It’s amazing how, the second Labor Day weekend was over, my email inbox starting filling up with event invitations. August was dead quiet, and I not-so-secretly like that. Summer is for barefoot evenings curled up in a patio chair enjoying the sunset. Fall, however, is for reconnecting, catching up, and kicking off events’ season. I am always a fan of wine for a good cause and am happy to share Raise Your Glass for Jimmy, a wine event happening this October 2. Please see below for details.

The sixth annual Raise Your Glass for Jimmy presented by the Jimmy Fund Council of Greater Boston will take place 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2at the Battery Wharf Hotel in Boston. All proceeds support adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Admission to the event includes a wide variety of beers and wines to taste from August West Wines, Blue Hills Brewery, Boston Bottle, Gordon’s Fine Wines and Liquors, Mayflower Brewery, Medusa Brewery, M.S. Walker, Plymouth Bay Winery, and Wormtown Brewery. The event also includes hors d’oeuvres, live music, and a silent auction.

Tickets are $75 per person, and early bird pricing is available with two tickets for $125 if purchased before Sept. 21. The first 150 guests at the door will receive a $25 gift certificate from Tresca. For more information, visit www.jimmyfund.org/raise-your-glass.

About The Jimmy Fund

The Jimmy Fund (www.JimmyFund.org) solely supports Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. The Jimmy Fund is the official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England. Since 1948, the generosity of millions of people has helped the Jimmy Fund save countless lives and reduce the burden of cancer for patients and families worldwide. Follow the Jimmy Fund on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thejimmyfund and on Twitter: @TheJimmyFund.

Tags: beer, Boston, Boston blogger, charity, events, Jimmy Fund, wine

I can’t write a post about wine tasting in Northern California without first sending my thoughts and prayers to everyone affected  by the devastating wildfire in Lake County. It’s hard to imagine the destruction, the fear, and the loss happening there, but it has also been amazing to see the community rally around those who have lost everything. If you’d like to help, you can visit this website for information. In the meantime, let’s hope that they get some much-needed rain.

Fog Crest Pinot Noir

My eight days in Sonoma were action-packed. For the most part, I was working for Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, but we also had a few days to ourselves for wine tasting and mostly soaking up sun. One place on my to-visit list for years was Fog Crest Vineyard. The theme of my trip was drinking beautiful wine in beautiful places, and Fog Crest was one on my list of sought after patios to taste on.

We visited on a scorching hot day, but it was that dry, California heat that feels so incredibly good to me. I swear my muscles felt looser, I felt more awake yet relaxed. I crave that sort of heat. Fog Crest, which is located atop the Laguna Santa Rosa, is worth the visit for the views alone. Never-ending mountain and valley vistas are the perfect backdrop as you taste some really delicious Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Fog Crest Vineyard

While the chilled Chardonnay was perfect for the heat we enjoyed, my wine of the week is the 2012 Laguna West Pinot Noir. Fruity, bright, and with a mouthwatering acidity, this Pinot Noir is an excellent fall wine, making its way easily from a warm, blue sky day to chilly evening, paired with grilled chicken and veggies.

Another wonderful aspect of the Fog Crest experience was the tasting room staff. The woman who welcomed us, whose name I unfortunately didn’t get, was incredibly sweet and knowledgeable. She also gave me an amazing recipe for miso creamed kale. I can’t wait to make it.

Fog Crest Vineyard  vineyard

Fog Crest Vineyard is a must-visit on your next trip to Sonoma County. It’s in my top five for beautiful location and I would imagine is gorgeous any time of year. Can I go back now?

Tags: Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Travel, vineyard, wine, wine country, wine travel, Wine Wednesday, winery

Coffee Talk

Let’s catch up, shall we? It’s been two weeks and many miles since my last blog post, and I miss this space. Grab a cup of coffee (Or a glass of bubbly if you’re done work for the day!) have a seat, and let me know what you have been up to.

Hotel Healdsburg

I’ve been on the go-go-go, and I am exhausted. I worked all summer long on PR and social media for a big wine event in California, and it happened over Labor Day weekend. Lots of work, long days, plus travel made for one crazy week-plus!

The work part finished up for the most part about two and a half days before our departure, so we scooted out of our work hotel in Sonoma and headed straight for Healdsburg, where we visited new and old wineries and relaxed. Blog posts on Sonoma County to come.

I thought that once the event was over, I would be happy, relieved, excited to have a bit less of a workload for a period of time, but instead, I find a little free time to be anxiety inducing. Does that happen to you? I suppose it’s the nature of my work; there are ebbs and flows and I can’t keep up with 13 hour days all the time, but at the same time, I am always hoping to have enough work, if that makes sense.

Being present is something I struggle with terribly, but I am trying to practice that now, grateful for and proud of what I have done, while being excited and optimistic for all the possibility to come. I am meeting with a new client this week, and I can’t wait to get started!

It was an interesting summer for us. Our boat died, we didn’t get a CSA because of our travel schedule, and my garden was not great, so I was missing out on a bunch of things that make summer “summer” to me. In exchange though, we discovered new beaches, took day and weekend trips, spent time on friends’ boats, and had a vastly different summer than in years past. And it was okay. I tend to have a set view on how I want everything to look, and sometimes I have a hard time living a different reality.

Between Ireland, two Sonoma trips, a trip to the Cape, one to NJ, and another to Mystic, I was away from Boston a lot this summer, and there’s more travel to come. We have a wedding in Myrtle Beach in late September  and plans to travel to Chicago for the Chicago Marathon, which I am registered for. . . But I am injured and not sure what to do about that. I have until Tuesday to defer, and while I would feel incredibly guilty doing so, I also want the experience to be a healthy, positive one.

Also weighing on my mind is our recent addition of Lua, a sweet and spirited cat who unfortunately is not good with other cats. We’ve had to separate her from the rest of the clan, and even though she is well cared for and loved, it makes me feel awful. The current solution is not permanent. Ideally we will find her a home with no other cats and someone who will love and play with her. Until then, I lay awake at night worrying about her, hoping she’s happy, and wondering how we can find her a happy ending.

Also keeping me up at night is all that’s going on in the world. My mind races when my head hits the pillow, and my heart breaks for refugees, wonders what the answer is, and finds it unfathomable to be in their situation or that of their loved ones abroad. Most of us will never know such fear or poverty or violence, and how lucky are we to live where we do.

As always, I’m trying to take it all one day at a time, focusing on the good or what I can do better to make things good, feeling lucky, trying to get some coveted sleep.

What’s new with you?

Tags: life

« Older entries § Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera