*notcot in
travel
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2 Notes
Just a quick peek at last nights festivities ~ i'm currently at the Broad Summit at the Boon Hotel up in the Russian River Valley ~ what is it? "So. You may be wondering what this party is all about. In short, The Broad Summit was an idea hatched over Margaritas at SxSW. Maggie has "organize a retreat" on her life list, Aubrey is a party planner, Laura Mayes is a conference organizer, and Helen Jane supplies wine and cheese for the entire Internet. We talked about how fun it would be to have our blogger friends in one place for the weekend. Tipsily laid plans don't often come to much, but we're an unusually efficient group." Basically its like a blogger/tech ladies summer camp (fall camp?) of sorts, but with wine, massages, bonfires, pajama parties, hot tubs, and fun sponsors! So, yes, i'm totally at a tech conference north of SF... and the bonfire was so pretty, had to share a few quick pics with you! (More random pics keep popping up over on my twitter) ~ so first take a peek at the awesome fire, and the surroundings on the next page!
TO PAGE 2 of "Fire at the Broad Summit 09"! ----->
Tags:
events
- san francisco
- travel
- wine
I've written about quite a bit of packaging design, and alcohol packaging in particular often has some beautiful designs, but i think this is a first where the detail that grabbed me most was the cork! Once we popped this cork, i couldn't help but spin it around and around, and as we drank the bottle the question really became, who's chasing whom?
This is the cork of the André Balazs Sunset Beach Rosé ~ which is a collaboration with his long time friend and local Long Island winemaker, Christian Wölffer. Apparently vines planted at his Sunset Beach hotel will also contribute to future réserves. The label is also a fresh, beautiful water color representing that French Riviera/Miami lifestyle ~ lounging on towels with toes dipped in the water, raising glasses of Rosé as the bartender wades into the sunset behind with tray over his head? Cute label ~ rumor has it the girls on it are his daughters? Anyhow, take a peek at more pics on the next page...
TO PAGE 2 of "The André Balazs Sunset Beach Rosé Cork"! ----->
Tags:
cork
- drinks
- gifts
- hotels
- liqurious
- luxury
- packaging
- shopping
- standard
- wine
Inspiration + awesome web design + mind blowing packaging design + wine + customized moleskine + education + amusement? Does it really get any better? I don't even know where to start talking to you about how impressed and fascinated i am with the Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia site KnoWine.com ~ or the fact that they are making wine even more accessible by TEACHING people about it, with a playful site filled with videos, info, and a grade school feeling lined notebook paper on wooden desk feel! Super cool is that they sent people off to various regions for 30 days to learn about the wines and document their adventures in text, pics, and videos.
But seriously, lets talk packaging. Who knew making the "largest screwcap in all the land" could be so beautiful? As soon as i pulled the bottles out today i was already scheming ideas for what i could do with the gorgeous carafes... so, giant screwcap + awesome carafe bottle shape, it feels like an Erlenmeyer flask meets decanter... just enough glass details to keep it interesting (from the ridges to the text around the base... and that really sweet chemical structure of reservatrol, the antioxidant found in the skin of grapes)... not to mention the branding of using stamps with the countries the wines come from instead of labels! Oh, and then there's also the inspiring quotes on the lids of each bottle that can't not bring a smile to anyone's face when they are about to open it! And to top that, they sent over a few customized Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia customized moleskines! And they go beyond the usual cover art ~ they actually stickerize the inside cover with the stamp/labels from each region as well as stamp quotes and more randomly throughout!
I think they said it best: "Simply stated, wine is discovery. From how it's made and where it's made to why we drink it when we do, wine is not just wine." So take a look at MANY pictures on the next page, from close ups to the bottles and notebooks to screenshots and diagrams of their design choices.
TO PAGE 2 of "Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia"! ----->
Tags:
gifts
- packaging
- review
- science
- shopping
- website
- wine
*notcot in
travel
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0 Notes
While recollecting my thoughts and trying to take a bit of a break ~ i've also found myself cleaning up my computer, and while doing so, discovered a lot of posts in the making... that never quite made it! So here's some more catch up. I spent most of yesterday running around LA (and the outskirts) hunting and researching for the house i'm working on (under construction! i get to move in soon!) ~ and in doing so, finding myself thinking about so many details i hadn't paid such careful attention to before, and things that reminded me about the Manoir de Verzy ~ the Country House of Madame Veuve Clicquot that we visited, and i'm ashamed that i hadn't gotten these pictures up for you sooner!
There were so many fascinating details to this house and its gardens and being able to visit the actual vineyards ~ consider this a photo essay of sorts taking you through some of my most memorable images while there. This house is where we learned about vintages (even tasting our birth years! mine was a delicious vintage in '82) and Dégorgement à la volée in the Vieux Pressoir with Cyril Brun, the wine communications head and wine maker ~ followed by aperitif and specially crafted, perfectly paired lunch with Stéphane Gerschel - International Communications Director, Andrea Crippa - International Marketing Director, Cyril Brun, Felix Bocquet - Quality and Environment Director, followed by a walk through the vineyards with the Veuve Clicquot Vineyards director, Christian Renard. (All before taking off to our surprise helicopter ride!). It was at this lunch that Andrea gave us that sneak peek of the Ice Cube and i showed you some of the tile i loved. Anyhow, so on house shopping, and all the little details that make a house a home, take a peek at some of the quarters where VIPs stay with Veuve Clicquot, and the beautifully inspiring views across the vineyard on the next page!
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Tags:
champagne
- france
- home
- luxury
- travel
- veuve clicquot
- wine
Design House Stockholm has been one of my favorite design companies for some time now, and i was absolutely giddy to meet the people as well as the full series of products in person finally! More to come on the booth itself, but there were a few stand out products they've added to their collection that deserve features of their owns! Here is the one product i fell in love with as soon as i started playing with it (consider this on my birthday wishlist!)...
The Barbara Carafe by Nina Jobs for Design House Stockholm ~ is a brilliant experience... the glass carafe comes with an option of Amythest, Black, Clear crystal balls, which has a subtly ground surface, so it won't roll away... the crystal balls can serve as a top for the carafe, add more intrigue and/or a splash of color when hidden in the nest of a bubble in the base of the carafe, or as merely another playful tactile aspect to the carafe experience. And what could they possibly do to make such a gorgeous design better? Have it come in a gorgeous matte black gift box that sort of resembles a hat box... so when purchased you don't even have to worry the unboxing experience! See more images of the Barbara Carafe by Nina Jobs for Design House Stockholm on the next page, including hands on pics from Maison et Objet.
Merci beaucoup, Veuve Clicquot ~ who loves design as much as we do, and brought me to Paris to cover Maison et Objet 2008! More design discoveries to come...
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Tags:
gifts
- glass
- luxury
- shopping
- veuve clicquot
- wine
Carafe Un Verre from Sentou by Claudio Colucci. First time seeing this gorgeous handblown carafe in person, it's even nicer than i expected. Although designed in 2001, Sentou is apparently re-releasing the piece, and has improved the production of it. The design magically embodies the wine glass within the carafe, which creates an interesting visual depending on how you fill it and what you fill it with... if you're careful, could be fun to fill the glass with one liquid, and the main with the other.... shake to mix before pouring? See more images, especially ones of it at Maison et Objet on the next page!
Merci beaucoup, Veuve Clicquot ~ who loves design as much as we do, and brought me to Paris to cover Maison et Objet 2008! More design discoveries to come...
TO PAGE 2 of "Carafe Un Verre, Sentou"! ----->
Tags:
drinks
- gifts
- glass
- maison et objet
- shopping
- veuve clicquot
- wine
Glue Glue Design has two projects that are part of Vindesign 2007 i couldn't resist. First, above is the brilliant idea of turning your citrus fruit into your wine glass! Can you imagine how nice your sangria could be in a glass like that? And talk about biodegradable... I wonder if something like pomegranate would work... And below, check out their interesting take on the Cork. With their reusable stopper you can actually use the original cork to help add leverage to pull it out... or you can just pull with your finger in the loop...
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Tags:
drinks
- kitchen
- wine
I have such a love hate relationship with advertising ~ i have always admired and loved beautiful creative ads. And then i started off despising them on websites, and was completely torn when it came time to integrate them into my sites in an attempt to have this fun side project carry its own weight. And now? Apparently, now i can get *jealous* over cool ads that *other* sites get. So any designers and media buyers out there ~ if you're ever feeling extra nice, help us get brilliantly designed campaigns to show off (and entertain our readers)! I must even admit there's a tiny part of me that wants to even start putting up ads that i think are gorgeous ~ just b/c its nice to see them on the site... (even if they aren't campaigns we landed) ~ silly isn't it?
Ok rant done. It's a weird friday. BUT here is the campaign i'm loving that triggered that little rant. I grew up with Sub Zero fridges, they always seemed larger than life when i was little... and it's great to see this playful microsite they created for their Sub Zero wine storage systems. They have some great animated imagery of the Enemies of Wine ~ 1. Heat 2. Light 3. Vibration 4. Humidity. See close ups below. And on interesting new "conversational marketing" ideas, nice to see a company like them embracing the blogging medium with their Sub Zero Wine Blog of "insights and advice on all things wine" featuring experts giving their tips.
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Tags:
advertising
- kitchen
- shopping
- wine
Wait - before we look at how fun this looks, lets start with the name. Wine Ratchet Magnum. Doesn't that make you want to play with it already? This is the "coming soon" latest in crazy corkscrews from Built NY (yes the neoprene everything cases guys).
"A travesty has fallen upon the world of wine, It has lost the beloved "POP" that gets one salivating in anticipation of a tasty treat. Well, for those wishing to forgo the mechanical levers and tricks, a new day has dawned. Our corkscrew makes opening a bottle of wine as much fun as emptying it."
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Tags:
drinks
- gifts
- shopping
- wine
*ShadeElaine in
food+drink
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5 Notes
Yes, it's probably hard to imagine yourself drinking wine that doesn't come from a bottle. I remember when boxed wines came out and they were (and still are) the butt of many jokes. Classic glass bottle = classy and traditional. But with stuff like the Sofia Mini enjoying some success or at least garnering interest from the young and chic set, maybe people are ready for something new. So here's the environmentally friendly wine label, French Rabbit. Their "vintage-dated wines, the first premium French wines in an eco-friendly Tetra Pak™ container, are sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the sunny Pays d’Oc region of Southern France."
According to the French Rabbit site, the container takes less energy to produce than a glass bottle, is 100% recyclable, weighs less so it can be shipped more efficiently, and you can also squeeze out air from the container so that the wine lasts longer. Pretty smart!
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Tags:
drinks
- shopping
- wine
Modern Twist's Vinotagz ~ 1. beautifully simply elegant 2. great materials (non-toxic silicone stem markers can even pencil a name on them ) 3. ingenious packaging - did you SEE that carrying case that you can slip on a bottle of wine?
Design*Sponge tipped me off on these this morning, and i just LOVE them, they are possibly the perfect gift to stock up on, for each and every time you bring wine to a party.
Tags:
drinks
- gifts
- shopping
- wine
These Vacu Vin Party People Glass Markers were first as NOTCOT.org #20816 ~ and when i ran into them in Stockholm, they were even cuter in person! So i had to buy some to play with! They are so adorably tiny with their little suction cups and fun packaging! So next time, instead of sharpie markers to a solo cup, or wine tags, or stickers, here's a new option! Let your guests pick which adorable little gummy looking character they want to channel... they all even have names! (see pics on the next page!)
While i was in Tuscon, i picked up this bottle ~ yes, it was a total impulse buy based on packaging, but it had to be documented! And it didn't taste tooooo bad, but not exactly stellar, but how cute is it?
