Wine Comparisons that Teach You The Facts

Many of you ask about the ability to taste the difference between wine of various prices. You tell me you really can't tell the difference at all for many if not all of your wine purchases. Specifically your questions lean towards the difference between a $15 bottle of wine and say, a $30 bottle of wine. (What you're not telling me is that you haven't tried an $80 and don't want to if a $15 difference can't be measured.)

As you become more educated about the wine making process and the ability to discern taste, tannins and flavors, it's only natural to get excited about tasting a more expensive bottle and feeling a little note of exhilaration in the whole exotic process. Not finding a huge difference is either a letdown or a confirmation that the whole business is designed to fool you; that juice is juice. "I really can't tell the difference! Why should I pay more?"

I confess. I'm a bargain shopper. I love sales, and I simply cannot purchase an item unless the tag clearly states, "compare at:" with the next line reading, "our price..." I find it exciting to buy a BCBG sweatshirt that retails for $95 and rings up for me at $11.50. If I can buy it for that then clothes are clothes, and wine is wine. Right? Not necessarily.

Although the wine market is going through changes, and the recent cover of Wine Spectator features the headline that the overall prices of wine are going down, let's deconstruct the question and get tot he heart of your desire to find the difference.

If you become a fan of and read about wine from all sources, you see a pattern emerging. And that is that the price of wine is related to the cost to produce it. Specifically the land is the overriding element of price breakdown. As a wine consumer you have the choice of wines from almost every country in the world, and most regions make some kind of wine for the commercial market.

The other element is the grape itself. Various regions and growing conditions can yield very different flavor profiles and complexity. The grape is literally an infinite source of stimulation and discovery for your taste buds. As we become more familiar with grape varieties, wine makers, climate, blends, etc. end up fooling us and grapes begin to take on their own personality with no hint that one grape tastes like the other.

The third item that may be confusing you is the structure of the wine. Tannins, acidity, and alcohol content all confuse an inexperienced palate. Someone says its a dry wine and you think that means more tannins. Some say sweet and you think that means less alcohol. The list goes on.

Quite literally, the next element: wine marketing, is not designed to make it easy for you. It's designed to capture you and sell wine. Descriptions as well lure you with ratings, words that talk about body, mouth feel, finish and nose. All of these will play a different part in the process but may make you think they're describing a wine of exquisite structure when really it's just a combinations of tastes.

The final issue to consider when tasting wine is you. The beginning of the day is a better time to taste than evening. I'm not advocating you pop open the cork on a malbec to go with your cereal, but your palate is more discerning in the a.m. Also, if you're tasting it alone or with food, or even with a set of other wines, each will take on hugely different characteristics. You can almost obliterate a wine if you are matching food and wine incongruently. You can create a feeling in your mouth where tannins are indiscernible or acids are too pronounced. Tasting an expensive wine and a cheap wine incorrectly can render each bad or equally good.

Here's what you need to do when tasting wine so this confusion does not make you return to your beer and pretzels and say goodbye to the fruit of the vine forever.

Take the time to find out how to categorize and measure all the elements of wine when tasting it. Make sure you know how to serve the wine, taste the wine, pair the wine and understand the wine. You can only compare when other elements are controlled and/or equal.

When you go wine tasting, ask the distributor or proprietor to help you find the differences in the wine and explain that you want to know the difference between fine wines and not so fine wines. They can give you tips about making sure you give the wine a chance in your mouth with the proper tasting techniques. Sipping is a misnomer. If you're going to taste the wine, get a good amount in your mouth and make sure it touches all surfaces in your mouth. Breathe in a little while shifting the wine around your tongue and palate so your sense of smell can go to work giving your brain more signals.

Understand that price is not the ultimate comparison. The skill of wine making is a matter of dozens of different elements. Ask the wine maker about those elements so you can isolate the element of taste from one bottle to another. If your budget allows for a wine that is below $15, you can still ask for and find a wine that has superior qualities. In fact you may be able to spend much less than $15. However, if you're looking for something to wow the crowds and want to know about how to compare them, don't make it about price. Wines that range from $9 to $40 can taste similar, but only when choosing from wines in a scattered, pick-me kind of way. You can make educated choices.

Next, attend wine tastings and record your preferences. You may not find a pattern emerging but you will begin to train your brain to learn, in progression, about wine. In time you will be able to experience the absolute thrill of tasting a wine that takes on different characteristics while it's in your mouth and long after. You'll enjoy the absolutely huge difference in texture, and tastes. Soon when you can and do get the opportunity to taste something worthy of (and I do say worthy, not just priced) a hefty price tag, you can count it as one of the great experiences of being human!

Last but not least, and at the very least, drink if you enjoy and do it because you like what you're drinking. If you feel pressured by someone to keep inching up the cost of your bottles as a signal that you're a seasoned wine drinker, tell them to jump off a gnarly grapevine and point them to various articles on the web about wine rating. It's not a contest to see who can spend the most. It's about the whole, complex, exciting, creative and ever changing world of wine. A hobby that is fun alone and with others.

Happy tasting!

If you feel like everyone wants a little piece of you, read on.

It's true. Those little candy hearts know the real story. They have short, sweet, concise messages that get misunderstood by young and old alike.

Think about 4th grade: You plop the candy in an envelope, pass it back to the row behind you and soon Billy Smith is reading -YOU'RE CUTE!- and you're toast!

Seems today it's even harder to say the right things to the right people. Valentine's or not, we're all over stimulated and under motivated and giving "love" just feels like one more chore.

You are overwhelmed because you cannot find within yourself the wellspring of more to give because you are empty. You have not refilled the vessel because, in reality you do not no how to truly care for yourself. Carl Jung said, "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." In that is all the western truth of our gender. We have been trained to see ourselves as broken and un-whole. We have found fault in all our failures instead of experience. We have found ugliness in our wrinkles instead of wisdom. And we have found weakness in our tears instead of compassion.

On February 10th, we will explore these subjects, and share some new ideas with you that you can explore, to help increase your ability to love yourself. In essence we will help you fill your own vessel in a balanced, loving and nurturing way. As Mae West said so blatantly, "I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself!"

Well, maybe there's a place in-between for all of us noble women.

Seeking Our Own Balance

Last night, we drove home through a warm and violent rain storm. We watched the droplets pound the road, dance upon puddles, rush through streams carrying mud and leaves. Up close, from a view inside our car, the storm seemed almost personal. We struggled to see our path through the rivulets that casually traveled down our windshield without a conscious care that they partially blinded our view. Intentionally, we would hurl thousands of them away from our gaze with the swipe of a blade. But they were formidable. They kept coming. They were pure, happy, and falling on us in a way that lets you know nature doesn’t separate our conscious moments of power from the natural balance of any other creature in her domain.

We try, as humans, to bridle nature. We create dams and pipe lines; we suck up the living aquifers and create commerce out of a finite element. And still, when the rain falls, she first seeks to re-balance her own level. It is not political, or emotional. It is not vengeful or regal. It simply obeys the voice of nature.

I thought about all this last night, as we looked out our bedroom window, falling asleep to the sound of a rushing stream; captivated by the symphony of waves roaring across rocks and tree trunks. I thought about the fact that the natural flow of water, its unfettered ability to crash and splash on a random journey, is made all the more beautiful because she follows her own way. She seeks only to look at where her cargo will fall, not where the rocks or streams think it should be. Indeed the ledges of grass and weeds that erode away cannot stop the incessant tide. They must simply enjoy a countenance constantly changed by the rolling and swiftly traveling molecules of life.

As we seek balance in 2010, are we not like the waters that flow and carve and nurture? Do we not seek our own level by soothing those that ache and gathering laughter with whom we choose to find joy? Do we not feel more at peace when we gather with others to change the landscape with a natural but determined purpose? And are we not at peace when we allow the natural journey of our lives to create artful pathways and meadows of life? When we slake the thirst of others we are in balance. When we fall without a net we feel free. And when at last we soak into the earth and await the sun to bring us forth into the clouds to fall again, we know the circle of our existence is as it should be.

Networking, Women and Wine seeks to help you discover true balance and nurture it. Let’s join together to be a flood of healing and connections!

You need to decide what's worthy of your INBOX

It hit me, as I was depressing the ENTER button that would effectively release the trap door on my SPAM folder, that I hadn't even reviewed its contents this go around before trashing it. Gone were the 13 messages clogging it as I moved dutifully through my morning rituals.

It seems all our lives have now been relegated into two folders: Good Email and Bad Email. It's more than a PC problem, it's a PEOPLE problem.

I know I've done this: When a friend asks if you received the invite to the tree planting ceremony you never intended to patronize, you immediately offer the excuse, "It must have gone into my SPAM folder." Likewise, many important messages languish there, having been assigned to its abysmal location because of a tricky title, spelling error or just because your Email client simply decided to send it there. It's turning into our conscious on a disk!



What strikes me is that we allow this categorization to be a key component of our time management arsenal. As new ways to communicate enter our daily march from sunrise to sunset, we also find more ways to eliminate what passes through to us. And happily so. This electronic communications filter with a brain that is only explained by Physicists and Mystics, helps us to avoid the mundane and concentrate on the seemingly valid messages that harmoniously reside in our InBox. The trouble is, I still get advertisements for digestive health pills and truncated promises about wrinkle reduction right next to news from my business partner.



Again, we are faced with a metaphor about choices. In our innate human rhythm, we are willing to relegate our judgement of communication to a sentinel who appears to subliminally care about our priorities. Because this sorter resides in OUR computer, we're more than happy to overlook messages marked useless by this shaman of electronic babble. Have we looked into why we're happy with a Good-Mail, Bad-Mail color guard? And could it be, that in our own minds, we have innocently developed a good thought, bad thought lens that is just as arbitrary?



The contemporary truth in the phrase, "thoughts become things" is celebrated with a crescendo of hope with every book and workshop created. And with good reason. We need to take back our own decision making process. But the flippant effect of SPAM vs. INBOX, I fear, gives a false sense of thinking we're eliminating the real bad from the real good, instead of the comfortable from the uncomfortable, or the popular from the anonymous.



SPAM is kinda like that. There's enough 'uncomfortable content' in that folder, that we skim the titles and assume, with little or no cognitive engineering, that most of it is bad. And yet if something foolish, like an Email from a Facebook friend comes in the In-Box, asking us to compare ourselves to which shellfish we most resemble, we're all in. It's easier, isn't it. We've been given permission from the great Windows guru that it's okay.

Try this if we've got you thinking now about your good/bad Email decisions. For just two hours, (because we know you have to update your Facebook invites) try writing down the titles of all the Emails you open in that time. Then make a list of all the Emails you trash. See if you can't find a gem hiding in the BAD folder and a stinker residing in the GOOD one. Perhaps it will push you to make sure your own choices each day are not guided by habit, fear, peer pressure, or sleep deprivation but a value system with intention.



Then, resolve and say aloud, "This message is part of my responsibility as a choice. For answering it will push my life's desires and the good of others forward." Your answers may surprise you and help guide you in choosing what you will do with each day, each little folder, each little muscle in your fingers that runs your world with the words, OPEN, COMPOSE, SEND.

Celebrate Yourself. You are a Hero for any moment of courage!

A recent conversation with a friend yielded in interesting insight. A bright, successful and attractive women, who, like many of us has dealt with struggles and previous choices that were self-deprecating and perhaps destructive, she seemed poised to start on any journey of her choice, Armed with maturity, a pedigree of success, and a wisdom borne through experience she emulated the woman we all want to be.

However, she was blocked by a recurring sense of self doubt that was keeping her from exploring the abundance and possibility before her. The seeds of this sense of helplessness surfaced because she felt she hadn't learned to completely overcome the moments of despair. She was punishing herself because she had to work hard at finding the courage to move forward at times when the demons she felt as a child, were pushing hard at her core. Mentioning the countless things she had accomplished, but labeling them failures because she couldn't emerge without having to navigate through her self-doubt, I turned to her and said,

"It seems to me you are not celebrating your times of braveness. You are not rewarding yourself for the great deal of courage it has taken you to learn to have this positive dialog with yourself to pry yourself from these moments of darkness.You must be your own cheerleader and celebrate what is your most courageous triumph; that of helping yourself to see that you can find the light."

I could see by the look in her eyes she had not thought about being her own coach and supporter. A new smile grew on her face as she touched my shoulder. She could see clearly that she had not seen or taken credit for the courage she truly had.

In this month of new resolutions, of change, and hope, don't forget to be kind and gentle with yourself. As you heap upon yourselves the list of resolutions you deem important, keep in mind that you must balance them with kindness and insight. Knowing that the true hero is one who knows fear and channels it. Only the fool rushes in without knowing the cost and the brave are always celebrated for showing their wounds.

Come celebrate your own courage, taste fine wine, and make meaningful connections with Networking, Women and Wine!

Balancing Your Resolutions With Reality

It's funny, isn't it. In the blink of an eye we have arrived to see a new year, a new decade, a new month simply appear before us. All around the clear, cold air seems to glisten with hope and possibility. The bobbles that adorn our trees, or the candles that lite our nights, or even the families that have shared our bathrooms; all have gone away leaving us alone with our conscience and our intentions.

Now that it's just you and that little voice inside your head, you're probably following the crowd by listing out your resolutions. One more carrot stick and one less caramel macchiato. One more sit-up and one less slice of pecan pie. It's a see-saw of giving up and replacing old habits with new ones. A willingness to ignore temptation, followed by a cardboard reward.

Hmmm. I don't know about you, but I doubt that I'll make it to September without a chocolate chip cookie. Good chance that breakfast will be one of those cookies before the week is out considering it's my husband's favorite and he can eat ANYTHING he likes. And of course, when it does happen -- when I fall off the wagon, I'll fall into a pit of cookie dough and vanish into the mixture like slightly beaten eggs and creamed butter.

Carmen and I have a different approach for you. Let's talk with a new language about change. Shall we? In fact,let's simply just 'do change' in a whole new way. We will, together, approach each shift in our lives with gentleness and mindful nurturing. We will create abundance through the desire to change, with the idea that we need balance to maintain new habits. And last but not least, we will seek to surround ourselves with what we're yearning for, without hearing that harsh wooshing sound as all our comfort foods, habits and vices vanish into an abyss of non-achievable goals. In short, you will grow and not even know it!

2010's theme this year is The Year of Balance. What that means, is that if you're going to create shifts, you must be conscious of how to replace them in a gentle, kind and conscious fashion with other meaningful things.

This month seek out other strong women who can nurture your noble traits as women. We'll enjoy and learn about wine, create a safe place to find meaningful connections, and offer you a place to begin your NEW YEAR OF INTENTION!

Five Secrets to Serving Wine with Style!

Networking, Women and Wine is a group created to help all women see the power they have in themselves. Wine tasting brings us together because the metaphor of wine describes us so well. As we women we display a unique a blend of traits, and we are all individual.

Perhaps you're ready to have a holiday party this season. Networking, Women and wine can help. We don't want the process of serving wine to be intimidating. These tips will give you the edge you desire!

1) The right glass: Now I’m not advocating you go out to the mall and buy 10 Riedel glasses, but the right glass does make a difference, and it’s not just presentation. Here’s why. When a wine is opened, oxygen begins its work of breaking down the structure of the wine and enhancing the aromas and flavors. This living breathing thing called wine begins to interact and the dance begins!

One of the most satisfying ways to understand wine is through your nose. Since we all taste via the sense of smell, making the most of this important step will put you on your way to being a wine aficionado. The wine needs space to release these aromas, and a glass which is large enough to allow those aromas to intensify is best. First, smell the wine without swirling. You will get one aroma. Now swirl, releasing the molecules and mixing the wine with air. Another sniff and you’ll get something completely different. Now no sissy sniffs. It’s time to get your face in there and breathe deeply. One trick is to put your hand over the glass as you swirl, and then move your palm aside just enough to allow your nose in. It’s fun!

2) The right temperature: Most of us Americans like our beverages cold. Milk, for example, is wonderful when it’s spiked with ice cubes and placed in a frosted glass. When served with cookies, only you can describe the ecstasy. But don’t confuse cold with serving wine.

If you’ve ever bought a bottle of wine, especially white, and then opened it at home and found it to taste flat and lifeless, it’s not the wine’s fault or the vendor. If you’ve had it in the fridge right before opening, it’s your fault. Just as you would never eat a frozen cake, wine is something that must be at the right temperature to release all of its flavors. Now you won’t get tarred and feathered if you’re one of those folks who adds ice to your wine, (shudder!) but give it a try at the right temp and see the difference it can make.

Here’s the EASIEST way to serve wine correctly. Take the white wine out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving. And put the red wine in 20 minutes before serving. You’ll chill the red down just enough and warm the white up just perfectly. Ideal serving temperatures will be posted on our blog.

(Tip, you can store opened red and white wines in the fridge to make them last up to three days. Keep them sealed airtight!)

3) Tasting the wine thoroughly: Another fun element of wine tasting is how much noise you can make and still be invited back to the party. As we’ve mentioned, the tongue doesn’t do all the tasting, it’s the nose that gives us most of our enjoyment.

Here’s how to do it. Take in a good amount of wine in your mouth. Let it sit on the tongue, all over your mouth. Let it sit there for 5 to 10 seconds. Swallow and breathe in. See how much more complex wine can be? Now try taking in a sip of wine, and then try and breathe air into your mouth while the wine is there, using your mouth and nose to inhale. Swallow and then enjoy the explosion again!

From http://www.winepros.org/wine101/sensory_guide.htm we quote: “Smell and taste are the chemical senses because their receptors are stimulated by chemical molecules, rather than by energy from light, pressure, or sound. As little as one molecule in a million may be detected by the nose, but it takes a minimum of one part per thousand to stimulate the tongue. As sensitive and accurate as this organ is, relatively few people ever realize its potential for sensory enjoyment by learning how it works and the language of smells. Professional food and wine tasters and perfumers use analogies to common experience to describe aromas. Experts are those that practice and use their sense of smell most frequently.”

4) Pairing and sharing: There are really no rules that you can break in the world of wine. Many tell us to simply buy and drink the wine we like, and pair with abandon. They’re trying to sell you wine, I’m trying to elevate your experience. With that in mind, some rules, when followed, will allow you a much more significant experience with your wine. Before you go back to drinking only your cold Rieslings and Chardonnays, consider the logic we’re going to share.

Many people talk about the fact that they only like sweet wines. Reds are too intrusive and odd. But when you discover the tasting, smelling and texture of wine, your mouth begins to convince you otherwise. Wine can bring out the tastes of food, cleanse your palate and make you glad you have a nose! Wine is meant to be consumed with food. In many countries the thought of sitting with just a glass of wine would seem as silly as eating a meal without a plate. They’re meant to go together.

Wine is comprised of chemicals that are described in many ways. Two of the most significant are the acidic level and the tannic level in wines. Tannins are the sharp, dry feeling on your tongue, like when you eat a ripe banana and your tongue feels like sandpaper. Acidic levels are the tartness. Learning to blend, mostly the acidic level, with the flavors and the textures of your food is key to enjoying both in the right way.

Okay, this is getting complicated. Let’s simplify. You can begin to determine the right pairings by thinking ‘like goes with like.’ Lush foods with lush wines. Fruity and spicy food with fruity and spicy wines. Peppery foods with peppery wines. Earthy wines with earthy foods. These basics can get you started. There are literally hundreds of Internet resources for helping you pair food and wine. But please, by all means pair!!!

5) Ask everyone about their experience!: True, if you’re swallowing and someone starts talking to you, it could cause a mess if you try and reply. But I am a firm believer in making the wine a center of the conversation. First, it’s a good ice-breaker with new people. Wine is so personal, and it’s a good way to get people to move towards a more emotional experience.

Describing the flavors is fun and entertaining and everyone learns something.
If you have a group of novice and/or experienced wine drinkers, or even a combination, you can still follow these suggestions. In fact, have a mini wine tasting session, exploring the flavors and aromas as described above. You’ll find that your guests leave with a new appreciation for wine and for their own ability to enjoy it!

Bella Misto Masters at Work at Raffaldini!

I consider myself a pretty good cook. A pinch of this, a dash of that…sauté, broil, bake, and voila! – a new meal is presented. I am soothed by the symphony of flavors harmonizing in a broth, I love inviting herbs to dance on tender morsels. In short, I’m hooked on cooking.

With that in mind, you can certainly understand why I was drawn to the wine blending event at Raffaldini Vineyards, in the Yadkin Valley, NC, held a few weeks ago in their barrel room. This annual event is created to help the winemakers determine the right blend for their Bella Misto wine. We couldn't wait to get those beakers working.

The event began with a set of instructions shared by Jay Raffaldini himself. A former New Yorker and Wall Street aficionado, his approach to wine making is pleasantly spontaneous. Of course it doesn’t hurt that his reputation for making exceptional wine means he made the right decision replacing paper shares for vinification.

We listened intently, hands poised on our glasses and coats pulled up around our necks to keep out the slight chill in the air. He explained that we would first catalog a series of 5 wines to be used in the blending, carefully noting every element of color, texture, nose, flavor, structure and tannins. After our “tastes” were recorded, we divided into teams and began our foray into the world of wine-blending.

Here’s a few things you need to know so you can understand how complicated this can be. First, the wines we were tasting would still sit in their bottles for a few more weeks. The aging process was not yet complete and the wine could change either slightly or drastically over that short a period of time. Based on the grape and structure, we had to decide, if it went one way or another, what might be its best attributes to showcase when blending.

Two, alcohol and tannins behave quite wildly when mixed in your mouth. It’s not necessarily a grape thing as much as a biological result of our tongues, our sense of smell, and our personal choices. Quite simply, it ain’t like addin’ a little more salt to the gravy.

Thirdly, measuring out one small quantity into a beaker with a radius the size of my husband’s thumb is an exercise in making sure your reader glasses are sitting just right on your nose. Don’t want to spill any of this juice! And finally, the biggest roadblock is that we only had about 40 minutes to experiment with our blends. Keeping track of each percentage, keeping a bit of each blend to compare and still have enough left to vote on is tough, especially since you want to gulp down every sip of the stuff!!

At our table, beside my trusty co-grape mixer, Carmen, and our husbands, was a foursome who had pedigree. And they looked like they were ready to eat us for lunch. They were in attendance last year and their blend was instrumental in making the 2008 Bella Misto. We were in awe but feeling our competitive natures surface as we shook their hands and commented on the fact that some of us were wine club members. Hey, hokey, we know. But we had to show off somehow!!

Seriousness abounded. At least we tried to create some levity, but with all of us looking like mad scientists at a frat party, we concentrated on the task at hand. When the blending was complete, we had determined, out of 4 combinations, that we had one worth sharing! Named ANDIAMO in a frenzy to find a title we liked, our blend consisted of 20% of the luscious Merlot, 25% of the grassy and pungent Cabernet Franc, 40% of the Cabernet, a generous wine with a hint of cinnamon on top of it’s familiar, earthy tang, and 15% Petit Verdot, a powerhouse of tannins and soil added to ground our flavors. We opted NOT to blend with the Montepulciano for several reasons. It is not a customary blending wine, it tasted perfectly balanced all on its own so there was nothing we needed to tone down or bring out, and we wanted to be the rebels; there we go again.

When the confusion was over, and we had voted at our table, even the noble’s had to vote for our wine. And we literally pushed a taste onto Jay who exclaimed that this was most likely going to be very close to the blend they would choose! How’s that for the ameteurs! Here’s juice in your eye…a gift from table 6.

If you’re interested in this event, check out Raffaldini’s web site and sign up for next year’s blending. And when you buy a bottle of the Bella Misto this year, check out the label and see how close our percentages came to winning out. We think the Networking Chicks from Charlotte did okay.

Rebalance Your Life With Networking, Women and Wine!

For me, sixth grade was a long, tortuous year. In spite of having at least enough coordination and height to be the tetherball champion, I was always the last one chosen for four-square, teased incessantly about my A+ grades, and rode my Schwinn bike home alone each day.

However, I was able to find one element of triumph in this jungle of rejection, and that was during gym. In particular, the balance beam. It was only 6 inches off the ground, a detail not lost on my acrophobic brain. In fact my tall, lanky frame felt almost graceful as I trotted across the smooth, wooden path. When I reached the end, I dipped my foot and swirled around with ease, a move choreographed to compliment the arc of my dancing arms and solid posture. I found the journey mesmerizing. A calculated series of fluid movements that meant unwavering concentration on staying completely parallel to the bar, head held high, proud and confident.

As I reflect on those years, I realized that we all seek balance in one way or another. We crave that feeling of equality, weight distributed between two events, two people, or even two opposing ideas. Gravity and nature have created that in us, and we thrive on that dominant sense.

The trouble is, that it’s is constantly slipping out of sync. Each day our delicate intentions are thrown to and fro, tumbling about in our hearts and minds like so many bee-bees, stuck inside a closed sphere, causing us to obsess over how they got there and how to extract them. We are often drawn to the imbalance as opposed to celebrating those things that are in perfect harmony and wellness. A habit that causes us much pain.

I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone this past year who hasn’t had some challenges on various scales. Two-thousand and nine is almost a memory and to some of us, a swift utterance of “good riddance” escapes our pursed lips. Even though the difference between 09 and 2010 is divided only by one greeting with the moon, we all look forward with relief to the reinvention of prosperity in 2010. We can’t wait to receive the balance we feel we are lacking and for the wheel weights on our vehicle of consciousness to be found.

For Networking, Women and Wine, 2010 will center around restoring balance in your life. Our events will continue to celebrate the metaphor of wine, its flavors and explorative elements. We will continue to emphasize the unique qualities of women, and we will offer you assistance in reestablishing balance in your life.

From social, to visceral, to spiritual, to practical advice, together we will find that harmonious balance bar, sweep gracefully along its path, and then, become beacons and strength to others around us seeking meaningful connections and true friendships!

Leaves Do It, Why Can't We?

Okay, let's just get it out there. Change is hard. I don't like it, I don't know anyone who really does. If you're a caterpillar you live for it. If you're a leaf, you have no choice. But us? I don't care how brave you are, it makes my tummy quiver.

We've talked all year with Networking, Women and Wine about living an authentic life. Our themes have revolved around courage, abundance, dreams, vacations, and careers. But before we close out 2009, we have to address the one thing that's been sitting right under our noses all along. CHANGE.

I've been through a few of them. I've moved twice in the last 14 months and plan to move into a our new house next week, so that makes three moves total. Moving is up there on the list of changes that cause a little trauma no I'm going to say I am a semi-expert right now. At least enough to whine about it in our blog.

I know, the noble will tell us we are whiners. That change is the stuff of life. After all, we have whole new bodies every few weeks given the restless nature of our cells and their love of change! And I applaud those who are facing these issues without running to the solitude of a dark closet, or clinging desperately to a teddy bear. But right now I kinds want to feel the whole, itchy, blurry, sour, thing. This happy face I'm trying to maintain is starting to look a little contorted and maybe I need to reach out and be authentic about my distaste for life-altering change!

Recently, as you know we opened our second chapter for Networking, Women and Wine, adding Lake Norman to our list of places for friendship and wine tasting. We would like to report that it was a successful first meeting, generously offering the usual sense of connection, support and laughter. In fact our intention is to spread the energy and nurturing mission of NWW all across the country. Carmen and I are ripe with ideas, and a sense of purpose and renewal in expanding our reach to all of you. But we know it still involves change. You could and can see it in the face of every new attendee that walks through the door for the first time, dons a name tag, clings quietly to the base of the wine glass, and waits to find someone that will say hello.

With all of that said, October's theme will be to embrace that exact experience. We're going to snicker in the face of those brave butterflies, fling our fears into the waiting arms of a pile of orange leaves and find, once again admit that the real courage we need to face all the changes in our lives comes from the female friendships that shore us up.

Join us on October 7th in Lake Norman at CRAVE, or on October 28th in South Charlotte at D'VINE WINE CAFE as we taste wines that symbolize CHANGE. We look forward to meeting you!

New Horizons are Waiting!

As I sit in my office and gaze upon the beauty outside my window, I have observed many things. On occasion a hummingbird will dash into view, his iridescent wings catching the light as he stares at me for one, brief, lightning moment. More frequently a proud cardinal will perch upon a cedar branch like a king upon his throne. He clearly feels he owns my backyard and is intent upon showing off his domain to me; the glass between us giving him more courage than he would otherwise display. The squirrels, who seem to flaunt a lack of worth ethic, play like children in a school yard as they dash up one tree and out onto impossibly thin branches that quiver in response to gravity's gentle laws. Their tails twitch like the nervous brow of a wary store keeper, eying a teenager from a hidden stool.

However, the most interesting visitor has been a small finch, who, until recently was feathering his nest neatly inside the edge of my rain gutter not 3 feet from my desk. He visits this chosen site with earnest, instinct driving him to create a place to call home, and to hide from the hawks that hover above the oak canopy stretching out over his precarious saucer of sticks.

As of today, though, things have changed. His visits are frenetic and short. He buzzes like a nervous mother, checking in disbelief to find that all is lost because his home is gone. Why? Yesterday we removed all the debris that lay fermenting and bulging inside the trough. A place he thought he alone possessed. It is now, sad to say, clean and shiny. The roof shingles swept clean of needles. His evidence of toil and passion gone. I think about how we all feel in today's uneasy economy.

So many things are unstable or vanish without a trace and we return to find things taken from us, much like this finch. For awhile, our behavior is rather like his as we fly to and fro worrying and carrying on about something else that has slipped through our fingers; something that we worked so hard to create dashed against the rocks of fate. We use these episodes as evidence that we are doomed, cursed or nearly at the "end of our rope."

In the midst of the mourning and discarding of lost hopes, I wonder, if we could or would see these tragedies as only a transition, instead of a pronouncement of the end, if we might discover new horizons that have been waiting to be uncovered. I ask myself if my own eyes are open to the possibilities that even tragedy can bring. How will I move on without being tempted to nurture my scars and show them off to others seeking sympathy and a shared sorrow?

It seems the bird understands this. By the afternoon hour, not long after his tragic loss, he revisits the location for a very different reason. I know because I saw the splash. I even thought I saw his feathers curled up in euphoria, his beak wryly showing signs of contentment. For in place of the mud and soil was a small pool of clean water; the remnant of a rainstorm caught in a low buckle at the end of the aluminum tube. He had found a spot to bathe and frolic. This very spot where he planned to raise a family or at least rest his wings, was now a playground. A place of joy. And he was happy.

For now at least, I will remember this moment and how it feels. Perhaps I will tie a feather to my lamp so I am reminded that when some things are swept away, it is up to us to discover the joy that can be found in what replaces it. For if there is one thing certain in life, it is the fact that there is always more. What that 'more' is, is up to you and how far you will fly to find it.

A vacation metaphor brings us together!

I just returned from a trip to Aspen, Colorado, drinking in the rich beauty of this alpine paradise for 5, sun-drenched days. Although I was tempted to spend each moment on celebrity watch or shopping for shoes and bags, my time was spent hiking, biking and exploring the vast canyons and trails of this outdoor playground.

One of the more profound experiences worth sharing occurred during a bus ride up to the Maroon Bells. As we strained to see the venturis, rushing streams and granite peaks our driver told us an interesting story about the Aspen tree; the namesake of this mining town. Known for their white, papery bark and delicate oval shaped leaves, these tall, slender beauties grow in thick groves, so tightly packed they appear to have been planted and groomed by an unseen hand.

But here is the catch. They are not individual trees at all. In fact, although some trees come up from stray seeds, most are the product of the root system of one tree as it spreads across the soil, traveling with purpose and popping up over and over again to create related thickets along vast hillsides. This fact makes the Aspen tree one of the largest living organisms on the planet. Indeed many acres of Aspen trees are actually one, single, spectacular being.

As you may guess I was struck by the metaphor this glittering-leaved specimen illustrates. If applied to us as humans, and certainly women who gather to create change in the world and in each other, we discover that our root systems is truly shared and we are not here alone. We find that to flourish we can and must rely on each other for life, for nourishment and for protection.

Join us each month and connect to this tree of life, the leaves of friendship and the roots of meaningful solutions.