Mary Orlin

In Northern California wine country, Napa Valley and Sonoma County get all the attention.  Another wine region I love is Livermore Valley, an easy drive from San Jose and Silicon Valley, and 35 miles east of San Francisco.  Livermore boasts 50 plus wineries and is still growing, with about...

The first thing you see when you enter the Metropolitan Museum's exhibit "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" is a large screen. On it, a scene with a dinner table and a crystal chandelier against a black backdrop. There are two women sitting at opposite each other, engaging in conversation. Miuccia...

I walk into an event room at Niner Wine Estates in Paso Robles, Ca, for a class in wine aromas expecting to see lots of wine bottles and glasses.  No such luck.  The only bottles are small vials set out on one table.  I'm thinking, ok this will...

Buy a bottle of wine, plant a tree.  Well you don't have to do the tree planting, but it's a planet-friendly act that your purchase helps sponsor.  Napa-based Trinity Oaks wants you to know about their "One Bottle One Tree" program for Earth Day this year.  The...

According to fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, he's too young for a retrospective.  The 59-year-old tells our audience, gathered for a press preview, "Exhibitions are for dead people.  But I am still alive."

I expect Gaultier to be outrageous, a bad boy, the so called "enfant terrible" of fashion.  I...

Several times a year I'm asked by friends and family for recommendations on where to go when they visit Napa Valley. In addition to wineries I think they'll like, I also include ones with interesting architecture and must see art galleries. That list usually includes The Hess Collection...

Recently I read a news item on WineSpectator.com that reality TV star and former Real Housewives cast member Bethenny Frankel is launching a wine label called Skinnygirl. Oh no, just what we need, another wine brand pandering to women.

Bethenny plays off the success of her Skinnygirl Margarita, which...

Note: This blogger personally purchased the product she writes about below.

Perfume is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day. I've tried picking out what I thought was a nice men's scent. That didn't go over so well. Just because I like a scent in...

I come across a lot of stories that are interesting, but don't command an 800+ word blog post.  I hope you'll enjoy these updates in the worlds of wine, perfume and style.

All the Single Ladies

 I come across a lot of interesting stories that are interesting, but don't command an 800+ word blog post.  I hope you'll enjoy these updates in the worlds of wine, perfume and style.

Haute Wine

If you are an avid Chanel fan you probably know Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel's...

I love New Year's -- a good excuse to drink bubbly, but I hate the idea of making New Year's resolutions, don't you?  Instead I'm going to follow what fashion icon Diana Vreeland, the legendary Vogue editor-in-chief (pre-Anna Wintour) would say about fashion rules.  Prior to her years at Vogue,...

As December comes to a close we're all reflecting back on the year that has been 2011.  Although we're still going through challenging economic times, spirits of the vintners throughout wine country seem to be rising, as sales are slowly picking up.  There's a feeling of hope and optimism that...

Didn't get all your holiday shopping done on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?  Not to worry, I've got a list of wine-inspired gifts, organized by the personality of the recipient.  You can get most of these gifts online and in time to make it under the tree (if you start...

You know the legendary stories about how Apple Computers and Hewitt Packard were created in a garage, by visionaries who broke all the rules and changed an industry.  Wine garagistes do the same thing. What in the world is a garagiste?  Garagiste [gar-uh-zhe-stuh] is a name coined for winemakers in Bordeaux, France...

I know when the holidays are nearing because of the massive number of pitches, press releases and (a small amount) of wine start coming in. I've been getting these since before Halloween, just like the department stores putting out Christmas decorations super early. Much of the wine is Pinot Noir....

I recently returned from a weekend in New York City with Sniffapalooza. Sniffa what? How do you spell that? Funny name. Indeed, most people I know or meet have never heard of Sniffapalooza. They think it's a word I made up. No, it's actually a group of perfume...

"Jumped the Shark" is a TV term coined when an episode of Happy Days featured Fonzie jumping over a shark on water skis while wearing his iconic leather jacket. It was such a ridiculous plot line that it pushed the show way over the edge and it never recovered. From...

No, this isn't about buying wine online, although you may work up a thirst reading this. The internet is littered with too many wine websites, blogs and publications. Mobile has tons of wine apps. And not all of it is great or useful information. What rises above all the noise...