Art and Wine: The Perfect Mixture for Hall Wines

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Jamie

Disclosure: I was invited out to Hall Wines for an exclusive tasting where I heard great stories about the winery and wines.  Story is my own creation.

artisan-collection

A few weeks ago I headed up to beautiful Napa Valley to check out Hall Wines.  I stopped into their St. Helena location, and was truly blown away by the ambiance of this winery.

Hall Wines took over this St. Helena location in 2005, and has carefully crafted this venue.  The love of art brought on by Kathryn Walt Hall and Craig Hall has truly been brought out in this vineyard.

winemaking-craft

But, it truly does not stop there.  Known for their small lot red wines, this winery has truly made a craft with their wine making process including inventive means to perfecting the wine.

hall-wines

During your tasting be sure to talk with the people pouring the wines to tell you more of the stories behind the Art on the Artisan Collection Bottles of wine.  Each one having a very distinct story to their label.  Art from the labels were either commissioned pieces of work or created by members of the Hall family.

While at the winery there are a variety of ways to enjoy wine while on the grounds including taking in a tasting in their very modern tasting room.  A beautiful art sculpture piece hangs above the tasting bar with bright colors that adorn the walls.

Or, if you want a more intimate experience with your friends or colleagues, rent out a tasting room for a one of kind wine experience:

private-wine-experience

Reservations are required ahead of time for this experience.

Then before or after your tasting experience enjoy a walk around the grounds taking in the surrounding art:

Patrick Dougherty - "Deck the Halls" Stickwork - St. Helena

Patrick Dougherty – “Deck the Halls” Stickwork – St. Helena

Outside in the garden lawns there’s an area dedicated to Patrick Dougherty’s “Deck the Halls” Stickwork.  He uses tree saplings as his artistic medium, and pieces of his artwork are found at the winery.  These make for some great photo opp’s.

Another popular art piece found at Hall Wines:

hall-wines-camel

John Baldessari – Camel (Albino) Contemplating Needle, 2013

John Baldessari’s sculpture Camel (albino) Contemplating Needle highlights a confluence of belief from several different cultures. References to the camel and the needle appear in the Quran, Bible, and the Midrash.

And this piece:

light art piece

From the same artist who created the Light Show off the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, this piece, Exploded View (expanding), 2013, by artist Jim Campbell.  This art is located on the second floor near the tasting room.

“In 1988, coming from a technical background in engineering and an artistic background in filmmaking, I began to create interactive video installations that involve the viewer and the viewer’s response to a given situation. In creating interactive video art work, my goal has been to move away from the conventional computer screen “button pushing” interface and instead to move towards creating works that have a more intuitive level of interaction.” ~Jim Campbell

This is a winery that has truly left a lasting impression, and a must visit on your next trip to Napa Valley.  They also have a location in Rutherford and Kathryn’s own line, “Walt Wines” can be found in the Sonoma Plaza.

Hall Wines: St. Helena

401 ST. HELENA HWY. SOUTH

Hall Wines: Rutherford

56 Auberge Road, Rutherford, CA

Walt Wines: Sonoma Plaza

380 First Street West, Sonoma, CA

Upcoming Events at Hall Wines:

May 18th: Cabernet Cookoff: 11am to 2pm:

Food + Cab = Winners!  The HALL Cabernet Cookoff returns with professional chef contestants vying for your vote as the best pairing with HALL Cabernet Sauvignon. Enjoy an afternoon filled with great food, wine and music. Cast your vote for your favorite dish. First and second place teams will receive a cash donation to benefit their local charity! 100% of all ticket sales go to the sponsored charities.

Tickets on Sale Now. 65 Dollars.

 

 

 


Categories: Travel, Wine | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mountain Winery Announces 2014 Concert Lineup!

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Jamie

Disclosure: I occasionally work with AEG Entertainment to promote concerts happening in and around the Bay Area.  This is one such event happening throughout the summer. 

What’s more scenic then sitting out on some green glass, sipping on a glass of wine, as a music performance happens directly in front of you?  But not only that, some of the top performers of the ages?

That is exactly what happens every year at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California.

Photo: The #mwconcert2014 line-up is here! Steely Dan, Jill Scott, Chris Isaak, Colbie Caillat, Maxwell, Pat Benatar & Neil Geraldo, plus so many more! Tickets go on sale next Mon. April 28th at 10am. See the full line-up and print the schedule so you can make your picks here: http://www.mountainwinery.com/concerts

They’ve just recently announced their 2014 Concert Series Lineup for the summer, and guess what?  Tickets officially go on sale Monday, April 28th:

Check out the lineup here:

Date

 Artist

Show/Door Time

Ticket Prices

28-May

 Gary Allan
With John King

7:30/5:30

$89.50/79.50/59.50/45.00

31-May

 Brit Floyd
The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show
Discovery World Tour 2014

7:30/5:30

$65/55/45/35

1-Jun

 Merle HaggardDave Alvin & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones

7:30/5:30

$79.50/59.50/49.50/39.50

6-Jun

 Il Volo

7:30/5:30

$115/95/75/55

14-Jun

 Jake Shimabukuro
“Jimi Hendrix of the Ukulele”

7:30/5:30

$49.50/39.50/35.00/32.50

22-Jun

 Jeff Dunham

8:00/6:00

$139.50/99.50/79.50/59.50

23-Jun

 Maxwell

7:30/5:30

$119.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

24-Jun

 Jill Scott

7:30/5:30

$119.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

25-Jun

 Steve Winwood

7:30/5:30

$99.50/69.50/59.50/49.50

1-Jul

 Joan Baez & Indigo Girls

7:30/5:30

$79.50/69.50/59.50/49.50

8 & 9-Jul

 Steely Dan

7:30/5:30

$225/149.50/85.00/65.00

10-Jul

 Boyz II Men

7:30/5:30

$79.50/69.50/59.50/39.50

13-Jul

 “Happy Together” Tour
The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night)
Mark Farner (formerly of Grand Funk Railroad)Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Gary Lewis & The Playboys

7:30/5:30

$65/55/45/35

15-Jul

 The Memphis TourBoz ScaggsWith Special Guest Los Lobos

7:30/5:30

$95/75/55/45

16-Jul

 Pat Metheny Unity Group (<—->) Bruce HornsbyWith Sonny Emory
Campfire Tour 2014

7:30/5:30

$95/65/55/45

17-Jul

 Colbie Caillat

7:30/5:30

$89.50/69.50/59.50/49.50

 

18-Jul

 Jewel

7:30/5:30

$85/55/45/35

20-Jul

 Replay America
The Go-Go’s
Patty Smyth and Scandal
Martha Davis and The Motels
Cutting Crew
Naked Eyes Featuring Peter Byrne

6:30/4:30

$119.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

21-Jul

 Goo Goo Dolls & DaughtryWith Special Guest Plain White T’s

7:30/5:30

$139.50/109.50/89.50/59.50

22-Jul

 Lyle Lovett And His Large Band

7:30/5:30

$95/75/55/45

23-Jul

 Chris Isaak

7:30/5:30

$99.50/99.50/79.50/49.50

24-Jul

 Toni Braxton

7:30/5:30

$129.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

25-Jul

 Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo / Rick Springfield

7:00/5:00

$125/85/65/45

26-Jul

 Don McLean / Judy Collins

7:30/5:30

$75/55/45/35

27-Jul

 Bret MichaelsLife Rocks 2014

7:30/5:30

$89.50/69.50/59.50/39.50

28-Jul

 Foreigner

7:30/5:30

$95/75/55/45

30-Jul

 Los Lonely Boys / Kenny Wayne Shepherd

7:30/5:30

$65/55/45/35

1-Aug

 An Evening With The Beach Boys

7:30/5:30

$95/75/55/35

2-Aug

 Andrew Bird & The Hands of Glory

7:30/5:30

$59.50/45.00/35.00/35.00

3-Aug

 Creedence Clearwater RevisitedWith Special Guest Robert Randolph & The Family Band

7:30/5:30

$89.50/69.50/49.50/39.50

4-Aug

 Nickel Creek

7:30/5:30

$69.50/59.50/49.50/39.50

5-Aug

 Michael McDonald / Toto

7:30/5:30

$129.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

7-Aug

 Sarah Brightman

7:30/5:30

$289.50/199.50/99.50/59.50

8-Aug

 An Evening With Joan Rivers
(mature content)

7:30/5:30

$75/55/45/35

9-Aug

 Amos Lee
Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song Tour

7:30/5:30

$60.50/50.50/43.50/38.50

10-Aug

 A Night In New OrleansAaron Neville and Dr. John & The Nite TrippersWith The New Orleans Suspects“Laissez les bons temps rouler… Let the good times roll

with a Taste of New Orleans at The Mountain Winery”

6:00/4:00

$89.50/69.50/49.50/39.50

11-Aug

 Under The Sun Tour
Smash Mouth
Sugar Ray
Blues Traveler
Uncle Kracker

6:30/4:30

$89.50/69.50/59.50/49.50

12-Aug

 ZZ Top & Jeff Beck – Beards ‘N Beck Tour 2014

6:30/4:30

$225/145/95/65

13-Aug

 Deep Purple

7:30/5:30

$125/85/65/55

16-Aug

 Kool & The GangWith Special Guest En Vogue

7:30/5:30

$109.50/89.50/69.50/49.50

20-Aug

 Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue / Galactic

7:30/5:30

$89.50/69.50/69.50/49.50

22-Aug

 Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings     7:30/5:30

$65.00/45.00/35.00/32.50

23-Aug

 B.B. KingThe Blind Boys of Alabama    7:30/5:30

$125/85/65/45

24-Aug

 Brian Regan    7:30/5:30

$65/55/45/35

25-Aug

 Earth, Wind & Fire    7:30/5:30

$150.50/100.50/80.50/60.50

26-Aug

 Frampton’s Guitar CircusFeaturing Peter Frampton and Buddy Guy    7:30/5:30

$139.50/99.50/79.50/59.50

27-Aug

 Gipsy Kings 25th Anniversary TourWith Special Guest Ole’ Noys    7:30/5:30

$149.50/95/75/55

28-Aug

 Matisyahu / OzomatliWith Special Guest Makua Rothman    6:30/4:30

$69.50/49.50/42.50/35.00

29-Aug

 The Fab Four – The Ultimate Tribute    7:30/5:30

$55.00/42.50/29.50/22.50

30-Aug

 Retro Futura Tour 2014Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey
Howard JonesUltravox’s Midge UreKatrina of Katrina & the Waves

6:30/4:30

$89.50/69.50/59.50/45.00

2-Sep

 Elvis Costello & The Imposters

7:30/5:30

$99.50/79.50/69.50/49.50

6-Sep

 Huey Lewis and The News

7:30/5:30

$99.50/79.50/59.50/49.50

11-Sep

 Chicago

7:30/5:30

$126/96/76/46

14-Sep

 An Acoustic Evening with
Ben Harper

8:00/6:00

$85/75/65/45

16-Sep

 Heart

7:30/5:30

$95/75/65/45

18-Sep

 Martina McBride

7:30/5:30

$95/75/55/45

21-Sep

 British Invasion 50th Anniversary Tour!Gerry & The Pacemakers, Chad & Jeremy, Billy J. Kramer, Mike Pender’s Searchers, Denny Laine

7:30/5:30

$65/55/45/35

26-Sep

 Pattie LaBelle
With Lyfe Jennings

7:30/5:30

$125/95/75/55

27-Sep

 Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon from SNL

7:30/5:30

$155.50/125.50/89.50/59.50

28-Sep

 Jazz Summit
Boney James / Jazz Attack Featuring Rick Braun,Euge Groove and Peter White with Jason Bodlovich Group“Jazz du Jour… a culinary ode to the influential Jazz Cities of America”

6:00/4:00

$69.50/59.50/49.50/39.50

3-Oct

 Larry The Cable Guy

7:30/5:30

$129.50/99.50/79.50/59.50

Now, as to what kind of music and performances I’m interested in seeing?  Lets see, Martina McBride is on my list of must see performers along with the Goo Goo Dolls performing with Daughtry and of course, Jewel.

I, kind of, personally love the fact that they’ve included a wide range of musical performances for all music types.

And the cool thing?  It’s less than 2 hours away from me, and even closer for those in the South Bay Area.  What concert would you want to see?


Categories: Fun Stuff, Northern California, Travel, Wine | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: The Publicist

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Jamie

Disclosure: I received review copies on behalf of this post.  All opinions are my own.

The PublicistThe Publicist Book One 
Behind every book, there’s always more to the story.

Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t always sell (at all) and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star Editor, MacDermott Ellis. Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author, now as forgotten as yesterday’s news; and his nephew Nick, who wants to sweep Kate away from New York for another coast, California.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, the over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week”, she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

As a blogger, there’s another world to our world, and that’s often the publicist.  Often intrigued by this position, this book instantly caught my attention and I wanted to read more.

Christina George shows a little bit of light into this position with her books, The Publicist.  Book One showcasing Kate’s world as she navigates the best she can through the world of publishing, and then book two:

Shelf Life: The Publicist Book Two
The story only an insider could tell.

Publishing: An industry of out-of-control of egos, unrealistic expectations, and books with the shelf life of milk.

This is Kate’s world, but for how long?

When one of Kate Mitchell’s star authors is carted away in handcuffs, she thinks it’s only the beginning of her troubles. As her world crumbles around her, Kate desperately looks for anyone to hold onto but finds that happy endings are truly works of fiction. When her career and love affair hit their expiration date, Kate sets off on a new adventure….

Starting over in California is easy, but Kate soon learns that leaving her old life behind isn’t. Nicholas Lavigne is eager to help her forget, but two things still own her heart, the dream of discovering the next great American novel, and MacDermott Ellis.

As Kate tries to rebuild her life she finds a surprising gift that reboots her career in a new and unexpected direction. Suddenly her name becomes synonymous with one of the biggest bestsellers publishing has seen in ages and she’s welcomed back with open arms. At the height of her success the ghosts of her past come back to remind her of the world she’d been trying to forget and the man who never let go of her heart.

George instantly captures the personalities of Kate, Nicholas, and MacDermott Ellis in her books, and intertwines all the worlds together in two great novels.

These books are instant fun reads meant to enjoy during a fun summer day or spent on the beach lounging.  Sure to have you laughing at parts, and cringing in others, but one things for sure, it’s entertaining.  And destined for those chick lit’s lovers.

I’ll be pulling this one out again this summer, but of course, I can’t say much more.  Check out more reviews here.

Enter for Your Chance to Win a Copy of The Publicist Book 1 and Two by leaving a comment below.

Giveaway ends at 9pm PST on April 28th, 2014.  Winner will be notified by email. Open to Residents in the US.  Winner has choice of print or ebook.  


Categories: Book Reviews | 2 Comments