The event was held at Rick’s Wine Cellar in Corte Madera. It seems last night was a national Pinot Noir Twitter tasting event. People across the country drank Pinot Noir at the same time and discussed it live via Twitter using the hashtag #pinotnoir.  Our event had the special added twist of trying the new glasses made by Andrea Robinson, The One glasses.

When I arrived to Rick’s Wine Cellar I was greeted by the bartender who asked if I was there for the Twitter event. She showed me to the back room where the event was happening. This room had a lovely table and chairs set up with a big plate of cheese and wine glasses on the table. The walls were filled with selections of fine wine.

The first guest to arrive besides Alana (@girlwithaglass) and I were Doug (@sfdoug) and Jason (@Jasonswineblog). At this point I knew I was already in over my head. Here I was getting ready for a wine tasting with 3 wine experts. Rick, the owner (@rickswinecellar) asked if we were ready to start the tasting. He brought out 3 mystery glasses. He asked us to try each glass and to then guess where the grapes were from, what year the wine was and who the winemaker was. I’m thinking to myself yeah right. I wouldn’t have even known it was Pinot Noir if they hadn’t told me. One by one my 3 wine expert friends made their guesses on Bottle #1. Bottle #1, Bottle #2 and Bottle #3 made me think of The Dating Game: Bachelor #1, Bachelor #2 and Bachelor #3.

As you can see my head was not in the same place and my 3 new friends. While they were swirling the wine around, smelling the bouquet, twisting and turning the glass and talking about the taste… well, I was visualizing the 3 bottles sitting behind the wall on The Dating Game. When Rick got to me I said, “I plead ignorance”. Rick gave me a free ignorance pass on the first round but after that he forced encouraged me to play along. Of course, I never guessed anything right but my 3 wine expert friends were pretty far off in their guesses too so I didn’t feel so bad.

We tasted, we guessed, we talked wine. Alana was so sweet, she took the time to answer my questions about the wine and the tasting in English (ie. not in Wine language). I actually enjoyed myself and did not feel like a big dufus. Rick the owner was awesome; he took the time to sit down and explain to Nancy, Mike (@ATOMsanRafael) and I how important it is to match the right glass with the right wine. I’d heard this before but didn’t really believe it. Rick had us try the same wine in 3 different glasses, and you know what? It did taste and smell different! Nancy actually went home with some new @AndreaWine glasses.

Alana who is an expert at pairing food and wine taught me all about how different cheeses work with different wines. The food you eat can change your wine tasting experience.

I learned a fun little insider tip for Marinites. If you purchase your bottle of wine at Rick’s Wine Cellar and bring it to many of the local Marin restaurants and show them it is from Rick’s Wine Cellar, the restaurant will not charge you a corkage fee. Pacific Catch in Corte Madera is one of these restaurants. The full list of restaurants that offer free corkage of Rick’s Wine Cellar wine is on the Website: http://www.rickswinecellar.com/

Even though I’m more of a beer or champagne girl I really enjoyed the Pinot Noir Twitter Tasting last night. I learned that good wine paired with good people is a great combination!

When we tell Pacific Catch we are coming for lunch they get excited, they reserve a table for us, they prepare us some appetizers, they are attentive and they join the party by sitting down and getting to know us. Pacific Catch we love you!

We all enjoyed some of Pacific Catch’s Fresh Hawaiian Poke (sushi-grade ahi tuna in a sesame-soy marinade with wonton crisps) along with some other wonderful treats. I was so busy socializing I forgot exactly what I was eating but I do remember it was tasty. I ordered the California Roll for my meal and had a refreshing juice blend called the POG to drink made of Pineapple, Orange and Guava. Perfect on a warm sunny day!

I also want to thank everyone that comes out for the Twitter Tribe lunches!

We had some special guests at this last TweetUp. @MelRovens brought some little tweeps of her own. She had recently rescued some baby birds and since they needed around the clock care she brought them to the TweetUp in a basket. They were SO tiny and cute. (Don’t worry, she knows what she is doing. She’s rescued birds before.)

Our next Marin Twitter Tribe lunch is at Toast Novato this Friday at 1pm. I hope you can join us. If you are on Twitter and in the area you are invited. I hope you can join us. Toast has some great salads!

SATURDAY MAY 22^nd, 11am – 2pm

Town Center Corte Madera’s center courtyard will be buzzing with satisfied sounds and enticing aromas as more than a dozen of the center’s food vendors and restaurants serve up complimentary samples of their most popular items – from sweet potato fries, to smoothies, to burritos, Hawaiian poke, pizza, shrimp rolls, BBQ and cupcakes.  Taste of Town Center will take place outside in the center courtyard on Saturday, May 22^nd from 11am to 2pm. Activities for children include free face painting and free balloons. This will be a perfect time to bring the whole family to sample the delicious offerings that are available at Town Center Corte Madera all year long, as well as a chance to visit their many unique shops.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to showcase the many terrific food merchants at Taste of Town Center,” said Stan Hoffman, General Manager of the Town Center Corte Madera. “We hope everyone will come bring the family and spend the day sampling some of the amazing food that we have here. We hope that Saturday May 22^nd marks the start of a new culinary celebration to add to our community event calendar.”

Restaurants and food merchants participating in Taste of Town Center include A.G. Ferrari, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, Barnes & Noble Cafe, Bryan’s Fine Foods, California Pizza Kitchen, Champagne French Bakery and Cafe, The Counter Custom Burgers, Il Fornaio, La Maison de la Reine, Pacific Catch, PF Chang’s China Bistro, Sur La Table, Teacake Bake Shop, Tully’s Coffee and World Wrapps.

Town Center Corte Madera, located on the West side of Highway 101 at the Tamalpais Drive exit, has become known as the Marin location for delicious healthy food, specialty clothiers and stores boasting unique home furnishings and gift items.  Throughout the year, the Town Center hosts a number of community-driven events like the annual Trick or Treat Day for kids, the world’s largest Thanksgiving turkey which collects donations for Marin Community Food Bank, and free Christmas holiday gift wrapping by volunteers from Hospice by the Bay.  For information, call 415-924-2961 or visit the Town Center website at www.shoptowncenter.com.

The Book Passage is one of my favorite places to meet with people. Besides being a wonderful resource to the community as an independently owned bookstore; the Book Passage has an awesome cafe.

The Book Passage hosts tons of author events, writing conferences, classes and workshops. Marin County (and San Francisco) are very fortunate to have the Book Passage.

Why does it matter to me that the Book Passage an independently owned book store?

Indie Bound does a good job explaining:

Why shop Indie?

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy

• Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
• Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
• More of your taxes are reinvested in your community–where they belong.

The Environment

• Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.
• Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community

• Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
• Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
• More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.

Now is the time to stand up and join your fellow individuals in the IndieBound mission supporting local businesses and celebrating independents.

IndieBound supports Independent Business Alliances around the country. To find an alliance near you, visit AMIBA or BALLE.

www.indiebound.org

The Book Passage in Marin is located at:

51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
415.927.0960
www.bookpassage.com

They are also on Twitter! Follow them @BookPassage

The Book Passage in San Francisco is just a ferry ride away from Marin! It’s located in the beautiful San Francisco ferry building.

1 Ferry Building, #42
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.835-1020

A bunch of people who work at Pacific Catch tweet under various names: @pacificcatch, @PacCatchCOO, @PacCatchChef, @PabloEscolar, @Rob_Villa_PC, and I’m sure there are more.

This shout out is not because they are on Twitter, although I do send them kudos for being on Twitter but it is because they GET Twitter. They understand what it is about. They understand it is not just about shouting and broadcasting to the world. Pacific Catch understands Twitter is about building relationships, it’s about their community. Pacific Catch participates in the conversation. They connect with their community.

Pacific Catch also knows how to throw a party! They hosted 2 TweetUps this week: one in Marin and one in San Francisco. I was one of the lucky people to attend the Pacific Catch Marin TweetUp on Monday night. Pacific Catch was so generous with us, they kept bringing out tasty appetizers and I’m not talking about chips and salsa, they brought out things like Hawaiian Poke, Ceviche and Thai Coconut Shrimp!

I just wanted to say Thank You to Pacific Catch. You guys are awesome and I think I speak for all the Marin TweetUp crowd – we’d be happy to have a TweetUp at your business any day!

It’s not just Twitter Pacific Catch gets, they get the whole social networking thing. They even have a blog!

We are a silly group but we do appreciate businesses that get social media and we will support you!

Thank you Pacific Catch!

A special shout out to Chamin for all your support and always making us feel so welcome and to Amanda (aka @sexythinker) who I have a feeling has a lot to do with all of this.

Chamin from Pacific Catch did a drawing for the TweetUp participants for $50 gift cards to Pacific Catch. @dianefischler and I both won! I think we will be going on a double date. I look forward to going back to this social networking friendly restaurant with great service and terrific food.

Thank you Pacific Catch and the Corte Madera Town Center. Be sure to become a fan of the Town Center’s Facebook fan page. They’ve been giving away a lot of great prizes and gifts to fans.

Thanks to everyone who came out for this TweetUp. I created the following list from memory so if I forgot anyone please let me know and I will add you to the list. I look forward to seeing you all at future Marin TweetUps!

@PacificCatch
@ShopTownCenter
@pobutler
@DrMichelleXO
@DianeFischler
@ken_homer
@AtomSanRafael
@MamaMtnBike
@MarinBroker
@MomnTwins
@LeighShev
@Sally_K
@Living_in_Marin
@Charleegee
@BrainMaker
@MaryMcnamara
and I heard a rumor @Cellodoc was there but I didn’t actually meet him.

I’ve had a request to organize one in Novato. I’m looking for a Novato restaurant interested in hosting our next TweetUp. If you are interested please contact me.

Read about past TweetUps:
Mill Valley TweetUp #2 (10.28.09)
Mill Valley TweetUp #1 (6.10.09)

Photos from past TweetUps

PS. For the record, I did not organize the Pacific Catch TweetUp. I just saw the invite on Twitter and passed on the info. But thank you to everyone who thought I organized it. 

They are offering a free Hawaiian Poke (sushi-grade ahi tuna in a sesame-soy marinade with wonton crisps) to all the TweetUp attendees. This is a restaurant that gets social networking. They interact on Twitter, invite people to their business and offer you something for coming! They are also having a drawing for a $50 gift card.

The TweetUp is open to all. Will you be joining us? It is from 4-6pm on Tuesday, 12/1 at Pacific Catch located in the Corte Madera Town Center.

Pacific Catch Corte Madera
133 Corte Madera Town Center
Corte Madera, CA 94925
Phone: 415.927.3474

RSVP to TweetUp here: http://tweetvite.com/event/pacificcatchcortemadera

I got a massage last weekend! I finally used a gift certificate for Stellar Spa in Corte Madera that I’ve been holding on to for quite awhile.  I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and decided it was time for that massage! So I reserved 1.5 hours of a deep tissue massage with Natasha. Stellar Spa is really nice. I don’t get massages very often so this was quite a treat.

The moment I walked in, I was greeted. They were expecting me and made me feel welcome and comfortable. I was handed a big, plush robe and slippers and escorted to the dressing room. The dressing room itself was enough to relax me. It was very nice with wooden lockers, private showers and all sorts of delicious smelling lotions and soaps. After I got in to my comfy robe and tried some of the soap and lotion I headed to the Quiet Zone. This is a room with comfy chairs and couches, a water fall, nice mellow music, filtered water, tea, nuts, dried fruit and magazines. I got myself some water and sat down to read Spa magazine and learn about all the benefits of going to the Spa. Actually I found an interesting article on healthy meals for your dog so I think Poncho is going to be trying some new food soon.

After a few moments of reading and relaxing Natasha came and told me it was time for my massage. She brought me to the room and had me lay down on a comfy, cozy bed. During the massage my robe was hung on a towel warmer.

Natasha gave me a wonderful massage and forced all that stress out of me.

I had a wonderful experience at Stellar Spa and think if I’m going to splurge on a massage for myself in the future it’s worth it to go to a nice place like Stellar and get all the extra perks.

Thanks Patricia for taking the time to answer my questions!

Author Name: Patricia Volonakis Davis

Book: Harlot’s Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece

What is your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area?
Well, since my background is Italian, I’m always looking for good Italian restaurants, and I have to say that there are two that I really love- one is Arriverderci’s in San Rafael, though it’s more Italian-American food than strictly Italian. Nonetheless, every item I’ve ever tried on their menu is excellent, they cook everything as you like, even let me trade my potato side for an extra vegetable side. I also LOVE the waitstaff, (Hello, Glenn, Hello, Danny!) because they are all in some way involved in the arts, and they come over to our table and chat with me about my writing, and so we feel like we’re going to see close friends whenever we eat there.  But if you want genuine Italian pizza, the kind with the really thin crust, and all the fresh ingredients on top, you need to go to Benissimo’s in Corte Madera. My husband calls it “Benny and Mo’s”, but he’s a poker player, not an Italian.

Where is your favorite place to shop for clothing?
That is the easiest question to answer- hands down it’s Gioia in downtown San Anselmo. The prices are reasonable, the clothes are different, but trendy/chic, not too way out there, and I love  all the shoes!

What do you love most about the Bay Area?
Another easy question. The people. The people make the Bay Area. I think it’s because they genuinely appreciate how stunningly beautiful the area is. And they feel blessed to live here and show it, by hiking in the area, bicycling here, eating here,  shopping in the area, and most of all, doing their best to keep it ‘eco-friendly’

Favorite independent bookstores in the Bay Area?
Naturally, I’ll say Book Passage first. That’s because they have been so supportive of me and my writing. They have asked me to do workshops there and they went out of their way to make my book launch wildly successful. I love that they have great conferences and all kinds of artistic events, too.  In fact, I’m  organizing one really fabulous event for the California Writers Club Marin Branch that’s being held there in October. Some  amazing literary names are taking part in that! They are truly a local landmark. I also love Book Depot in Mill Valley, And Booksmith in San Anselmo. In fact, Book Depot in Mill Valley was the first local bookshop I discovered when I moved here. They’ve got a great selection of books for such a small shop. Booksmith’s is one I pass almost every time I’m in downtown San Anselmo, and the owner is so gracious and accommodating.

Do you belong to any local clubs?
I belong to the California Writers Club, both the Marin Branch and the Redwood Branch, and I also belong to the Fairfax Health Club. I get my best writing inspiration from all my friends there, and the trainers are great, too!

Do you have any upcoming events related to Harlot’s Sauce?
Yes- lots! I’m speaking in front of the San Diego Feminist Book Group on July 7, for an event called “Harlots and Feminists”, there is the Instock Conference on July 18, in the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco, where I’ll be hosting a panel, The CWC Marin Centennial Event at Book Passage, The Redwood Writers Conference, and lots more appearances at independent bookshops throughout the state. You can check for updates on my  Harlot’s Sauce Fan Page on Facebook, www.booktour.com or on my website at:  www.patriciaVdavis.com.

—

If you are a local author and would like to be featured on Sally Around The Bay please contact me.

Right now, I just wanted to share with you this super cool link someone just tweeted about on Twitter.

Check it out! A map of Bay Area Independent Bookstores!