Sip Slowly Single Sips
Green tea is a healthy beverage packed with antioxidants that people around the world enjoy. This month, Novato’s The Republic of Tea has come out with a fresh update to their U•Matcha Natural green tea, to help those with busy lives, who are often on the go. U•Matcha Single Sips comes in 14 individual single serve packets of green tea for a two-week supply. Featuring organic matcha, a touch of monk fruit and organic prebiotic agave inulin, the drink is smooth, rich and slightly sweetened, to provide just the right boost to your day.
www.republicoftea.com
Road trip, Anyone?
From sandy beaches to sweeping plains and rocky hillsides, the California North Coast is a geological wonder. Thomas English Cochrane, a licensed geologist living at Sea Ranch, published Shaping the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast: Exploring the Coastal Geology of Northern California, a compendium of Cochrane’s observations and notes of the unique structure of the coastline.
Accessibility is always a concern when picking up a specialist’s books: will I have to know advanced geological terms and will I need a degree to understand what the author has to say? Fortunately for the non-geologist, Cochrane’s book is not only understandable, but quite interactive with the reader, as well. The introduction helps explain basic terminology and covers the geologic eras of time when the coast developed from the Earth’s mantle to today. Additionally, questions interspersed throughout the book’s chapters helps the reader summate the previous material and challenges them to make their own theories of why the rock formations formed or look the way they are before delving into the science behind their creation. For young adults and truth-seekers alike, there are gems to find in Cochrane’s chronicled studies and travels along the coast.
The book also encourages readers to plan their own journey through the coast and catalog what they observe. The book contains a map and road log for an 85-mile self-guided tour through the coast. Landmarks and points of interest painstakingly recorded from Cochran’s own excursion helps point the reader in the right direction, but the trip is ultimately at their own pace and interests.
The book is available in 45 stores across the region, with Cochrane himself offering tours and geotalks in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. His book is a compendium of research into one of the most geologically diverse regions in the state, and for any lover of geology, nature or adventure will have a wonderful time reading through its pages.
A celebration in style
When Rutherford’s Raymond Vineyards planted its first crops in 1970, the first Raymond winemakers sought to produce wines that could endure the test of time and become part of the area’s legacy. Five generations of winemakers later, the vineyard celebrates its 40th anniversary of its first Cabernet release in 1974. Now a part of Jean Carles Boisset’s Boisset Collection—a band of family-owned wineries dedicated to expressing the terroir of their wines—Raymond marks its 40-year milestone with its 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, complete with red velvet label in that classic Boisset flair.
“Raymond, today, is characterizing a new style of Napa Valley wine with elegance, finesse, charisma, eloquence and power,” says Boisset. “This is why we have created this amazing label in velvet: to symbolize the texture, emotion and feeling you will find in the glass. As we say: the dress code is velvet!”
But what can the patron with the palate for brighter, bubblier beverages celebrate with if Cabernet isn’t their first choice? Haute Couture French Bubbles, a St. Helena sparkling winemaker, has the solution. A new player in the sparkling wine scene—and new addition to the Boisset Collection—combines Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes sourced from various French appellations. The sparkling wine comes in both Blanc and Rosé, as well as standard 750ml bottles and charming 187ml bottles for personal use.
“Haute Couture is a composition of the best of France has to offer, tailor made into a beautiful elixir with a taste that is voluptuous, decadent and provocative,” says Boisset.
www.raymondvineyards.com
www.hautecouturebubbles.com.
