Round 1 of the U.S. Open kicked off on Monday, but for those who like to serve some wine with their tennis, the real action began last week, when two of tennis' biggest supporters, Mouton Cadet and Jacob’s Creek, celebrated the U.S. Open. Mouton Cadet served first, as the wine partner for the 16th annual Taste of Tennis event. "[Mouton Cadet shares] the same values of tradition, elegance, conviviality and respect [as tennis]," representative Laëtitia March-Nulton told Unfiltered.
A Celebrity Chef Tennis Tournament, held last Wednesday at the CityView Racquet Club, starred chefs Marc Murphy, Alfred Portale and Jonathan Waxman, and the party continued the next day at the Taste of Tennis Gala, where Andi Dorfman, a former Bachelorette, and tennis stars the Bryan Brothers celebrated the USTA and raised money to benefit Eli Kulp, the Philadelphia-based chef who was badly injured in June’s Amtrak train derailment.
Jacob’s Creek was also warming up for the Open a few days in advance. Last Thursday at Astor Center, the Australian winery, which already has relationships with both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, toasted its new multiyear partnership as the official wine of the U.S. Open with a tasting of their Two Lands wines, a transcontinental collaboration with Napa winemaker Ehren Jordan, followed by an appearance by their ace brand ambassador and No. 1 men's tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic screened his Jacob’s Creek–produced “Made By” documentary film series and then served up a cooking demonstration alongside former Top Chef finalist Casey Thompson. “This is the most pressure I’ve ever felt in my life!” revealed Djokovic as he trepidatiously tried his hand at cooking head-on shrimp. “I don’t like seeing their eyes!” Now back in his comfort zone at the U.S. Open, where he seems to be feeling considerably less shrimp-induced anxiety, Djokovic has yet to drop a set through the first two rounds.
Disappearance of Paul Bunyan–Size Cork Still a Mystery
Who needs an 8-foot-tall cork? Well, it could be someone who needs to stopper a 50-foot-tall bottle of wine. Or it could just be a gang of no-goodniks up to no good. Whatever the case, someone made off with a giant cork, beloved mascot of Czech bubbly producer Bohemia Sekt, and the company just wants their hilariously large cork (actually made of plastic) back.
The cork stood in a traffic roundabout in the Plzeň region of West Bohemia, near the winery. According to the Prague Post, the winery is offering 100 bottles of wine for the cork's return, and added that it would be "hard to miss." According to the most recent info on Bohemia Sekt's website and Facebook page, it appears that the cork still remains at … large.
Peter Michael Is the Wine Spectator Learning Center's Newest Donor
The Michael family of Peter Michael Winery has contributed $300,000 to the future Wine Spectator Learning Center of the Wine Business Institute, a new development at Sonoma State University. The donation, the latest in a series of recent contributions from the likes of Bouchaine Vineyards, Korbel Champagne Cellars and Rubin Family of Wines, will create the Peter Michael Winery Executive Classroom. Construction on the new Learning Center is slated to begin next year, and its doors will open for classes in early 2017. More than $6 million has been committed to date to fund the project, which is expected to cost a total of $9.1 million.
Paul Michael, son of Sir Peter and Lady Michael, told Wine Spectator sister publication Shanken News Daily, “The curriculum offered by the Wine Business Institute fills an important need, and we are very excited to contribute to the future impact this program will have in the wine industry."
