Wine a Little... You'll Feel Better

In honor of National Wine Drinking Day (which happened on Monday February 18), I am going to share with you a little bit of wisdom from one of the few subjects I know a good bit about: WINE, and Lots of it!

 View of the Valley Below Cortona

 Main Piazza in the Town of Cortona

 

Last May I had the opportunity to study abroad in Cortona, Italy, a small medieval town in Tuscany, to learn the in's and out's of viticulture and enology. It's amazing to think back on my experiences there and realize that I drank some of the nicest wines in the world, and that will most likely not happen again for a long time - Certainly not while I'm footing the bill. I still can't quite believe my parents agreed to pay for this trip, but I am definitely proud of my persuasive abilities. It seems that my argument that the ROI of the trip would be seen in my business performance in the future. I can't play golf, so at least I can use nice wines to help broker my deals! I can't tell if the fact that they actually sent me is evidence of appreciating my good humor or a lack of confidence in my business savvy... 

 

The Vineyard at La Braccesca, An Antinori EstateVineyard

 

The Vineyard at Il Falcionore, A Cortona Regional Vineyard

Either way, I plan on using my newly acquired skill set the best of my advantage. It is interesting to think about these skill sets that we learn in college- those that teach us to have a good work ethic and to be independent thinkers and problem solvers. Innovations with technology, like the things we learn about social media and the internet and how that all evolves into marketing concepts-- but how do these come into play in interviews and the "real world"? Who knows. What I can tell you is that college and the skill sets we learn train us not for any specific job, but to be trainable for whatever job we end up with. My fine wine skill set and knowledge base will not teach me to be good at my future job, but it is what getting back to basics is all about. I can pull these tools out of my arsenal at any time and find people that can relate and relay information back to me. They can build relationships with me based on my knowledge about wine.

 Left: the aging room at La Braccesca (all vintage 2010 aging for 18 months in the barrel)

 Right: The sparkling wine room at Il Falcionere, over 20,000 bottles aging to sweet perfection

Isn't that what social media platforms are all about? Maybe the nuances really don't change much.. the more I learn about them, the more I realize that it all comes back to the basics.

Without further ado, here are my "basics" for drinking and enjoying wine: 

1. Red will take some time to love, but the time investment is well worth it 
2. The more expensive or "finer" the wine is not at all relevant to taste or preference.     This also applies to wine & food pairings-- go with what you like. Drinking wine should be a personal experience. Don't let others dictate what it means to you. 
3. Sangiovese is a red, Italian grape that will never steer you wrong, I promise. 
4. White wine is a necessary evil that will open the doors to red wine. The adage "once you go black, you never go back" also applies to grapes
5. Have fun with it. Don't be a snob because nobody likes them, but this becomes a hobby that is actually really fun! Smelling the aromatic notes and looking at the legs of the wine is great, but be subtle. Nobody likes a showoff 

The Bachelor Revolution

Monday February 18, 2013

So... I watch the Bachelor. Yes, I am a 21 year-old woman, and I fall into the same trap every week. I turn it on out of habit, get annoyed with all of the fake, scripted drama, yell at the TV, roll my eyes, etc.; and yet I can't tear my eyes off of the television when the rejected ladies are pouring out their hearts to the very empathetic cameramen after they are rejected on national television. There are many aspects of it that are very much like a cult, with Chris Harrison as the charismatic leader, assuaging all of our fears about never finding love. It's as simple as humiliating yourself on primetime for the world to see!
 

One thing that is impossible not to notice is the different attention that The Bachelor is getting on all sorts of social media platforms. A trend lately with a lot of brands has been to "Live Tweet" with question and answer sessions for magazines or other brands with health, beauty and wellness tips. Now, the world has caught on and users have deemed themselves "worthy" of live tweeting events for their followers' pleasure. I find it interesting that a lot of people used to be embarrassed of the fact that they watch the show at all, and were mainly silent about it. Now, it is a connecting point worthy of creating content. I know that on my twitter feed I had at least four tweeters telling me their prized opinions of all of the turmoil folding out before my eyes.

It's funny how live tweeting used to be held only for major events like award shows, major sporting events and political happenings. The changing face of social media has almost reversed-- brands started using social acting like people in an existing conversation; now, people are acting like brands and sharing their opinions to make people listen to what they have to say. It makes me wonder if social media will always be this cyclical...

In the meantime, we can all enjoy the witty remarks made by "Tierra's Eyebrow's" Twitter account!

 

Living With Lonely

Monday February 11, 2013

 Remember back in the day when dinner was for family time? It was that one time of the day when my parents, my sister and I would gather around the table and talk about our day. Obviously, I wasn't raised in a Norman Rockwell painting, but it did create some nice memories. As we grew up and evolved, so did technology, and pretty soon, Apple had a presence at our dinner table in the form of three (and now a complete set of 4) iPhones. At first we got in trouble for texting our friends at the table, but then Dad started doing it, so Mom was fighting the battle on her own.

As I have matured I know understand how truly irritating it is that these technological advancements have created a constant need to be connected-- to the point where I am checking my phone's Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram apps at least once an hour (or even more when boredom is a factor). But now when I eat with my parents, I can appreciate that time when I don't necessarily feel that I should be texting or socially communicating in some capacity.

Enter Ramen Noodles. MisoSoupDesign's creation of the "Ramen Bowl for iPhone Owners" has completely brought us over the line that separated us from complete technological oblivion. This has taken my sacred family dinner memories and essentially made them obsolete. Are we really that lonely/sad as a civilization now that the prospect of eating even one meal alone, unconnected, is completely impossible? It is definitely a worrisome idea... At least it comes in several color options: red, black or white. The sleek, modern design is also quite aesthetically pleasing.

Don't get me wrong - I would be irate if somebody tried to take my iPhone. I have no problem with the technological advancements in general, however the revolutionary effect they are having on the values I grew up with is bordering on offensive.

The only silver lining of this situation is that even though businesses are doing their best to adapt to the changing technological landscape, human capital and their interactions, whether on an intra-company basis or with the customers and community through social means, are absolutely not becoming obsolete. This is comforting for me as I attempt to join the work force in the very near future. It is also good to know that as evolved and advanced technology may become, humans can never be replaced by phones, computers or social media platforms. Loneliness is a different issue, unfortunately (one could argue that Facebook is one of the worst inventions to ever happen in the history of dating), but success still comes back to those innate, seasoned human interactions that we all learn by sitting around our dinner tables with our families, sans iPhones. If you're lonely enough to buy this bowl, I would suggest investing in a dog instead.

Proactivity: Nuance or Antique?

Monday February 4, 2013

"Proactivity" is something that is engrained into today's college student's mind along every stepping stone in the journey. Professors, advisers, coaches and mentors all emphasize how if we aren't proactive then we will inevitably not get any of the results we want from our efforts, therefore losing any hope of reaching our goals and aspirations. You have to be proactive and do the work and practice to get the results you want on the playing field or as a personal fitness goal, or you'll never get to where you want to be. You have to be proactive to get good grades and have good relationships with your teachers to get good recommendations. If you don't do this, you'll never get an internship. If you don't get an internship, you'll never get a job.

I don't know how much time any of you readers have spent with college students, but being told what to do is not generally well received. This only further emphasizes the stereotype attached to GenY-- our blatant disinterest in listening to authority.

One piece of advice I am attempting to follow is to read everything, starting with Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Imagine my surprise when habit #1 is to "Be Proactive." Covey breaks it down into basic ideas that we are "response-able" for the majority of the events in our lives, all of which fall into our concentric circles of concern and influence. When you are a proactive individual, you can push the boundaries of the circle of influence wider inside of what concerns you. This had me thinking about the ways that companies use their circles in order to engage with their target markets. In terms of traditional marketing, there was a lot more negative focus in the circles of concern and the circles of influence were a great deal smaller than they could have been. Traditional marketing is so impersonal that the amount of influence available was almost negligible. When thinking in terms of social media marketing, it is mind-boggling to think of the influence that they can have on peoples' lives. This is a proactive move for a lot of companies, but it is still a reactive strategy for late entrants into the social phenomenon. For those that were proactive, I'm sure their ROI is increasing in spades. Maybe all those authority figures do know what they're talking about...