Chardonnay + Cheese

November 6, 2014

When I first started working for a wine company, I knew absolutely nothing about wine beyond the fact that I liked to drink it. I had no formal education in wine and the extent of my experience with it was picking up the cheapest or prettiest + cheapest combination bottle in my local market. Like a lot of early wine drinkers, I couldn’t differentiate between varietals, wasn’t quite sure which wines pair with what foods and couldn’t appreciate any of the complexities that I now seek in my fermented grapes. While most of the people that work in our company don’t fall in the “wine snob” category, we still experience know-it-alls (or think they know-it-all) wine snobs at events and in meetings with buyers which makes the industry intimidating and honestly, annoying at times. My personal opinion is that wine is a subjective experience that is supposed to be fun and it’s supposed to be an experience. Certain wines will enhance certain flavors in certain foods, but learning it through experience rather than studying wine notes from a book is really what this industry should be all about. No two palates are the same and everyone is going to taste wine differently which is exactly what makes it so fun and personal.

This division of our company puts on wine tastings in the customer’s preferred setting of choice and while some of our reps have a ton of wine experience, many of them don’t and are eager to learn what to serve at their tastings and what favors are going to pair the best with each wine. Last month our focus was Chardonnay so I had some serious fun putting together a cheese plate and easy apps that would be delicious with Chard. I thought I’d pass it along just in case anyone is interested in learning more about what to pair with Chardonnay. Check it out below 🙂

CREATING THE PERFECT CHARDONNAY CHEESE PLATE

When you think of a wine party, the most obvious food pairing is cheese. However, with Chardonnay, cheese isn’t always the easiest to pair with a varietal that has such incredible stylistic range. While some chardonnays are extremely fruity and citrusy, others are oaky and buttery which can compete with the creamy cheeses you might initially think to pair with a white wine. I explored a few different cheeses to find the best combination with our Chardonnay that offers a perfectly balanced profile of fruit and oak. As told by our Sommelier:

With most Chardonnays, you get some green apple, a little citrus, and depending on the producer either no or tons of oak and malolactic fermentation to give it that buttered popcorn style. Our Chardonnay undergoes an extremely cold, slow fermentation that extracts tons of tropical fruit character out of this wine. Scents of pineapple, banana, white peach and pear jump out of the glass at me when I pour it. It spends about six months in American oak, but only 20% new oak. The rest of the barrels are all 2-3 years old so it is more for a textural component rather than making the wine overly oaky. You get some notes of vanilla and toasted coconut, but it is definitely in balance with the fruit character of the wine.

CHEESE: I sought to find the best cheese to pair with our style Chardonnay and found a few favorites: Mt. Tam, a brie-style triple cream crafted by Cowgirl Creamery in California. Another favorite was Cabot’s Clothbound Cheddar which is nutty in flavor and has a similar consistency to parmesan while being much more mild to taste – perfect for our style Chardonnay. The two can be purchased in a set from Cowgirl Creamery that also includes and absolutely unbelievable Echo Mountain Blue Cheese (still delicious with our Chardonnay when drizzled in a little honey and perfect for the reds at your wine tasting tasting), or can be ordered individually as well. If you’re looking for less expensive options, both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s offer a wide variety of double-triple cream, brie and mild-medium cheddar cheeses that will be perfect for pairing with Chardonnay.

OTHER BITES TO INCLUDE: In my opinion, creating the perfect cheese plate is all about striking a balance between cheeses and other small bites that enhance the flavors of your wine. Some crackers and perhaps a loaf of fresh French Bread are key. The fig spread and honey found in both our Wine & Cheese Party and Cheese Party Packages are essential for getting that sweeter balance and will make cheeses like a tangy blue cheese more approachable for those who might not love an extra sharp cheese on its own. Figs are also particularly delicious with our Chardonnay and can be served with any cheese imaginable all the way from a creamy brie to an aged, extra sharp cheddar or parmesan. An artichoke spread (also found in both our Wine & Cheese Party and Cheese Party Packages) offers a savory yet citrusy touch while olive oil is a natural pairing and will give your guests something light to dip their bread in when they’ve indulged in enough cheese

PS: From a gorgeous marble cheese board to honey, olive oil, salami, cheese knives, and more, our Wine & Cheese Party and Cheese Party Packages offer a one stop shop for all of the goodies you will need to create the perfect wine and cheese party. Cheers!

DIY Fall Floral Arrangement

November 4, 2014

You all know that I’m a flower fanatic so creating a fall floral arrangement could hardly be considered “work” 😉 The trickiest part of this task was keeping it simple enough so that the arrangement could easily be replicated by a novice. Since most of our reps in this program at work have little experience arranging florals, I needed to break this one down step by step so they could easily recreate it for their own party. Flower arranging is really intimidating to a lot of people, but it’s really so much easier than most imagine until they see it broken down. The trickiest part for me is learning the textures and strength of the stems/stalks so that you know just how much pressure you can use while arranging and finagling your flowers into your floral foam. But once you’ve done a few, it’s really easy to get the hang of it. I whipped up this beauty that would easily cost over $150 at a flower shop with less than $50 in under 30 minutes. Since we were using the arrangement for our Pink Party, we wanted to keep with the theme, but also make it seasonal. Outside of Breast Cancer Awareness, October is not a month that would traditionally make you think of pink, but with the addition of some orange and deep purple florals in combination with pink buds and fresh maple clippings, our arrangement was both perfectly pink while warm and seasonally appropriate for a cozy, fall wine tasting.

Supplies

Florals (see my list and tips below)
Oasis Floral Foam
Vessel
Floral Clippers/Pruners

Tip: Almost every big city has a flower district where you will get the best deals on bulk florals. A few quick google searches will lead you to yours. If you live in a small town with no direct access to a flower mart, do some research on what you’re looking for and call your local florist to place you an order. Also, use whatever florals you have around you. Have a tree changing colors in your yard? Persimmons, Oranges or Artichokes? Clip a few small branches or stalks and add them to your arrangement to cut down on cost and to keep your arrangement seasonal, textural and beautiful.

Instructions

1. Pick your vessel. Remember that big arrangements do not necessarily call for a big vase. When you are using floral foam, you can position stems in from every direction and maximize the amount of space you have. The arrangement we created is a medium/large size and we used a small vessel – a brass julip cup.

2. Using a knife, cut your floral foam to fit snuggly inside. I like to press the foam to the vessel to get an outline of where to cut excess foam away. You want to make sure that your foam does NOT move once it’s inside the vessel so start big and cut more away if needed.

3. Fill your vessel with water. Your foam will soak up a TON of water so make sure that you continue to let it soak in for a few minutes before you get to work and add water as your foam absorbs every drop in sight.

4. ARRANGE! There is no “right” way to arrange flowers, but I always start with my biggest floral or what will ultimately define how large the arrangement will be. Since this arrangement was going to be large, loose, imperfect and “wildflower-esque” I started with the leaves and greenery to define how tall and wide I wanted the arrangement to be. I positioned the left greens a little higher and the right greens a little lower to give it that imperfect and “freshly picked” feel.

5. Next, I added some celosia to give the arrangement some color and height.

6. Now that the back of the arrangement is filled in, it’s time to start adding some of the “wow” flowers or your showstoppers of the arrangement 😉 Dahlias come into season in the late sumer/fall, are so beautiful and make such a big statement. I added a few “dinner plate” dahlias in orange and then started filling in with smaller florals: plum colored dahlias and pink ranunculus.

Tip: you can always clip your florals shorter, but you can never make them longer. To keep the arrangement fun, casual and wild, leave some stems on the longer side. Don’t be afraid to group multiple of the same flower together either. That helps add dimension and keeps the arrangement from looking too uniform and perfect.

7. Once you’ve used all of the “wow” flowers you can fit, add in some extra green clippings to break things up a bit. I added some leaves as well as some extra celosia to pull things together and to make the arrangement look finished and picture perfect 🙂

8. You did it! Get ready for lots of compliments!

PS: Don’t let any gorgeous florals go to waste. We filled a pitcher with extra flowers and greens and utilized some on the backdrop behind our wine display too.

DIY Floral Ice Cubes

October 30, 2014

I’ve been dying for a reason to make floral ice cubes for a while now and our Pink Party seemed like the best excuse to finally pull it off. To be honest, they’re a little annoying to make and take quite some time, but the results are so darn cute and girly that I’d be lying if I said I would never make them again. I don’t have any pictures of the process, but it’s pretty self explanatory, so I’m sure you’ll do just fine figuring it out 😉

Supplies

Ice Cube Tray (any will work, but we used this one to make larger cubes)
Edible flowers or fruit (we ordered edible flowers from here)
A kettle to boil your water

Instructions

1. With edible florals, you’ll want to order them 2-3 days ahead of time. I used this company and because the flowers are perishable, they overnighted them to us. I ordered on a Monday, they arrived that Wednesday and they’re hands down the best deal out there. There were a few companies that charge literally $75 for the same thing. Do not use them – ever.

2. In a kettle, boil your water and let it cool (I stuck ours in the freezer to expedite the cooling process – but don’t let it freeze). Once the water has cooled, boil the water a second time and let it cool completely. Boiling the water twice helps eliminate tiny air bubbles and minerals that will make your ice appear white when it freezes. Crystal clear ice will help show off your pretty flowers 😉

3. While water is boiling or cooling, remove any greens from your flowers. The greens are edible, but I found that they turned our ice cubes slightly green on our first try – oops!

4. Put a few flowers into the bottom of your ice cub tray and fill with 1/4″ water. Freeze water.

5. Once the water has frozen, layer some more flowers on top of the ice and fill your trays with remaining water and freeze.

6. When your ice cubes are completely solid, remove them from the tray, place in a glass and serve with an ice cold beverage immediately. Enjoy!

DIY Yarn Fringe Backdrop

October 28, 2014

Creating a fun backdrop is one of the best ways to make a party picture perfect. After making two for Blair’s 1st birthday party (and seeing it featured on Style Me Pretty!), I’ve been hooked on finding quick and simple ways to jazz up a focal area at parties and events. I came across this on Pinterest and have been waiting for a time to replicate it and our Pink Party for work seemed like the best opportunity. Since I wanted to make the party “fall-ish” while staying on theme with pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the yarn fringe backdrop was actually the PERFECT way to bring all of the colors together. I picked up seven different colors from our local Michael’s store with a 25% off coupon, purchased some dowels (and had them cut at our local hardware store) for under $5. The entire project cost less than $25 and made such a fun statement at our party. Here’s how you can recreate the look on your own 🙂

Supplies

Dowels
Yarn in various colors
Scissors

Instructions

1. Cut your dowels to length. If your dowels are longer than you’d like your finished length to be, cut them to size using a hand saw. Or, simply ask your local hardware store to cut them for you which is what I did. The sizes I went with were 24 inches and 16 inches.

2. Decide what color yarn you will be using the most and cut it accordingly. I knew we were going to be using mostly pink with a few strands of orange, yellow and white mixed in so I cut out much more pink in strands of ~48″. Note: you will be folding your strands in half to attach it to the dowel so keep that in mind when cutting to length. If you want your finished length to be 18″ cut your yarn at 36″.

3. Fold yarn in half and pull the ends of the yarn through the loop and around your dowel. Side loop to tighten and repeat.

4. Alternate colors as you see fit until you’ve filled the dowel with yarn. Hang your yarn fringe behind a bar or dessert table (I even attached one to the table cloth) and have fun! Cheers!

Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 23, 2014

Call me #basic, but by the time September rolls around, I’m ready to embrace all things fall. From autumn inspired recipes, to warm mulled wines, to pumpkins and candles that remind me of fall scents back home in Michigan – I just can’t get enough of my favorite season. October, however, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it marks the beginning of the most important time of the year for us at work. Since half the profits from our Chardonnay give back to Gateway for Cancer Research (providing clinical trials to women with breast cancer), just when we’re ready to dive head first into fall, everything turns PINK.

We have a division of our company called Hope at Home which offers at-home wine parties that benefit the cause of your choice with 15% going back to the non-profit of your choice. As our Art Director, I’m always on the hunt for creative and fun ways for our team to stay inspired and get motivated to throw their own parties – especially during our cause months. A big challenge for me this year at work was figuring out how to throw a pink party, when everyone wants to curl up with a blanket, drink warm mulled wine and pull out their orange pumpkins and decor. I poked around the internet for some inspiration and ultimately ended up coming back again and again to a flower arrangement that embraced pink and orange equally. It was inherently pink but also perfectly fall so I decided to run with it.

Since everything we put together had to be easily replicated by our team members who might not be full fledged floral designers or regular party hosts, I broke it down into three simple DIYS and four food/appetizer ideas that both embrace the fall season and pair wonderfully with our Chardonnay. The best part of this project (beside seeing it all come together) was definitely trying the recipes. They were SO good and everyone in the office chowed down while we popped open a few bottles of Chardonnay. Check out everything below from the DIY and recipes to shots from our own little Pink Party 😉

PS: If you’re interested in hosting your own PINK party for Breast Cancer Awareness Month or if you’d like to raise money for another cause that you’re passionate about OR if you’d like to make an income while giving back to various causes, please consider Hope at Home 🙂

DIY YARN FRINGE BACKDROP

DIY PINK FALL FLORALS

DIY FLORAL ICE CUBES

PINK MARSHMALLOW DIP

PEAR + GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI

BRIE + FIG PASTRY BITES

CHARDONNAY CHEESE PLATE

CHEERS!

Hello! / DIYs to try this weekend…

September 5, 2014

Why hello there! It’s been a while, I know, but things have been straight up cray! With non-stop work obligations, an office re-configuration, a trip up to Napa (just in time for the earthquake!) and a long wedding weekend over Labor Day, it’s been a little hectic over here. But alas… my post Labor Day fall nostalgia has set in, I can’t stop thinking about pumpkin spice everything and my fall nesting has reached full force. I have a list of DIY projects coming out of my ears and plan on finishing at least one or two this weekend. Here are a few that I’m completely obsessing over.

Geometric garland | How amazing would this be as a gigantic mobile?!
Gold geometric mobile | Beth and I went to the A Sunny Afternoon launch at URBANIC and these were everywhere – need!
Marquee lights | Found these on Etsy, but I’m on a budget, y’all! Thinking about attempting a “CHEERS” sign for the office soon.
Neon & Gold pots | The cutest little pop of color.
Industrial shelf | In the process of completing ours for the office and used my friend Casey’s DIY post to create our own 🙂

CHEERS! Happy Friday and yay for short weeks!

ONEHOPE Holiday Party

January 8, 2014

Helloooo! Are you staying warm out there?! I can not believe the news coming out of the midwest and east coast! I’m slightly jealous that I’m not there to witness the biggest snow storm in DECADES (my inner 10 year old self would do anything for a snow day), but I’m also thrilled at the fact that I’m not there to experience the super cold temperatures. I think the lowest I’ve experienced is a wind chill of 18 below and I never want to face that again. I feel you, ‘Merica! Stay warm!

I REALLY wanted to share all of our ONEHOPE Holiday (#ONEHOPEHoliday) images before Christmas for anyone searching for last minute inspiration, but as I detailed previously, that just couldn’t happen this year. Since half of the country is facing winter to the max, I thought I’d still share this little winter wonderland transformed office conference room in case you’re planning a snowy get-together. The second half of the images are of the DIY we did that day where we gold-leafed our own glassware. It was really fun and the results were so unique and gorgeous… definitely something creative and different to do with your girlfriends if you ever feel like having a ladies night in 🙂 I apologize in advance for there being tons of pictures, but I just could not narrow them down further. We had an absolutely amazing photographer, Jen Wiley who crushed it for us. I usually shoot most of our content, but knew that we needed a professional for a project of this magnitude and Jen was SO nice, so receptive, so creative… I could not have asked for anyone better. She captured the day perfectly and didn’t miss a SINGLE detail. If you’re on the market for a wonderful photographer, hire her. Now 🙂

PS: If you’re new to Design Wine Dine and are interested in the background story of why I planned this little holiday get-together, check out my reasoning and inspiration board for the party and decor here. Also, I had this crazy vision in my mind that included a pallet wall, but we didn’t have one at our office… so I made one. Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to get it done that I didn’t document a lot of the process, but will break it down step by step and put it up here soon. Stay tuned!

DIY Information

Supplies

Flutes or Champagne Coups – We used these and these to give our guests a little variety.
Gold leaf, adhesive and sealant (available at craft stores)
Paint brushes

Directions

Using a paint brush, apply adhesive to the glass. Get creative with shapes and stripes!
Wait a few minutes until the glue gets tacky (2-5 minutes). We had the best luck when the glue was almost dry.
Place your gold leaf on the glass and press down to smooth out any bubbles or inconsistencies. Allow your gold leaf to set for 15-20 minutes.
Carefully remove excess gold leaf from around the glued areas.
Once all excess gold leaf is removed, brush your sealant on over the gold leaf. This will allow you to drink out of and handle the glasses. Since your glasses are hand crafted with love, please hand wash them with care

Wine: Hope at Home
Coffee: ONEHOPE Coffee
Linens: La Tavola
Gold rimmed glasses and ghost chairs: Classic Party Rentals
Deer Head: ZGallerie
Frames: West Elm
Event/Floral Design and Production: Me!
Calligraphy: Beth Phillips at ONEHOPE
Photography: JWiley Photography

Weekend Project – Patio Garden

October 25, 2013

Last weekend, after returning home from New York, I was really adamant to finish something. I’ve got a list of DIYs coming out of my ears, but really wanted to get one done, on the books and out-of-the-way. Enter… our outdoor space. When viewing our place for the first time, I was THRILLED when I stepped outside and my question of “oh, so this is a shared space?” was answered with “no, this would be all yours”. Literally, you guys. I was shaking with excitement. I couldn’t get Jake on the phone fast enough. I am obsessed with gardening (thanks to my mom for that gene) and I take no shame in enlisting friends to care for my little green kids as much as they do for Lily whenever I’m away. Having a space that was so much bigger than ever before to create my own little garden by the beach?! YES please. Thankfully, after borderline stalking our now landlord, we got the apartment and I couldn’t wait to go to town. We have a patio directly off of our bedroom as well as yard (glorified patio – not pictured) up some steps and behind our duplex. Sold. However, said patio was hideous when we moved in. HID.E.OUS. Enter exhibit A:

I told you. Steps that needed to be stained, some RANDOM paint job going on there with a mixture of white and beige… But she had potential! It was SPACE. Real, live outdoor space of our very own that could be transformed into whatever we’d like. The first thing on the list was to figure out what in the heck to do with the cinderblock walls. Paint them? Ideally, I wanted it to be a living wall to wake up next to (all Cameron Diaz like in The Holiday with electronic blinds that open with the sun shining in), but that seemed like a pretty lofty goal for a rental. So, we needed to think of something else. While running into Ikea one day for heavens knows what, I stumbled across the Applaro Outdoor Panel and knew I’d found a solution. I figured out how many we’d need, bought them and since we got carried away with unpacking, traveling for work and life in general, there they sat until last weekend. And then, finally came my little garden.

If you’re in a situation like us, here is what you need to create your OWN apartment garden with roughly $150.

Supplies

Ikea Applaro Outdoor Panel – Pot hooks included (3) $39
Ikea Socker pots (8) $0.79
Ikea white pots (2) $10.99 (no longer available online, but next size up here)
Masonry anchors + Bit $7
Total: $152.30

I already had most of the plants and the lanterns, as well as a drill and a level to make this all come to life, but factor in another $100 if you’re starting fresh.

Step 1: Hardware – I knew I was going to need a masonry bit as well as concrete anchors so I was able to find a package that included both the anchors and the right size bit to drill pilot holes for the anchors. I bought some longer anchors too just in case the 1.25″ anchors were too short so that I wouldn’t have to run back out to the hardware store.

Step 2: Place wall panels where you want them and make sure they’re level. Since I was doing this by myself and since the panels were going to be resting on uneven brick pavers, this was honestly the hardest part.

Step 3: Drill your pilot holes and screw in anchors to attach your panel. This is pretty self-explanatory, but just make sure that you stop every once in a while to give your drill a rest. I have a pretty inexpensive drill and while it’s amazing for the price, drilling through concrete/cinderblock is entirely different from wood or anything else I’ve ever done in the past. And for the love of god, be CAREFUL when removing your bit. It was SO hot from the friction and of course I wasn’t wearing gloves (idiot) and burned my fingers. I’m fine, but that was no fun.

Repeat until all panels are attached! YAY! Minus all of the crap to the left, the space is already starting to look so much better! Now, time for the pots. I decided to use the Socker pots from Ikea because a) they’re inexpensive b) they’re cute and c) they’re the perfect size for herbs and that is what was going in them. However, they don’t have holes in the bottom for drainage or for hanging them on the hooks so you have to drill those manually. Just make sure you use a bit suitable for metal.

Step 4: Put your little plants in the pots and hang on your wall! You’re almost done!

Step 5: Dress up the weird empty bottom area without rungs with plants, lanterns, candles, pumpkins if it’s October… get creative! Or, if you have the space, Ikea sells a storage bench that can attach to the wall panels.

Tadaaaa! I still need to re-pot the larger rosemary plant as well as the olive tree AND re-stain those darn steps, but I think she’s looking pretty cute for just a few hours of work.

And for good time’s sake… before and after!

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