In San Francisco I had a few mintues before meeting a friend for drinks, so I popped into Saks Fifth Avenue.  The have a really small perfume counter, but they carry a well-edited selection.  Bond No. 9 is there, as well as Tom Ford’s line of exotic fragrances (I love his Velvet Gardenia and Black Violet scents).

By Kilian is another line, and it is from Kilian Hennessy.  His name may be familiar should you be a Cognac drinker – yes it is that same Hennessy.  So it should be no surprise that this is a lux line.  The juice is $225 for a 50 ml bottle.  Why?  Just like wine, by Kilian says they source the highest quality ingredients, from flowers to spices. 

 While I’m not buying any time soon, I am intrigued by the scents.  The first thing you notice is all the bottles are black.  The second thing I noticed were the names:  Prelude to Love, A Taste of Heaven, Liaisons Dangereuses.    I tried “Beyond Love: Prohibited” which to me is an intoxicating tuberose fragrance, which I loved. Thought I would like “Straight to Heaven: White Crystal” because the list of ingredients – Rum, nutmeg, dried fruits – you know, ones that smell good enough to eat.  But it didn’t do it for me and also faded fast.  Also tried “Back to Black: Aphrodisiac” which I really liked.  It’s got warm spices – cardamom, nutmeg, saffron, and smoky sweet notes from vanilla, tobacco, cedar.

One cool thing I found surfing the web, there is a store in West Hollywood called Scent Bar, and they sell by Kilian, among others, on premises or online.  You can go there and refill your by Kilian scent…the juice comes out of a “cognac barrel”.

I walked into a neighborhood home and gift store and there it was.  Beautiful white pieces, with interesting details and shapes.  For a moment I thought I was looking at some new pieces from Astier de Villatte, my favorite line of tableware from France.  It  has a similar distressed white glaze and styling.  Vietri calls it the “Incanto Collection.”  Here are a few of the pieces I’m coveting. The square platter is $124, the serving bowl is $88 and the large rectangular serving platter is $214. The price point is much less than Astier.  This could become a new favorite.

You’re at the grocery store, staring blankly at the shelves of olive oil.  It’s almost like looking at shelves full of wine.  Intimidating.  Confusing.  You just want a decent bottle of extra virgin olive oil.  Do you choose by label, by country, by price?  To make matters even worse, it’s highly likely that bottle of oil you just picked up contains an inferior olive oil that wouldn’t pass a test for extra virgin olive oil.  And even though it is labeled “product of Italy” that oil probably came from Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Morocco or Argentina.

I went just took a tour of three California olive companies — one olive processor, two olive oil producers. Was organized by the fairly new UC Davis Olive Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (hey I was at the ground breaking for that center years ago.) The main point of the tour seemed to be enlisting us attendees (about 10 of us chefs/writers/bloggers) in getting the word out about what’s really in a bottle of “extra virgin olive oil.”

I’ve done many TV stories on artisan olive producers in wine country:  McEvoy, Round Pond, Pasolivo, The Olive Press.  One of the oil producers on the tour was Bozzano Olive Ranch, near Stockton, CA.  It’s also a small artisan operation.  When we got there they were custom milling oil for a client.  It’s fascinating to see olives get separated from leaves and stems, get washed and then milled into paste.

The oil is extracted from the paste, and when it flows out, it’s cloudy (eventually the oil clears up).

Bozzano has two main products, A2 and Toscana, both blends of different olive varietals.  It’s sort of similar to wine.  The owner told us that only 20% of what’s milled turns into olive oil; the rest is pumice.  The olives are also handpicked. Makes you understand the high prices for these artisan oils.

In stark contrast, another stop, Corto Olive in Lodi (wine country) is the second largest olive oil producer in California (and the US) after California Olive Ranch.  The milling plant was much bigger, and there are actually two mills working 24-7 during the harvest, which was happening while we were there.

They machine harvest (which we didn’t see) and they say that’s one reason their oils are priced lower, like $7.99 per  half liter (compared to Bozzanno at $26/half liter).  Corto emphasizes freshness — that oils are stored in temperature controlled tanks topped off with nitrogen to keep oxidation out (hmm sounds like wine), and fill bottles only as orders come in.  I’ve been to California Olive Ranch, and they do the same thing.  You can find California Olive Ranch at local markets but Corto is a dedicated custom-mill facility and they provide oil for private labels — Sam’s Club and Zabar’s for example.  We got to try freshly milled oil — otherwise known at olio nuovo.  It’s bright green and cloudy, and the aroma is very grassy.  The taste is bitter and grassy — a “three cough oil” for sure.  If an oil causes you to cough, that means it’s pretty pungent.  I like oils like that!  Most Americans go for a softer, fruitier oil.

When you are at the milling line, the whole room smells like olives.  Here’s a video of the final oil coming out:

The other stop was at olive processor Musco Family Olive Company, in Tracy.  I’ve never thought about black olives and other types of canned/bottled olives and how they get to be that way.  But then I never eat black olives.  They remind me of the canned sliced mushrooms that pizza places used to use.  No flavor or texture.  Musco says most Americans prefer the black olives.  Well they don’t pick them black, they pick them green.  Then they are cured in these cement tanks.

There are about 1300 tanks in the storage yard at Musco.  At peak capacity Musco says they process enough olives to give every person in the world 4 olives.

The cured green olives go through an oxidizing process where they turn black (aka ripe).   Then they’re pitted and canned.  They told us the small green olives, especially the ones stuffed with pimentos, usually are imported from Spain and other countries.  Musco uses mostly Manzanilla olives, a Spanish variety.

One cool thing from Musco — they have a olive nutrition chart with calorie counts.  The range is from 4 calories for a small olive to 12 calories for a “super colossal” olive.

So if you’re buying olive oil, what to look for? For California oils, the Certified Extra Virgin seal from California Olive Oil Council on the bottle means the oil inside is indeed extra virgin.  If you see an oil that says imported from or product of Italy, look at the fine print.  The label probably says something like “contains oils from…” a list of countries.  There’s no law that governs extra virgin olive oil imports.  You can always buy small bottles, and do a taste test.  Once you’ve had fresh oil, and true extra virgin oil, other oils made from inferior oils and blends won’t measure up.  My advice, eat local.  California’s oils are just as good, if not better than some top Italian oils.  Also terms like cold press or first press don’t mean much anymore, since most EVO is almost always the first and cold press.

And, finally, what to pair with olives?  You need a wine that can cut through the brininess.  My choice is bubbly, either a nice California sparkling wine (Iron Horse, Schramsberg, Domaine Carneros or Mumm will do), or a Spanish Cava (Segura Viudas is a good bet).

BJF flower slippers

If you’re able to get to Novato, the Bonjour Fleurette warehouse sale is totally worth going to.  Judi Flowers created flower slippers, and they’ve become all the rage, from Sex and the City to Oprah.

Here’s a video from In Wine Country that we did on Judi and her slippers.

Usually the slippers go for $50 and up!  But at the sale, you pay $10, unless there are Swarvoski crystals, then it’s a little more.  The luggage tags are fantastic!  I have several — some are flowers, others are plaids.  They make great gifts, and usually go for $12 but at the sale they’re $3-$6.

I just got two letters from Lucky magazine - which is a magazine about shopping, natch. Take a look at the photos. One envelope says “Thank you. We’re pleased to have you with us!” Very nice, right? Inside is a form to renew my subscription for $9.97. But wait, didn’t I just already renew? Oh but at $9.97 I’ll save 72% off the $35.88 cover price.

The other letter from Lucky comes in an envelope that says “Expiration Notice.” Inside there’s a form saying that if I reply by 12/13/09 I can save 79% off the cover price of $71.76 for $15 including a gift subscription. Wait, isn’t that a better deal? But what if I don’t want to send a gift subscription? Looks like I still pay $15. Not such a deal then.

On both forms it states my current subscription expires in Nov ’10. A year away and they want to get more money now. Being a journalist, I know how bad the magazine industry is right now, with ad dollars way down. Subscriptions are the other main revenue stream. But what am I to think with these mixed messages of “Thank you” and “Expiration notice”? One thing’s for sure, I’m waiting until next year to renew. Who knows what the offers will look like then.

Having a front row seat was great.  He showed us step by step his techniques.  One of the best trick – using a highlighter under the eyes and above the eyebrows.  Really gives a lift and brightens your face.

I’m already a Dior fan — the DiorShow Iconic mascara changed my life.  Before, I always used Maybelline’s iconic Great Lash, you know the one with the green top and pink tube.  I didn’t think it was worth it to spend more than a few bucks on mascara.  But once I tried DiorShow there was no going back.  Lashes appeared out of no where.

Then it was hands-on time, replicating the techiques on our own, with supervision from Ricky and his team of makeup artists.   What I learned:  1. Foundation doesn’t have to go all over your face .  2. Let first coat of mascara dry before applying second coat.  This help avoid clumping.  3. You can do a smokey eye in any color.

Of course all of this is done in the name of ringing up purchases at the register.  My new can’t live without product…the brow styler, a foolproof pencil and brush.

One of the hottest jewelry designers around happens to be in wine country.  Robindira Unsworth’s studio is based in Petaluma, CA (Sonoma Co.). Her jewelry was just featured on the cover of The New York Times Style Magazine and also in the editorial feature.  But Robindira made it big time when her jewelry was worn by the model on the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated.

Happily I can say I knew her when.  I met Robindira at Wine Women & Shoes three years ago.  That lead to shooting a feature of her for In Wine Country.

Now you can shop at her studio.  She’s just opened the Atelier at Robindira Unsworth and oh is it ever stocked with goodies!  Lots of great scarves, the most beautiful leather jackets from Blur, and tees, cozy sweaters and fab leather bags from Calleen Cordero — all lines that Robindira just loves.  And of course, you’ll find her jewelry here too.  It’s definitely worth the trip, especially if you’re in wine tasting in Sonoma.

What to get the wine lover in your life who has everything?  Here’s a gadget (we all know how wine geeks love their toys!)  Nuvo Vino is an infrared thermometer you use to check your wine’s serving temp.  Super easy to use, you push the top button down and the other end opens up to reveal the thermometer.  You don’t dunk this in the wine.  Instead the infrared collects the surface temp.  

In my homegrown experiment, I had a white wine I wanted to open.  In the bottle the unchilled wine temp was 74 degrees Fareheght.  A little too warm to drink in my opinion.

After chilling in ice for about 25 minutes, the wine poured into a glass was at 49.5  degrees.  That’s in the optimal range of serving temps for this wine, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.   After sitting in the glass for about 10 minutes, the wine was at 55.5 degrees.  Double checked with an instant read thermometer dipped into the wine, it read 54.6 degrees.  Close enough for me.

The Nuvo Vino comes with a serving temperature chart.  Sells for around $40.

The hottest wine accessory, gadget…Vinturi.  It is a wine aerator that you use while pouring a glass of wine. That means it acts like a mini decanter -  it gets air into the wine and opens up bouquet and flavors. It is a two-handed operation. Uncork the wine, hold the Vinturi over the glass and pour. You’ll hear a sucking sound — that’s the wine being aerated. Best for red wines, but can be used for white wines too.  I’ve seen wineries use it in their tasting rooms so what you taste is the true wine.Comes with rubber stand and a travel pouch and retails for about $30.  You can usually find this at a wine shop, or you can order online.

I did my own taste test on a Cotes du Rhone that was really tannic.  The wine, once it passed through the Vinturi, was much softer and drinkable, where it wasn’t before.

Another gift idea — Govino wine tumblers.  Plastic wine glasses get a bad rap, but these are really cool. Govino glasses look like a famous stemless brand, but won’t break, can be used again and are recyclable.  There’s an indention for your thumb that makes the glass easy to hold [although I recommend holding by top of glass when you swirl so as not to warm the wine up too much].  One set is 4 in a box that retails for about $12,  and again you can find at most wine shops or online.