vineyards, and will be working to make these wines a success in the tri-state area. We will be planting family vineyards on my brother and sister-in-law’s farm in rural Virginia, and finally beginning to make wines of our own.

Hopefully, I will be sharing some wonderful wines and times with you!

Here’s to your happiness and health in this New Year, and to hopefully having you join us at the inaugural Wine Workout on January 23.

Warmly,
Wendy Dubit and The Senses Bureau