By Rick Riozza
As avid participants in the world wide game of wine, we vino lovers continue to be enlightened and entertained when the arts come to town. The sky is the limit when it comes to creativity and we desert dwellers are fast to embrace the talents of those captivating us across the stretched canvas of wine.
Like kids in a candy shop, wine enthusiasts are often caught checking out the scene of any fun wine accoutrement on display. Recently at a wine tasting, a bright sparkle springing from a wine glass caught my eye. Grabbing my attention, I looked deeper into the glass of white wine to discover a mound of mesmerizing gems—shimmering spheres, if you will, simply chilling away.
Well—I really didn’t know right off those starry stones were indeed “chilling” the white wine. But how cool is that!
Entréz, s’il vous plait, Ms. Anna Rabinowicz and her company Anna New York. Anna is a designer and concept-driven engineer with a résumé filled with professional accolades, degrees, and university teaching positions. She designs and creates nature-inspired objects that include tabletop, desk, bath, furniture and artistic accessories. Catch up quickly by going to www.annanewyork.com
Recently I had the privilege to chat with and get to know Anna a bit, and, I especially asked her about these “wine gems” that I had just taken out of my freezer and placed into my glass of Sauv Blanc. I know she resides with her family in New York and sometimes up north in San Francisco, but, it would be very easy for her to say she had Palm Springs in mind when she collaborated with Kim Crawford Wines to produce the artistic stones that are designed to keep a glass of wine properly chilled, even for out here in the desert!
Anna comes off very amiable and we laughed a lot during the interview. She’s got that artist/mother/business women/creator thing going on and of course she’s interested in many things. You could say she is well “grounded” as exhibited by her work and craft that involves and explores the use of earth and natural, traditional materials, and their juxtaposition with high-tech manufacturing processes.
She readily admitted an affinity to our desert and its surrounds—obviously clear by her métier with natural elements and composites. Indeed, I could see a Georgia O’Keefe kinship in the manner of her expression with colors, shapes and designs that emanate from nature.
For your readers who’ve already jumped ahead to check out Anna’s website, you can see her product line and collection where we’re talking about a Rose Quartz or Amethyst, Brass & Acacia Wood Serving Platter, ornate Crystal Napkin Rings, Agate Photo Frames, Night Lights & Desk Collection, just to mention some creative pieces.
And everybody has to like the fact that Kim Crawford Wines pursued the design company of Anna New York to come up with some stirring concepts. “It’s an exciting collaboration to work with Kim Crawford.” says Anna. “We got together for some ideas early this year, and we already have the product out in the stores!”
Regarding the Wine Gems, the company website says, “add a touch of the exceptional to your glass”, to which I personally agree. Both artistic and utilitarian, the natural beauty of fluorite stone, is a fun and functional way to maintain an ideal drinking temperature for your white wine without diluting the wines vibrant flavors.
And speaking of vibrant wines—hands down—the Kim Crawford Wine line-up that include their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris is some of the most sought-after refreshing wine in our valley. A no brainer here when it comes to enjoying world class New Zealand wine at the most reasonable price. You’ll recall our summer series of recommended whites, Kim Crawford handily got us through the desert heat with energizing and extremely tasting quaffs.
With the Wine Gems, it’s utterly an ice-less way to quite literally enjoy “wine on the rocks”. Anna said she utilized the fluorite gemstone for both its beauty & color variation, and, its function to keep a prolonged chill. As mentioned earlier, I experimented with the 6 frozen gems while I conversed with Anna. During our entire conversation, the wine kept its temperature.
The limited-edition set of Wine Gems sells for around $76. Each Wine Gem is unique with its own color, shade, hue, gradation or however one can describe these round gemstones. My set consisted of four aqua-marine and two purplish crystal amethyst-like colored spheres. Kind of a kaleidoscope study in the swirl of a wine glass: at one point the objects resembled the various moons around Jupiter!—very interesting and entertaining. Definitely a party hit at wine tastings and meals where one’s glass of wine is easily and elegantly identifiable.
And of course, not only are they continually re-usable—they’ll last a lifetime. Although I didn’t find a local retailer who carries the Wine Gem set just yet—stay tuned! This set is the perfect holiday gift for the wine lover out here in our valley. One can easily go on-line to order. Also Nieman Marcus in Newport Beach and Pirch in La Jolla carry the set. Cheers!
Rick is your somm-about-town entertaining and conducting at wine events, food venues & tastings. Contact winespectrum@aol.com
