Draw - design - drink (a little) wine

A recent project for the Women in Wine Leadership Symposium held in NYC. So many wonderful parts to the process of learning about these inspiring female winemakers and pioneers in the wine industry from around the world and then tasting their phenomenal wines at the event!
Gifted to each speaker as 11x14 prints, displayed at the event both digitally and in print, the main poster highlighted the day’s agenda and was handed out to attendees as a takeaway.
Postcards were offered to the attendees to mail out during the event. A nice detail…
Enjoy!

Sip a Sauv. with me today

It’s International Sauvignon Blanc Day and Wanda Mann, East Coast Editor for the Somm Journal, Writer, Storyteller and Presenter is “sipping sunshine” with a glass of Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2023 from Marlborough, NZ. I’m beyond thrilled to have a feature illustration accompany her delicious review — a sunset scene to highlight her tasting notes and summer tunes.

Sip – Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Read – Wanda’s wine experiences, reviews and events: @winedinewanda
Listen – Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Mix on spotify: wine with wanda

🌞ps manifesting sunshine with this post, on a 🌧️ NYC morning

The Perfect Snack

I had hardly any free time, and I promised myself that I’d make to Gjelina, at least for a snack. This was in 2015 or 16…way too long ago! I ordered the first thing that caught my eye, when literally everything sounded like the perfect bite. The roasted rainbow carrots with citrus and pepitas…and although my recall is fuzzy, I believe the deliciously creamy companion to these sweet little carrots was burrata…or was it yogurt? I think it was burrata? Either way it was perfection and I remember the vibrance of those California carrots and the natural sweetness and seasoned saltiness of it all. It was the beach, the ocean and the gorgeous day infused into the perfect plate. 
Somehow I missed a repeat visit to Gjelina, despite vowing to return ASAP to try as much as I could. And SOMEHOW I missed their short time in Noho. Unfortunately they had to close due to damage caused by a fire in the building. I’m relieved that they are able to recover and that they have plans to reopen…hope so!

The shop is live!

Hey there—I wanted to give you a little bit of context about the illustrations currently available on my shop!
This series of totes, tees, mugs, journals and prints is inspired by many days spent riding, caring and geeking out over horses as a kid. I read (& re-read) every horse book offered at our school library, to the point that I was asked to please choose any other topic of interest ;P. My favorite books at the time: A Very Young Rider by Jill Krementz and any book by Patsy Gray, especially Challenger and Horsepower, which were both centered around the Hunter Jumper horse showing life…
I probably held a record for the amount of times I replayed the movie: Sylvester. I was OBSESSED.
Before I owned a real live horse, I made daily trips to my favorite tack shop, Pony Express, to ask the owner, Sue a million horse-nerdy questions about every piece of equipment she carried for horse and rider, and to watch her paint her fabulous horse sweatshirts. Such fun days! 
So that’s where my horse drawings originated. If you want a more customized piece or don’t see exactly what you’re envisioning…let me know, HERE I can modify or customize my illustrations for you.
Just a reminder that I can’t see who “likes” my posts…so please let me know what you think by e-mailing me a note and I’ll update you when I’ve got a new series to show. Dream Big! XO

Only the grapes know what's lurking in commercial wine...

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I’ve been thinking about natural wine since I had my first sips in Europe, not realizing what it was because there, in many cases, IT’s JUST WINE! I noticed how as sensitive as I was to wine back in the states, in Paris, I felt vibrant and woke up the next morning bright and early with no “wine haze”.
It took more travel and many comparisons of nights out with natural wine vs other nights out with commercial wine, to realize that There. Is. a. Big. Difference. At least for me there is.
We are so lucky to have wine bars and shops throughout NY that take pride in the wine that they choose to carry and the producers that they support. Natural wIne bars like Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, Cervo’s, Four Horsemen, Kilo, Quartino and Ten Bells and shops like Chamber Wines, Flatiron Wines, Frankly Wines, Vins des Amis and Wine Therapy are just a few!
If you care about what you eat, doesn’t it make sense to pay similar attention to what you are drinking? Especially when there are no labels on the bottles and not nearly enough restrictions to protect us. If the grapes could talk…..then that would be a different story!