Wine Stars

Wine Stories and News for the Young at Heart

How Avaline Wine Co-Founders, Cameron Diaz And Katherine Power, Achieved $20 Million In Sales With Ingredient Transparency

Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power, Co-Founders of Avaline Wines. AVALINE WINES When serial entrepreneur, Katherine Power met Hollywood star and author, Cameron Diaz, they discovered they had something in common – a love of good wine. At the same time, they also learned they had a common frustration – the lack of transparency on wine labels. With current TTB regulations not requiring alcoholic beverages in the U.S. to include ingredient or nutrition labeling (though this could be changing in the future – see foot note below), they decided to take action and create a new wine brand that did provide [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-04-10T18:21:30-07:00April 10, 2023|

How Fine Wine Importer, Wilson Daniels, Manages Some Of World’s Most Expensive Wine Brands

Wilson Daniels Imports Wines made from the Romanée-Conti Grand Cru Vineyard in Burgundy. GETTY When Rocco Lombardo assumed president at Wilson Daniels, one of the top luxury wine importers and marketers in the U.S., no one knew that in less than 8 years, he grew the company five times its size in revenue and case sales. Even more impressive, the privately owned company was able to grow its business by 68% during the pandemic, and did not lay off any employees. Today, Wilson Daniels oversees a wine portfolio of some of the most illustrious wine brands in the world. Examples [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-04-02T12:15:28-07:00April 2, 2023|

Dreaming of Working in Napa Valley? New Digital Resource Improves Accessibility

New Digital Resource called 'Dream.Work.Napa' Improves Accessibility. Photo Credit: NVV A new digital resource called, ‘Dream.Work.Napa.’ was released today that will help those looking to start their careers in Napa Valley. This was developed by members of the NVV Leadership Program cohort. The site is designed to connect people with a range of resources available on the webpage, including internships, housing opportunities, education and mentorship programs, scholarships, employment opportunities and healthcare. The mission of Dream.Work.Napa. is to improve the accessibility and social sustainability of Napa Valley through supported educational and resource programs to attract, retain and inspire the next generation, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-23T15:25:41-07:00March 23, 2023|

How ChatGPT Can Help Wineries Sell More Wine

A winery and vineyard landscape created by AI Art - Deep Dream Generator After asking ChatGPT (free open source artificial intelligence platform) to write a blog post on 'How ChatGPT Can Assist Customers in Buying Wine,' and being reasonably impressed with the results, I decided to flip the table and ask it 'how wineries could increase wine sales with ChatGPT'. The first blog post it wrote wasn't that accurate, because it said we were still in a pandemic, so I asked it to try a second time. This is what is came up with. Personally, I think it is relatively [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-19T12:30:33-07:00March 19, 2023|

How ChatGPT Can Assist Consumers in Buying Wine

Wine and Chat GPT. Photo Credit: Artbreeder As a wine business professor, I've become rather alarmed with reports that students are using ChatGPT (free open source artificial intelligence platform) to complete research papers with APA referencing. Therefore, I decided to test this out on ChatGPT and guess what? The platform did an excellent job of writing a 2 page research paper, complete with abstract and referencing, but it couldn't write the 10 page research paper I requested - even though I asked it multiple times. However, ChatGPT is actually supposed to be better at writing short articles and blog posts, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-18T14:37:36-07:00March 18, 2023|

A Conversation With Sommelier Tonya Pitts On Wine/Food Pairing

Tonya Pitts, Sommelier and Wine Director of One Market Restaurant, CA. HARDY WILSON Tonya Pitts grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and remembers her grandmother and great-grandmother enjoying a glass of red Manischewitz wine with dinner each evening. Fast-forward to today where Tonya Pitts manages a 600-bottle wine list at the acclaimed One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, and was recently named ‘Sommelier of the Year’ by Wine Enthusiast’s 2022 Wine Stars Awards. In a recent phone interview, Pitts shares some of her insights into the art of wine and food pairing. She also comments on the importance of Black [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:04:46-08:00March 7, 2023|

6 Tempting Wine Cocktails For Valentine’s Day

Tempting Wine Cocktails for Valentines Day. Photo Credit: Getty While you can never go wrong serving champagne or sparkling wine for Valentine’s Day, sometimes it is better to get a little more creative and serve a tantalizing wine cocktail. After all, wine has been used as a base for cocktails as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans, who used to add honey, spices, and different types of fruit to wine. With this in mind, we consulted six wine experts and sommeliers who provided six recipes for some of their favorite wine cocktails. These are ideal to serve as [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-02-12T09:14:33-08:00February 12, 2023|

How to Plan the Perfect Wine & Art Painting Party

A Wine & Painting Party Can Be Loads of Fun. Photo Credit: Porch.com Contributed by Maria Jose Meneses - You don’t have to be a great artist to enjoy painting. Painting is more active and engaging than streaming a movie and less competitive than board game night. But when you invite your friends and add some delicious wine and nibbles, it can be a blast. Even your least artsy friend will enjoy seeing what they created after an entertaining evening. Preparing for a paint and sip party is a little different than setting up a dinner party or game night. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-02-01T18:07:51-08:00February 1, 2023|

An Exciting 5 Course Champagne Dinner

Billecart-Salmon Champagne Designed to Pair with Food. PHOTO CREDIT: BILLECART-SALMON Some of the most innovative and satisfying meals of my life have been organized around one type of wine. For example, I had a 6-course all Riesling wine dinner in Germany once, and a 5-course Madeira wine lunch on the island of Madeira in Portugal. In interviewing Mathieu Roland-Billecart, the CEO of Billecart-Salmon Champagne House in France, for a Forbes article, he shared this enticing 5-course all Champagne dinner. Even more interesting, he said that it is quite common in the Champagne towns of Epernay and Reims to enjoy these [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:06:04-08:00December 29, 2022|

9 Surprising Dessert and Wine Combinations

Delicious Dessert and Wine Combinations. Photo Credit: Pixabay (Contributed by Marina Copeland) - Pairing wine and dessert can be tricky. Get it right, and you’ll create an experience of gastronomic bliss for yourself and your guests. Get it wrong, and they’ll remember the end of your meal for all the wrong reasons. Following is a list of 9 dessert and wine combinations that are sure to make you a hero. The main guideline to remember with dessert pairings is that the wine should always be a little sweeter than the food it is paired with (see more guidelines at the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:07:00-08:00December 5, 2022|

Pairing Wine With Bugs in Mexico – Crickets and Worms

Pairing Baked Crickets and Worms with Sherry and Sparkling Wine in Mexico. C. MONTOYA Though there are many creative wine and food pairings around the world, probably one of the most distinctive can be found in Mexico. At the recent annual OIV conference (43rd World Conference of Vine & Wine), held earlier this month in Baja, Mexico, both of the ‘Bug and Wine’ pairing seminars were completely booked. “We had over 50 people in the Sparkling Wine with Baked Crickets session,” stated Carlota Montoya, a wine educator and media consultant from Mexico City. “We paired four different sparkling wines with [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:07:57-08:00December 3, 2022|

Tantalizing Tempranillo Wine in Lodi, California

Bokisch Winery in Lodi, CA - one of the major producers of Tempranillo Wine in California. Photo Credit: Bokisch Tempranillo is often referred to as the “Cabernet” of Spain due to its widespread planting and its noble status as the backbone of Spanish reds. It is actually the 4th most planted wine grape in the world yet less than 1000 acres of Tempranillo are planted in California. Enter the Lodi Wine Region of California, where the Tempranillo grape is gaining much acclaim. In fact, there are already 10 different wineries in Lodi that specialize in making wine from the Tempranillo grape. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-11-12T15:32:33-08:00November 12, 2022|

Sonoma County Wine Auction Raises $1.8 Million For Charity – Totaling $40 Million Since Inception

Bidding at the 2022 Sonoma County Wine Auction at Chalk Hill Estate. ALEXANDER RUBIN The concept of a wine auction to raise money for charity is an ancient one – dating back to 1859 at the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy, France. Built as a hospital in 1443, the famous medieval building with its multi-colored tiled roof started the tradition by accepting donations of wine from local domains that they sold to raise hospital funds. Eventually it turned into an annual 3-day auction, which is still held each November. This wine charity model has been an inspiration to many other [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-10-09T13:29:33-07:00October 9, 2022|

Fine Wine Investing: How Cult Wine Investment Finds The Next High Value Wine And Region

Searching for the next great wine investment. GETTY It was a pleasure to interview Tom Gearing for this article. We had nearly a 2 hour interview via Zoom. He was so interesting and so enthusiastic, it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the special world of fine wine investing. This article was originally published on Forbes.com. Republished here with permission. Tom Gearing grew up in the world of fine wine with a father who was an avid collector, so it may not seem that strange the he founded one of the first wine investment firms [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-09-19T15:55:58-07:00September 19, 2022|

The Art Of Pairing Wine With Asian Food Taken To New Heights At Eight Tables Restaurant In San Francisco

Nine Essential Flavors of Chinese Cuisine Paired with Champagne at Eight Tables Restaurant JOSEPH WEAVER Pairing wine and food is often referred to as both an art and science. Wine seems to go especially well with local cuisine from the country in which it is produced, such as French or Italian wine with French or Italian cuisine. However, matching wine to Asian food flavors is often considered to be more challenging – especially dishes that have unique herbs, spices and flavors compared to traditional western fare. Yet at Eight Tables Restaurant by George Chen, hidden at the end of a [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2023-03-07T16:08:30-08:00August 31, 2022|

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