Over 350 wines from 60+ of Virginia’s top wineries.

Share all my grape finds with you next week!

And the official bubbles of the 83rd annual Academy Awards® is … Moët & Chandon Champagne.

After the Red Carpet is walked and the awards are given out, the celebrating begins. The official party as always is the Governor’s Ball, produced by Cheryl Cecchetto/Sequoia Productions and menu created by Wolfgang Puck with Chef Partner Matt Bencivenga & Executive Pastry Chef Sherry Yard.

This year’s theme will blend the Hollywood music of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s with the inspired décor of such eclectic clubs as the Rainbow Room and the El Mocambo.

Reception stations of sushi and shellfish will be laid out while hors deouvres like Mini Kobe Cheeseburger with Remoulade and Aged Cheddar and Taro Root Taco with Smoked Lobster, Avocado and Pickled Jalapeno are passed. Dinner is a Trio of Wolfgang’s Signature Salads; entrée of Pan Roasted Dover Sole with Fennel, Olives, Haricot Vert, Tomatoes, Lemon, Sherry, and Olive Oil; followed by dessert of Sherry’s Sweet Bouquet Layers of Lemon Cheesecake, Raspberry Cremieux, Cassis Gelee, Valrhona Ivoire and 24 Karat Chocolate Oscar® (there are 4,000 of them!).

1,200 bottles of Moët & Chandon Champagne will be on hand. Pop open your own bottle and whip up one of Moët & Chandon’s champagne cocktails, Moët’s Silver Screen Punch or The Moët Starlet. Find the cocktail recipes and other fun tools (like Oscar Ballots and Oscar Bingo) for your Oscar Party on Oscar’s official website.

Cheers!

Found this really cool thing when we were at Eataly on our trip to New York City last week (the Italian marketplace, cafe, restaurants, bar founded in Turin with locations in Italy and Japan)… an EATinerari.

Right before you exit The Market check-out area onto 23rd Street, there’s a rather non-descript display of these boxes. Took a quick picture, as I didn’t have time to look further, so I could check it out when I got home.

Turns out this cute little box is “1 box = 1 trip = 1 free gift”…a one day prepaid itinerary with the aim of discovering where EATALY products come from. Cool!

There are 5 Bella Italia EATinterari‘s in the box to chose from…

1. A Day Around Lunga: Tour the vineyards of Barolo
2. Emilia Excellence: Understand how artisanal prosciutto and parmigiano are made
3. Excellence Beers and Noble Wines: From a modern microbrewery to an old cellar
4. Oliver ROI: See how the best olive oil is made
5. The Tradition of the Tuscany Countryside: Wine tasting in Chianti

Eataly works with Liberi Tutti, a network of travel agencies based in Turin (home of the original Eataly), for details and booking. There are more EATinerari’s available on the Italian site (note I was having trouble calling up any of the details on the site and many things are in Italian).

Great for yourself for your next trip to Italy or a gift for a friend going. Salute!

“It’s not about the horse. It’s about overcoming fear and self doubt.” Wyatt Webb’s words and the name of his book.

As mentioned in Miraval…Clue-In to You, by far my favorite offering at Miraval is The Equine Experience created by Wyatt Webb, Miraval’s Director of Equine Programs. You can take it as a Clue-In offering during any stay or an intensive immersion is offered with Wyatt several times each year. This is a truly moving experience…a form of therapy that “blends horse sense with common sense”!

As Wyatt says, “How you relate to this animal will tell us how you relate to all living things. Your basic training has come from learning how to treat people. Remember one thing: It’s not about the horse…What we’re here to look at is what you’ve learned over the course of a lifetime that either works for or against you in your relationships.”

Horses need communication. And this comes from you being fully present  with your intentions, not from words. This was amazing to me, not having spent much time with horses! These 1,500 pound creatures need you to be strong and direct, to take your emotion out of it (hard when you’re standing next to one of these big beautiful creatures). With your energy and behavior, you guide them to what you want them to do.

During the class we worked with specially selected horses and great facilitators. You start off performing basic equestrian skills like cleaning the horse’s hooves. Sounds easy, right?! Its not! Through the process you’ll see your personal patterns come to light. For me, it was about forcing and pulling the horse’s leg into doing what I wanted, which didn’t work. I had to take a step back, get really focused on my intention then go back to the horse with calm and directness. I had to take the fear and emotion out of it. When I went to him breathing steady with intention, it worked.

The other cool thing you do is get in the pin with the horse and use your energy to move the horse around the pin…fr0m walk to trot to run and change directions (you use a guide as an your extension but you only drag it in the dirt near you, no touching the horse!). It really is quite amazing!

For me it was a very enlightening and powerful experience! You tap into your inner self, face some things you may have been supressing and practice living in the present moment. It sums up my Miraval experience overall. I can’t wait to go back!

* Sources: Its Not About the Horse, Its About Overcoming Fear and Self-doubt by Wyatt Webb with Cindy Pearlman, Miraval website