LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DRINK BAD WINE

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By Maya Alarcon

Ok, I wasn’t going to say anything before for fear of testing your faith in me, but I have a confession to make: I don’t know the first thing about wine. I know it’s shocking to think that as the girl responsible for bringing you the latest and greatest new “thing” I have no clue whether I should have white or red wine with chicken parmesan, which year was a “good” year, or what the heck the “legs” on the side of the glass mean. The most I know about wine is that I prefer a red zin to a chardonnay, and that the prettiest label for the lowest price doesn’t necessarily make for desirable choices in after-work libations. And unlike the Maya character in SIDEWAYS, the real Maya could never launch into such a passionate monologue about how wine is a living being; I just don’t have the knowledge. Yes, I am admitting my wine ignorance, because I feel close to you. I will now hang my head in shame (hanging). But before you go clicking away from this page and onto some random wine chat room in an effort to spare yourselves similar shame, let me tell you about WOMEN & WINE, a website that’s to be my saving grace. I do, after all, wish to maintain my status as the go-to girl for all must-haves, must-sees, and must-dos, and so therefore must bone up on my wine savvy.

Women & Wine was founded by Julie Brosterman as the girlie answer to what, up till now, has been mostly a “guy thing”. It was her goal to create a way for seasoned wine aficionados (or in this case, aficionadas) and novices (uh, that would be me) to get together, share experiences and bond over good wine. After all, bonding is what we ladies do best, next to spa’ing and remembering every wrong thing our man ever said and then throwing it in his face.

The WINE CLUB is just one of the wonderful goodies that Women & Wine has to offer, and the first step in helping this little City Pulse lass go from totally green to absolute wine savant. My leisure spending budget these days is a little tight (and by tight I mean overdrawn), which is why I absolutely love that the wine club comes in three different price ranges: Taste, Excite and Indulge. I also adore that all the wine is hand picked by a panel of female wine experts and that all the choices come from W & W wine-country destinations (which I’ll get to in a sec), and many are made by women winemakers. Yes, I am all about the girl power here.

And speaking of girl power, what’s better than hitting the open road with my chicas and heading to some fab destination for a few days of R&R? Why, throwing some good wine into the mix, of course! Women & Wine has a handy trip planner to help you choose the perfect wine-growing destination, from Napa to Tuscany to Argentina. Not only do we sample wine, but we also get to meet with the winemakers, and enjoy spa days and other activities up for offer. If taking a full-on vacay doesn’t fit into your Outlook these days, you can always sign up for a WOMEN & WINE EXPERIENCE, which is like the Cliff Notes version of the real deal. These one and two-night mini-getaways are the perfect antidote to an ordinary long and stressful week.

Besides the lux vacations and surprise wine deliveries (ok, maybe not surprise, but every delivery is like Christmas came early), the website directs me to the Women & Wine BLOG, where I can read up on others’ experiences; the MAGAZINE, where I can further my education of all things pertaining to the squished grape; and the RADIO SHOW, W&W Radio, hosted by Julie Brosterman, Sharon Boorstin, Lisa Kring and Jeanette Okwu. I can also find about Women & Wine’s philanthropic endeavors, such as the event that took place on May 10th to benefit the UCLA Women’s Mood Disorders Research Program. An afternoon of Veuve Clicquot, beauty and raising awareness for a worthy cause? Nothin’ wrong with that in my book.

I dare say that Women & Wine has it all. Thanks to this most recent bookmark in my browser, I have been delivered from my dark days of wine ignorance into a brand new era. From now on I’ll take that wine list, thank you very much. My days of letting the guy choose a wine for me at dinner are over. Uh, he’ll still get the bill, though.

So what are we waiting for, girls? Let’s break out our finest wine glasses, crack open that savory bottle of Pinot we’ve been saving for a special occasion, and say a toast to Women & Wine, without whom we’d be forced to learn about wine from morose Paul Giamatti-types, and I’m much rather hang out with Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh.

Visit www.womenwine.com for more information. If you become a member before May 31st, you’ll receive $250 off a custom luxury vacation. Cheers to that!