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