IntoWine Staff

IntoWine recently caught up with WineStraws founder, Jenny LaFever, to discuss what WineStraws can do for you and to get the latest on this wine drinking trend. What inspired the idea for wine straws? The idea was born one night in December, 2007. I had a few girlfriends over for wine and appetizers before we headed to a holiday party. Two of the girls had recently had their teeth professionally whitened and (dentist’s orders) had to use a straw for their wine. The rest of the girls and I decided we didn’t want wine staining our teeth either so we all decided to used a straw. I had seen firsthand many times what a night of drinking red wine can look like! Right away, aside from having fun trying something new, I noticed that the wine taste and experience was not minimized whatsoever, I had no staining, and my lipgloss stayed on lips—not the glass. The only downfall to that first experience was the straw itself… it wasn’t perfect. After many delicious trial runs and tests, what started out as a whim of an idea amongst a few wine loving friends has now turned into the conceptualization and launch of my company: WineStraws.

How many food & wine apps do you know of that focus solely on gourmet food & wine pairings? How about budget-conscious pairings? What about food & wine education? If you answered none, you’re about to learn all about food & wine apps like these (and a few others) by reading the following top 5 food & wine apps for iPad.

IntoWine recently caught up with Dragon's Hollow President and Founder, David Henderson to discuss wine and his thoughts on current trends in the wine industry. Why China? The truth of the story is China picked me, I did not necessarily pick China. I originally went to China in the ‘70s to manufacture packaging material for the Chinese as they began to unearth and export Chinese antiquities. I also started a small engineering school to teach distribution and industrial packaging to the newly opening China. While in China in the early 1980’s I constantly heard comments from all the ex-patriots in Beijing complaining about not having access to imported food and wine. So in 1988 I created Montrose Food and Wine and obtained the first direct license to import wines into China. Montrose would eventually represent many famous international wine labels and would also take on the role of teaching people in China how to drink and appreciate wines. I am still a major shareholder in Montrose Food and Wine which remains one of the largest importers and distributors of wine and spirits in China www.MontroseChina.com & Hong Kong www.Montrose.com.hk today. In many articles written about my time in China, writers have called me “the father of the present day Chinese wine industry”.

IntoWine recently caught up with george wine company's winemaker and founder, George Levkoff to discuss wine making and his thoughts on current trends in the wine industry. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I became a winemaker as a result of an epiphany I had at dinner in late 1994. The restaurant was Joe’s in Venice, CA, and the meal was tuna foie gras. My friend Mark brought along two bottles of pinot noir from Williams Selyem, Rochioli Vineyard 1991 & 1992. The meal which I had many times before, never tasted better, and I proclaimed that one day I would make wine like this in Healdsburg, a town I had never visited. Four years later I sold my house and quit my job, and moved to Healdsburg.