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Hip Tastes Blog
www.courtneycochran.com/blog
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Welcome to the blog of sommelier and wine consultant Courtney Cochran, author Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine (Viking) and founder of HIP TASTES Events.
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Le Power Panel: The Good Life @ UCLA Alumni Day 5/5 (Pinching Myself)

"The call." You know what Im talking about. The call that makes or breaks a deal, a heart or something else very important. Sometimes "the call" is unexpected. I received one of these...

16 may 12

Wine is to Men as Handbags are to Women?

While I have occasionally been known to rapture about a particular bottle of wine (any number of soulful West Coast Pinots come to mind), I am more often mystified by the reverence with which uber ge...

08 may 12

Macys Capsule Collection Heat: Stylish Sips for Ferretti Fashionistas

Dream collaboration announcement: I was recently asked to create a tasting around Alberta Ferrettis new capsule collection for Macys Impulse. HeLO amazing fashion opportunity! It gets better: theyre ...

27 mar 12

Pre V Day Treat: HIP TASTES Speed Tasting @ Press Club 2.8, 3.7

Hip Tastes brings you speed dating, with wine. Why meet strangers with nothing in your glass when you could sip on something tasty while stumbling through awkward first-encounter banter? Taste five w...

07 feb 12

Extra, Extra! Become a Bottling Wunderkind, Get Cool Cred @ Hip Tastes Bottling School

Enter to be considered for a spot on the bottling line for Hip Tastes new red blend - our first-ever commercially available wine - debuting this spring! A small group of Hip Tasters will pitch in ove...

31 jan 12

The Bachelor Weekly Updates: Winemaker Hottie, Drunken Confessionals, Cat Fights!

[photo: ABC]When my editor at food blog Eater SF - where I dish on beverage-related gossip in a recurring column called The Swill - asked me to document this season of ABCs The Bachelor, I quickly ac...

31 jan 12

Liquid Farm: Insanely Cute Wine People, Liquid Gold, Santa Rita Score

One of the most delightful new people I met - virtually, via Facebook in this case - in 2011 is Nikki Nelson of Liquid Farm. Nikki runs Liquid Farm - a 100% Chardonnay project - with her husband in L...

01 jan 12

Auction Me (Literally), Plus: Bazaar Gifting, Culinary-preneur Hotness Tonight!

Its T minus one hour to La Cocinas annual holiday gift bazaar in the Mish. This is just a quick note to say that if youre looking for something to do tonight and you love supporting local food talent...

10 dec 11

Mechanical Pipettes, Hot Pink Pens, Cool Amador Pours, Or: Blending at Urban Legend

Last week I paid a visit to the affable Steve and Marilee Shaffer at Urban Legend Cellars, their Oakland-based vinous outpost that strikes quite the appropriately urbane mold. Im working with Steve a...

05 dec 11

Photos Are IN: HIP TASTES: Mix It Up! + Debut Wine Capsule Collection

Hip Tasters gathered Saturday at Sutton Cellars for our first ever urban winery event with Twitter-powered scavenger hunt. Featuring the debut Hip Tastes wine (Hip Tastes Red!) and custom blended bev...

21 nov 11

Gastro Highs, Cool Haunts & Hot Prizes for Hip Tasters in Dogpatch Tomorrow!

Now that there are numerous urban wineries in Dogpatch, a natural wine bar, several excellent restos, myriad catering companies, ice cream and chocolate purveyors (Recchiuti just opened YESTerday) an...

18 nov 11

Black Rock City Cool, Sharp Dressing and Pro Surfer Envy - Or, Why John Curleys Pics Rule

This Saturday at Mix It Up! we can look forward to being snapped in all our finery by none other than John Curley, SF photog extraordinaire and all around bon vivant. I first met John when he photogr...

18 nov 11

Hot Shoes, Pre-Nuptial Excitement & "Mix It Up!" Flair Fabulosity

I met up with soon-to-be-wedded pal and expert-o-crafting-arts, Ariel Sutro, to put together decor and accessories for my upcoming Mix It Up! event (11/19). Not only is Ariels SF abode super stylish,...

07 nov 11

MUST LOVE PIZZA (Match.com Vinous Fantasy + Existential Tomatoes)

Originally penned this for a freelance client who didnt love this wine, hence its landing here (you may recall an earlier entry in which I teased the piece - but it didnt wind up being published afte...

18 oct 11

Vignoscenti, Willamette Valley Bender, "Smokin" Pours, T-Day Insights at Wine & Spirits Top...

My coverage of last nights fabulous Top 100 tasting just dropped at EaterSF. Heres a teaser on the intro: "The vignoscenti turned out in their best duds last night for the annual Wine & Spirits T...

14 oct 11

Marin County Wines: The Ultimate Accessories for Your Nor-Cal Local Lifestyle

I had the good fortune to enjoy a gorgeous mid-July lunch in the Russian River with DeLoach owner and bon-vivant-extraordinaire Jean-Charles Boisset, his affable and talented chef, Michel Cornu, bull...

20 aug 11

Date Night (SF Chefs): Seduction Meal Plan, Quadruple Threat Hotties & Hair of the Dog

SF Chefs brought a tasty treat to hungover souls brave enough to be up at 10:30AM Sunday after the previous eves Grand Tasting: an aphrodisiac-fueled food demo and tasting featuring four easy-on-the-...

11 aug 11

Sutton Cellars: Jugs, Kegs, Sparkling Carignane & Other Cool

I headed over to Dogpatch 7.24.11 to check out Carl Suttons Jug Sunday. It was my first time at the recurring event and it did not disappoint, especially as I was lucky enough to be there on the rele...

05 aug 11

Street Food Fest Preview: Politics, Technicolor Cocktails & JELL-O Shot Flower Power

Fresh Up: My latest at SF Eater, where I dish on consuming 19 dishes plus food truck fare at last Fridays unforgettable Street Food Fest preview dinner hosted by La Cocina. Before, I hit up nearby Of...

02 aug 11

New York Stories: Encounters of a Vinous Kind (Checking In at Da Silvano)

This spring I found myself heading into downtowns Da Silvano, a New York institution, for a late weekday dinner. I was with one of my best pals, and another - always late - was making her way to meet...

21 jul 11

Three Twins, Booze, Zombies & More, Oh Yeah

My latest edition of The Swill for Eater SF, wherein I sample awesome scoops from Three Twins, sip mostly awkward pairings, discover Guinness real purpose in life is to float caramel ice cream, and b...

16 jul 11

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