Wine tasting is one of my favorite things to do here at home and while I am traveling. This June 14th from 6-8pm at Butterfly in SF, several diva vintners are pouring for your pleasure.

Heidi Barrett for Ravena Cabernet. AKA First Lady of Wine.

Pam Starr for Crocker & Starr known for her California Sauvignon Blanc - the highest rated Sauvignon Blanc from California in 2004, and #12 in the Wine Spectator top 100 wines of the year!

Argentinian born Delia Viader for Viader Winery, introducing her new label Dare. Dare will be producing a 100% Tempranillo, and 100% Cabernet Franc.

Butterfly Cafés First-ever Retail Sales Wine Event.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.butterflywineevents.com/ or by calling 800-738-3743 until June 10th. Make reservations for this event, as it will sell out. Tickets are $25 per person before June 10th, and $30 per person after June 10th.

Participating Wineries:
- Delectus
- Patz & Hall
- Joseph Phelps
- Revana
- Crocker & Starr
- Robert Keenan
- Viader
- Benchmark Wine Group

Butterfly Café Appetizers:
Foie gras and kobe beef puffs
Ahi tempura with sweet soy and wasabi
Kalua pig in butter lettuce cups with hoisin sauce
Poached pear stuffed endive spears with candied walnuts
Lamb and grape kebabs with ginger cream
Green papaya and mango salad with Chinese mustard and honey dipping sauce
Smoked salmon and strawberry salad rolls
Ahi tuna poke with wasabi cream
Grilled chicken satay with peanut sauce
Kobe beef hamburger sliders
Artisan cheese and seasonal fruit station

Did you know the wreck of the TITANIC holds the oldest wine cellar in the world, and some of the bottles are still intact?

Got a call from Katie in LA. My buddy Peleg Top had referred her to Tango Diva. She was seeking sanctuary, Overworked and recently single - she wanted yoga, spa treatmetns, nature. I rattled off 6-8 destinations that fit the bill - both domestically and internationally. Red Mountain was my first choice for her. Then Amansala near Cancun, The creative workshop in the Santa Barbara foothills this May. The Ashram in the Bahamsa. 2 Palms in Palms Springs. Artista in Carmel, Rancho La Puerta. Turks and Caicos, Club Med.

Katie booked her trip to Red Mountain for this June. She is committed to taking a much needed break. It feels great to help. For anyone else interested - Tango Diva is going en group this October so save the dates and save the money and join us! See Calendar of Cool for details.

If you live in The Bay Area, please come meet me at Jurlique on Fillmore (at Sacramento) in San Francisco tomorrow at 6:00 pm. I am hosting a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the fabulous team at Jurlique will be giving mini-facials for a small donation.

Here is the link with all the details:

http://www.tangodiva.com/index.php?page=events&view=102

I hope you can join me! I love chilling with other Tango Divas!

Teresa

5 Designers and a Poodle was a wonderful success. It was like a social tsunami! The doors were to open at 7:00 pm, but the crowds started at 6:40, by 7:00 pm, the bar was buzzing. I was overwhelmed with it all. Honestly, I am so glad it’s over. Putting on an event of that size takes a lot of work and many volunteers. The event would not have happened without the love ans support of the designers, Dana Castro the producer, Anna Alioto the current Woman of the Year, Patti Mangan my biz partner, my husband Tim and his band of brothers, Krissie Dempsey my dear friend, Kimberly Hathaway my publicist, Sheila Ash my sponsor, and all the restaurants, alcohol, and wineries.

You will read more about them soon, I like to promote and support those who support Tango Diva and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You still have time to donate! http://www.active.com/donate/gsfmwoy05/gsfTRodrig 

 Thank you to everyone! We will have pictures of the event up ASAP.

Hey all you wonderfully wise women of the world! Let’s test your travel metal. Here are 3 questions to get those little gray cells up and dancing:

1. Who is the world’s youngest queen?

2. Which nation claims to be the oldest republic on earth? What is their earliest date on record?

3. Name two female presidents in the world. What are their names? What countries do they represent?

What an amazing country!! And the biggest line you cross to get there isn’t a border or checkpoint- it’s your own fears given media coverage of the Arab world. Dismissing ancient Arabia as a dangerous, scary place is like any other blanket stereotype- you miss out on topographic details like the quiet progressivism and stability of Jordan. The mysterious closed borders of Saudi Arabia. The ability of Israeli engineers to harness the desert and make it viable. Fabled Syrian cities like Damascus. The shoppers’ paradise of Dubai.

The lands that lie between Turkey and Turkmenistan were once the center of the trading world and the hub of civilization. They set the scenes for the Old and New Testaments, bore witness to ancient empires and best of all, still retain whispers of the past in their desert sands and surviving traditions.

Jordan today is the region’s touchstone, where the dawn to dusk calls to prayer echo alongside the hum of passing Mercedes. Where Lawrence of Arabia’s desert spills his secrets to those who search its sands. And where the skilled handiwork of Israelites and Naboteans from crucial millenia past still testify to their sophistication and religious devotion today. Petra, Karak Crusader castle, Jerash, the pillar of salt that is Lot’s wife… Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Old and New Testament peoples… this is Jordan. One of the few places on earth that tends the pillars of Western civilization.

All this and more is your reward for trading in your carefully media cultivated fear of the region and taking a look for yourself. As you sit in a small mosaic shop sipping tea with its gracious owner, discussing politics and bartering for that special item you’ve found, you’ll know what I mean. You’ll find a kind of peace here made that much sweeter by the widely believed promise that this is exactly where peace has failed.

For the past few weeks I have been raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am startled by how many people have been affected by leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma. Very scary.

On Saturday, we threw a party at my house and raised over $5,000 for blood cancer research. It is such a gratifying feeling getting all my friends and neighbors together for a great cause. It gives meaning to drinking margaritas.

The next event I’ll be hosting is the famous 5 Designers and a Poodle fashion show. It’s on May 22 in San Francisco. Click here for the details:

http://www.tangodiva.com/index.php?page=events&view=97

I hope that you can attend one of my fundraising events. If not, you can still donate. The individuals who donate more than $500 online will be given a chance to win a trip out to San Francisco, a night at the HOTEL DIVA, and a free ticket to the Grande Finale with the Tango Team. So, open up our hearts and wallets for a great cause. I’d love to see you in San Francisco! Donate here:

http://www.active.com/donate/gsfmwoy05/gsfTRodrig

P.S. I got to see my book cover! I love it!! I just saw the black and white sketch and it is everything that I was hoping for. It’s filled with lots of action and fun. I’ll show it to you once it’s in color.