I started my social media craze in 2009. ((don’t really want to count MySpace pre-2009)). I took to Twitter quickly, and then FaceBook really caught on for me.  My original intention was to use these platforms for my now defunct Real Estate career. Early on, I met two wonderful cheerleaders who asked to use my Real Estate Tweets for their website, “Breaking Napa Valley News”, they had a Real Estate tab, and I guess I fit right in! (Thank you Dean Guadagni & Susan Hanshaw!) <<Still friends BTW. 

My focus soon switched from Napa Valley Real Estate to Napa Valley WINE! I quickly learned that I held more passion for wine than property, and since I got into real estate for “spite” (Think Jerry Seinfeld returning the coat for spite), I decided to switch my focus. It’s been wine, wine events, wine tastings, wine, dining, wine, and more wine since then! 

I dubbed myself the Napa Ambassador and ran with it. The response that I received was overwhelming, and so as to not let anyone down, most of all myself, I decided to learn more and more about wine. Napa primarily, but Sonoma as well.  This helped me ease my way into quite a few wine industry jobs. Tasting room, social media, wine club management, tour driving, and the like.

                          I’m working! @TasteAtOxbow <~Twitter (Taste at Oxbow, 708 First St. Napa)

I’m still a “student of wine”, and don’t aspire to hold any titles, I just want to learn MORE! I’m taking a wonderful course at the Napa Community College, Wines of the World, and I’m pretty sure some of the information will stick! 

Many opportunities have presented themselves, because of my love of wine, and social media. I was able to attend some wonderful Premiere Napa Valley 2012 events with my good friend Grace, rubbed elbows with some wonderful people, and hopefully helped them make some great connections. 

Check out Grace’s blog here! http://cellarmistress.blogspot.com/2012/03/afternoon-at-flora-springs-estate.html

@JeraeK @DoWhatTheF @Canapes45 @FloraSprings <~ check us out on Twitter! 

My current DREAM job is allowing me to attend the Rhone Rangers San Francisco tasting this Sunday, March 25th at Fort Mason. I don’t know Rhone, but I want to! (I understand Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Noir, the nuances) 

http://www.rhonerangers.org/calendar/sf_grand_tasting.php <<Link to Rhone Rangers website

To ready my palate and my soul, I’m sipping on a 2009 Thomas Coyne Viognier. It has some peach & apricot notes in the background. I quite like it! 

                                                             Getting my Rhone on!

My “dream” job. It finally happened! The social media and wine studying has paid off. I now find myself at http://1313main.com/index.html as the Social Media director, local PR & marketing, and events planning. This is what I’ve been working toward for 3 years. 

                      Myself & my boss, Al Jabarin, of 1313 Main & Cal wine.

Photo courtesy of Frank Gutierrez, @FrankLovesWine on Twitter. Check him out! 

Gender roles seem to be gone. I’m 41, a single Mother, working 3 jobs within my career of choice, and I’m happy. I’m also disheartened. This isn’t how I planned my life. I planned to be the stay at home wife/mom, hosting parties, being of service to my community. Getting breakfast for the family, sending them out the door with lunches and a kiss. Yeah. Didn’t work that way.

Marriage failed (thank GOD!) I was playing a dual role. A wife taking care of her husband and the home, all while maintaining a 50+ hour a week “career”. Then we had a baby, and all hell broke loose. (This is for another post)……

Here I am. Doing what I love. I’m still fulfilling my role of a “hostess”, but in the capacity of selling wine, acting as a concierge, so to speak. I’m hosting the party, sure, making sure the guests leave happy. Selling wine. People are happy when they have wine. I’m challenging myself with classes on wine. Delving into social media and wine marketing. And I’m a single Mom. Raising a son. Volunteering in his class.

Encountered a ball buster tonight. High profile career lady. Making her own rules. And Fuck those who don’t like it. Never married. No kids. Glamorous type of a lady, until she posed the question to me, “how is it that so many women in Napa don’t DO ANYTHING?” I asked her what she meant. “I mean, they don’t DO ANYTHING! No careers, nothing! They “volunteer”, I can’t have a conversation with these women! Can’t they think for themselves?”

Yikes! Yes, dammit, they CAN think for themselves. I get that you were a bra burner in the 60′s, but heck, not all women aspire to that. Some women prefer the gender roles. They are blessed that their husbands have a great paying career. They are blessed that they can raise their own children, and not put them though 40+ hours a week of daycare. Maybe volunteering is THEIR passion, just as her career is her passion. How dare ANYONE fault anyone else for following their passion! And how dare ANYONE assume that because a women chooses a life of service, volunteer work, that she is somehow a lower class citizen!

I, for one, am weary of making all the decisions, 24/7. How I long to be home when my child gets home from school, so I can help with homework, cook a meal, bathe them, read to them, and have them in bed at a reasonable hour. Well guess what? I can’t!

I’m doing the best I can in a situation that I got myself into. I’m a Mommy. I’m holding down a career, and following my passion. I didn’t need to burn any freaking bras to get here. My son will be proud of his Mom. He’ll say that she provided for him, was happy, followed her dreams, and was successful. My child is a gift that I will leave to the world.

I hope ball buster has created a legacy within her chosen career. Because, if she hasn’t…. what is she leaving as her gift to the world when she dies? Her fancy BMW? The rest of her business cards, with all the fancy letters behind her name? A home or two that won’t go to anyone? What is she leaving?

Sometimes, I just want to be the girl…..

I’ve misplaced my Christmas spirit. I see it when I watch my child’s wonder in the season….. But for me….. It’s missing. I’m watching so many who are stressed during the holidays. They “don’t have enough $ to buy the perfect gift”. They are late getting their cards out, or they just don’t have time to bake enough cookies. And Christmas parties! Oh, the house must be spotless, and the menu must be perfect. This isn’t what Christmas is all about.

What Christmas is all about

I wish more people understood, this is what it’s all about. Stop stressing. I gave up on Christmas cards, baking, and stressing about Christmas. I just want to feel the love.

Since I joined Twitter, in April of 2009, I can honestly say, that all of my wine related jobs have been BECAUSE of Twitter. How cool is that? I talk, I ask, I’m out there. What you see online, in social media, is who I am IRL. My latest “gig”, is because of Twitter, and insomnia, (at 2:45 am in England). I can’t even begin to list ALL of the amazing people I’ve met because of Twitter and FaceBook. But there IS a top ten list! So, here goes….. My official #WW #FF list of bestest friends I’ve meet online. @CordairGallery @JDocia (my sista from another mista) @theREALnapa @SalaSalon @3rockmarketing @winotone @vitaevino @cellarmistress @leesgreenberg @pat_utley @1313Main And there’s more….. many many many more.

You’ve been given the tools, learn how to use them! Love you guys!

…..For many things. Romance, parenting advice, weather or not to buy the Cotes-du Rhone that I’ve NEVER tasted. Yup. I trust them. So when opportunity knocks, and scares the crap out of me, I turn to my trusted advisors AKA friends, for their advice. One such advisor says, “go for it”. I have a couple more to ask….. I already KNOW the answer, but at times, do not trust my instincts.

When you WANT something, KNOW you’re good at that thing, and it’s offered to you….. Yeah, it can be kinda scary. But, it’s the scary stuff that’s worth it, right? If it were easy, and safe, it would be boring. I don’t like boring. I like challenge, learning, opportunity.

So, see. I already know the answer, but will check with more friends. Maybe I’ll get some cookies out of it!

I’ve been avoiding you, blog. Life gets in the way of “fun” more often than not. Work x2, child in primary school, illnesses, past lives resurfacing, relationships budding and then fading out.

Harvest 2011 is under way in the Napa Valley, and with it, the rain has arrived. If the white/lighter skin grapes weren’t in, I think there would be mass panic in the Valley. I hear that Cabernet can withstand a few days of rain. I, on the other hand, cannot. Rain in October dampens my spirits….. One of the reasons I moved home from the Pacific Northwest.

So, to uplift my spirits, I’m going to stay as busy as humanly possible! Belated birthday lunches, wine tastings with friends, (more wine tastings with friends), I may even throw in a beer tasting, and am DEFINITELY doing an historic walking tour of downtown Napa. (You can take it for granted, your hometown).

Bright spots as of late, and in the future: Ian ~ wine club manager at Domaine Chandon, ZuZu Napa for amazing Tapas and for treating me like family, 1313 Main, our newest downtown tasting room/wine lounge/wine bar/late night spot, for their support, and, well, late nights! My favorite downtown spots, Quent Cordair Fine Art, Sala Salon, Trahan & Olabisi tasting room, Taqueria Rosita (going strong since 1986ish). Loving the entire Oxbow neighborhood, and my employer especially, Taste at Oxbow, Mahoney and Waterstone Wines.

Other favorites, that you MUST visit:
Alice’s
Betty’s Girl
Cake Plate
Miyamo
Bistro Sabor
John Anthony

I couldn’t even begin to list my amazing friends, and family (let’s let their lives be private), but, J.S. AKA Agent Red, I love you. <3

I'll try not to neglect my writing, hopefully I can improve it! More details, more depth. If I can only find the time.

I love Pinot Noir and I don’t love Pinot Noir. I know it’s a finicky grape to grow, to work with, etc. For my palate (uneducated), Pinot Noir is hit and miss for me. Quite by accident, I found a Pinot I love. Toad Hall? Never heard of it. Flora Springs? Heard of it. Flora Springs just HAPPENS to sell Toad Hall. (winemaker uses Flora Springs equipment, or something like that. Hard to focus when one eye is on the 4 year old PRAYING he doesn’t destroy the Room). I needed a Pinot Noir, and I got one! So by chance, and necessity, I stumbled upon a 2006 Toad Hall Carneros Pinot Noir. My nose (again, uneducated), found sugared roses immediately. My palate found the same. JOY! Just so happens, another Toad Hall Pinot Noir was present, this was a 2007. Completely opposite. Spicy and earthy. Time for some research! (And hoping HOPING Flora Springs will still have some 2006 on my next visit)

This would most likely put small family wineries out of business. I work at one of those small family wineries….

http://stophr5034.org/

argh! See my comment below to click on the link…

http://vimeo.com/2459949

I was given the opportunity to join film-maker Bret Lyman, (B. Napa) as he filmed on the last day of harvest at Quintessa in 2008.  To say the experience was magical, is an understatement. It was on that day in October, when I decided I wanted to get into the wine industry, in ANY capacity! I always knew I loved the finished product, but I wanted more. I wanted (and still want) to learn the process. I want the story  behind it all. Almost 2 years later, here I am. Offiially embarking on my journey.