Mary Orlin

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Breaking the Taboo of Wine and Perfume

For eons, perfume has been banned from any place where wine is being tasted, consumed, enjoyed.  As a wine professional, it is taboo for me to wear perfume to a trade tasting, a wine dinner or other wine related event.  The same goes for people working in the wine industry, whether they are working in the winery as a cellar rat, enologist, winemaker or pouring at the tasting bar.  Wine and perfume together…not allowed!  Forbidden. Until now. I’ve been on a mission to break the taboo of wine and perfume together.  As a Certified Sommelier, I love to pair wine with perfume.  Both are aromatic experiences.  In fact, without your sense of smell, wine (or any food or beverage) would not be as enjoyable, because your sense of taste really comes from your sense of smell.  The tongue can’t distinguish floral from spicy, but your nose can. And, it’s that ability…

WineFashionista is a Finalist in The Wine Blog Awards! Please Vote!

I am super humbled and honored that this blog WineFashionista is a Finalist in the Wine Blog Awards for Best Writing on a Wine Blog.  The Wine Blog Awards are given out each year at the Wine Bloggers Conference.  I am in great company in my category with some of the best wine writers in the country.  This is my first time being a finalist. To be named a finalist, my blog had to be nominated.  There were 100+ nominees in my category.  Then a panel of judges, basically a panel of wine writing peers, voted for the top six blogs.  Somehow mine was one of those six.  I was quite surprised and thrilled. Now the general public gets their say.  This is where you my dear readers, come in. Click on this link, then click on the big red VOTE button.  Voting ends June 19th at 11:59 pm. I would…

Curious About Wine and Perfume Pairings? Save The Date November 16, 2013!

Find out why it’s no longer taboo to pair wine and perfume at our upcoming workshop, The Essence of Fragrance. Join me and master perfumer Sarah Horowitz as we take you on an olfactory exploration of wine and scent  on Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 4 – 6 pm.  Sign up soon, this is sure to sell out fast!  This workshop will take place in the greater Los Angeles area; stay tuned for location announcement. WHAT:  The Essence of Fragrance –  A Wine and Perfume Pairing WHEN:  Saturday, November16, 2013 TIME:  4-6 pm WHERE:  In the Greater Los Angeles Area CONTACT:  Mary Orlin, WineFashionista mary@orlinmedia.com Sarah Horowitz sarah@sarahhorowitz.com WORKSHOP FEE:  $125 per person. limit 10 people We present The Essence of Fragrance – a two hour exploration of the aromatic experience of wine and perfume, led by Master Perfumer Sarah Horowitz and Sommelier and Journalist Mary Orlin. We will be…

Dress to the Vines!

It’s a weekend of wine country fashion! Join me at Jessup Cellars in the heart of Napa Valley for Dress to the Vines, a four-day celebration of fashion, wine and perfume. I’ll be doing perfume pairings with Jessup wines and Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances. We’ll dish on the latest wine country style and talk about how Napa Valley influences fashion with industry insiders, magazine editors and stylists. If you are a wine fashionista like me, you won’t want to miss this ground-breaking event that puts style on par with wine, food and art in wine country. On Thursday night, August 15, I’ll be part of a panel talking all things fashion and wine country. To kick off the event, I’m pairing three Jessup Cellars wines with perfumes from wine country based Sonoma Scent Studio that will highlight different aromatic notes in the wines. While wine and perfume together are usually…

New! The Essence of Wine and Perfume – A Pairing Workshop in LA

Please join me and master perfumer Sarah Horowitz for a super fun wine and perfume pairing workshop in Los Angeles!  We’ll be pairing wine with fragrant essences curated by Sarah at her perfume studio.  You’ll get to sniff and sip.  The best part of all is we’ll be creating a custom, one-of-a-kind fragrance on the spot, with your input, inspired by one of the wines!  You’ll be able to take a home a sample vial of this bespoke scent.  This is a  great way to learn about both wine and perfume, and how the two are more similar than you ever imagined. Our guest vintner is Sonja Magdevski of Casa Dumetz Wines and we’ll be pouring and pairing her wines with Sarah’s perfumes! Tell all your perfume loving friends, especially those in the Los Angeles area.  Sign up early! Space is extremely limited. Detailed information on ScentTrails.com, a new perfume boutique finder and…

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