Although this is a red wine, it’s very sweet in taste. Often, new wine drinkers are hesitant to try red wines and usually prefer sweet, white wines. However, this is a great wine to try if you don’t have much experience drinking red wine.

Typically, when making traditional Pinot Noir, the stems on the grape clusters are gently removed and the wine is aged for months in oak barrels. Whole Cluster, on the other hand, is fermented in stainless steel tanks and then directly bottled. Rather than removing the stems, thousands of intact grape clusters are put into the stainless steel fermentation tanks. Within, From the Tasting Room – Whole Cluster, Chris French, a former desktop publisher at the winery explains, “we inoculate with yeast (in traditional Carbonic Maceration yeast is not added, relying on native yeast) and the tank is sealed and flooded with carbon dioxide. Fermentation begins in an anaerobic environment (no oxygen) with each intact grape becoming a tiny fermentation vessel” (Willamette Valley Vineyards Blog). After several weeks, when the juice inside the grapes turns to wine, the tank is opened and the remnants are gently pressed. The result is a fruity wine with low dryness. Shockingly, this process takes only three months to complete.

2009 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir is meant to drink immediately, unlike other wines that are better with age. Aromas consist of strawberry, raspberry, cherry, smoke and anise. Willamette Valley Vineyards suggests paring this wine with bold cheeses, pizza, grilled fish, chicken, BBQ or thai food.

John Mitchell, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, once told me not to automatically assume that my first job out of college would be my career. I couldn’t agree more. Trying to find your destined career as a recent graduate creates too much stress and pressure. For now, I would really encourage recent graduates to focus on finding a job that sparks a level of interest. I think finding a job that truly interests you is the first step in building a successful and rewarding career.

Currently, I’m working in the marketing department at Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Oregon. Although I’m not certain that my current position will eventually lead to my destined career in the wine industry, I will say that I really value this experience. I have an interest in the wine industry and genuinely look forward to going to work each day. Already, I have learned so much about marketing and branding. However, I also realize this is the very beginning and I have so much more to learn.

The goal of Food for Lane County’s Empty Bowls Project is to remind us that people in our community are hungry and need our help to fill their empty bowls.

A special thanks to Rally Coffee Roasters and Holy Donuts for their donations!

Clay Space is located at 222 Polk Street in Eugene, Oregon.

Lots to choose from!

Setting up and trying to make room!

Volunteers are always needed.

The shopping begins.

Great music

A special thanks to the generous restaurants who participated in this event!

These were made at the Food for Lane County Fuse-A-Thon.

A variety of fabric bowls.

Selling Holy Donuts and Rally Coffee.  And yes, it was very cold

Three levels of amazing food, wine and beer.

Over 1,200 people attended Chefs’ Night Out.

This was incredible!  It was hand carved by a chef at Sweet Basil Thai.

These bamboo trays were 100% biodegradable.

The poster from this year is on the left.  The poster on the right was the first poster ever created.

The LLC students cooked on salt blocks.  Delicious!

Creative and beautiful!

Food for Lane County is always looking for volunteers.

A lovely cake from Sweet Life Pâtisserie.

The awards!

Sweet Basil Thai won the best overall award for the second year in a row!

Liquid chocolate!  Hot or cold.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. — Virginia Woolf 

The event was large in scale with over 1,200 people.  Tickets sold out the day of the event, which left many people wishing they had purchased tickets sooner.  Thanks to the generous support of many sponsors, 100% of Chefs’ Night Out ticket sales will help Food for Lane County alleviate hunger in Lane County.  Last year, ticket sales brought in $60,000.  This year, we were able to bring in nearly $80,000.

Sweet Basil Thai won the best overall bite award for the second time in row.  If you haven’t already tried this amazing food, make sure you do!

Expect more pictures soon.

Oxton explains that e-mail can be used in a variety of areas in the event planning process.  In particular, she recommends utilizing e-mail for invitations, reminders, post event thanks, post event surveys, event promotion and awareness generation.

Although the prices of paper costs and direct mail have increased, I would still recommend sending personal invitations to potential guests.  It’s more personal and it also generates a sense of appreciation and value in terms of the recipient.  However, I do agree that e-mail should be utilized in regard to the other areas that Oxton mentions.

The benefits that come from the utilization of e-mail as a tool in marketing are undeniable.  It’s low in cost, it enables event managers the ability to send reminders and alerts, it allows personalized communication, there is ability for recipients to forward the messages and it also allows for results to be easily measured.

With the proper e-mail marketing implement, event managers can actually track the results of an event or campaign.  With this marketing tool, users can track undeliverable messages as well as click through and open rates.

A couple weeks ago, I was asked to meet at the Hult Center for a meeting relating to my internship.  Although I had been to the Hult Center before, I couldn’t remember the exact street location as I was driving to the meeting.  With my iPhone, I was able to google the street name and make it to my meeting with time to spare.  Along with location assistance, my phone has also enabled me to be more organized.

I program all my internship commitments and meetings into the calendar application. Although I also use a planner, the calendar application is nice because it alerts me when a commitment or meeting is coming up.

Although the mobile nature of technology can be convenient, I do believe many people rely on it too much.  I admit that having an iPhone makes life easier, but I’m aware that I don’t necessarily need it.  There is a huge difference between wanting something and needing something.  I don’t need my phone, but I will admit that it’s nice to be connected with the world at all times.

From the flower girl to the ring bearer, some wedding elements prove that they simply cannot be planned or prevented.

Nerves are another example of an uncontrollable and unpredictable wedding element.  By nature, people react to stress and nervousness differently.

This clip shows how the weather can be a huge factor in terms of outdoor events.

Despite many frantic attempts, even the best and most experienced planner can’t control every detail and situation.  The bottom line is that unexpected problems are likely to occur.  Perfection is an impossible expectation that is ultimately unrealistic.

Timelines can help planners figure out where to start and how long the listed details should take.  In order to achieve timeliness, timelines should be created before the actual planning.

As an event assistant intern, I am familiar with the importance of deadlines.  Invitations, posters, catering and rentals are some examples of elements that need to be completed at a certain time in order to alleviate potential chaos.

While there are many other specific details that will depend on the style and size of an event, timelines will maintain the overall schedule and keep late minute scrambling to a minimum as the final day approaches.  For the Chefs’ Night Out event that I’m currently a part of, the team planned to have invitations out four months before the event.  This gives potential attendees the ability to save the event date and consider their schedules in advance.

Within Party Planning Timeline, Wendy Stewart provides a general overview regarding how long other necessary details should be timed.  Two months before the event, Stewart recommends listing the general details.  She recommends establishing the number of guests that will attend, the venue and location, the budget and the theme.  She notes that while these are just general details, creating a timeline for their completion is important in establishing event control.  Stewart also notes that decorations and final touches should be saved for the day before the actual event to ensure that there is less to worry about the day of.  She says this rule only applied for the non-perishable decorations, like flowers.

From what I have learned, it is incredibly important to have reliable help during the planning process.  I think many people feel comfortable completing tasks themselves when it comes to the timeline.  However, with the assistance of reliable team members, the time line will actually be completed in a way that is faster and less stressful.

These images are products of Google Image.

More and more wedding ideas are arising from classic and romantic movies.  Movies that create an emotional impact on people, especially in relation to romantic love stories, create a idealism for real life.  People relate to love stories because they usually end happily ever after, which is the ultimate ideal when it comes to marriage.  For instance, The Notebook, a widely popular book and movie, ended with an example of true and eternal love.  For most people, the movie, a truly old-fashioned love story, translates into a potentially romantic and passionate wedding theme.  In order to capture and translate this theme into a wedding, visual details must be recognizable.   This picture illustrates the particular pieces that were used at a wedding to create The Notebook inspired theme.  The pieces aren’t overdone and greatly resemble elements that were found in the actual movie.

Even general time periods are captured in terms of wedding themes.  A 1920s theme is depicted within the second image through several elements and pieces.  Most importantly, these pieces are recognizable because of the preconceived notions that people have in relation to particular time periods.  Often, these preconceived notions come from popular movies that depict a differnce sense of style and decor.  As style and decor change over time, it is easy to make connections with pieces that were popular in past decades.

These images are products of Google Image.