Gary Vaynerchuk Becomes The Wine Guy for Virgin America

Posted by Chad Catacchio on May 4th, 2010

Gary Vaynerchuk and Virgin America just announced that Vaynerchuk will hand pick wines for Virgin America flights, and his Wine Library TV will become a featured program on Virgin America’s Red onboard entertainment system.

This is a great move for California based Virgin America, which is already considered by many to be the hippest airline in America. Gary V (or @garyvee as he’s known on Twitter) is one of the most savvy social media users, as he showed by getting his Crush It book onto the NY Times’ Best Seller list, mainly through his social media channels, which includes Wine Library TV. Of course, being the wine guy for the hippest airline in the country isn’t bad for Gary V as well (he also is prominently featured on Hulu as well, so he is really putting together quite a collection of mainstream channels).

Virgin America announced that Gary V will adding wines to the menu throughout the year, and that two wines - Turnbull Sauvignon Blanc 2008  and Arrowood 2002 Sonoma County Merlot – will be on the menu starting today.

Another thing to note is that Virgin America of course has in-flight WiFi, so perhaps Gary V could use that to his advantage. For example, he could mention in his Wine Library TV episodes, “hey, if you’re on a Virgin America flight right now, go to my website and use the code VA20 for 20% off your purchase!” (of course, Gary might use more colorful language than that).

Finally, although a little vague, the announcement also promised that:

This summer, Virgin America is also planning an in-flight wine-tasting with Vaynerchuk in the First Class cabin.

Not sure where or when that is, but if Virgin America wants to invite us along, we’ll certainly cover it for them!

Image: PlaneBuzz

Homeowner turns his property into a truly unique landscape

Charlie Neuman

Art work at the home of Chuck and Pilar Bahde of Rancho Santa Fe

Photo by Charlie Neuman

An untitled sculpture (left) pointed across a walkway at the home of Chuck and Pilar Bahde of Rancho Santa Fe. “My sculptures are unusual. Some say I’m a little weird,” said Chuck Bahde (below), strolling past another of his sculptures, this one twisting skyward.

RANCHO SANTA FE — When Chuck Bahde bought the rambling wooden house in Rancho Santa Fe, the 5-acre spread already had plenty of grass and gardens. But that wasn’t to his liking. Besides, it seemed such a waste of water to keep the lawn green. So Bahde set out to create a new landscape, filled with meandering streams, pools and waterfalls — all created with blue and green glass, hand-painted rocks and plastic.

Today dozens of artworks adorn Bahde’s expansive property, in addition to the waterless pools and rivers. Every last piece is made from recycled or found materials. Pebbles, broken bottles, computer chips, seashells, beads, railroad ties, old-fashioned glass doorknobs and even an old, 5-cent parking meter have been turned into artwork in his hands.

A solar panel from a defunct pool-heating system is now the basis for a towering sculpture called “The Wave.” Plastic CDs are put to use as sun-catchers, and warped, time-faded, wooden tennis rackets and a tiny gold trophy add to the décor surrounding the tennis courts. Every rock lining the numerous pathways was found on the property, he said.

Bahde, 84, was an industrial architect by trade and a graduate of the Institute of Design In Chicago . Over the years he enjoyed a wide-ranging career that included everything from designing and building custom homes in the Midwest to practicing public relations in Europe , where he met his wife, Pilar, who is Swiss and Spanish.

“I was more or less a job-jumper, because I was curious,” he said.

Though he started creating art while in school, and design work was often part of his job, Bahde was never a professional artist. “My sculptures are unusual. Some say I’m a little weird,” he said with a laugh.

But few aside from family members and friends have seen his sculptures and unique landscape of art. “I just do things for myself,” he said.

A vacation in San Diego and a subsequent job offer from Convair, where Bahde worked designing airliner interiors, led the couple to settle in San Diego to raise their two children. After many years living in Point Loma and actively participating in the planning group and other community efforts, the Bahdes bought the Rancho Santa Fe property in 1974. He has been remodeling the house, and the yard, ever since.

Bahde’s landscape is ever-changing, as he continues to add to it and create newer pieces. Even more sculptures fill several garages that once housed a car collection; Bahde plans to put them on exhibit at a gallery someday.

But he is most proud of the fact that his intricate and eye-catching landscape takes very little water to maintain, other than what is needed for the macadamia trees, two coral trees and a small rose garden that were already on the property when he bought it.

In fact, the recent rains kept Bahde busy drying out the “pools,” since standing water could loosen the glue holding the mosaic-like surface together.

Bahde credits a school coach, in part, with some of the modesty that has kept him from making his artwork public. “My first football coach told me: ‘As good as you all are, I don’t want to see you bragging. Just show people what you can do.’ ”

Leslie Wolf Branscomb is a freelance writer in San Diego.

Rancho Santa Fe Rotary donation to Kids Korps

Rancho Santa Fe Rotary Club donates $ 2,000 to the Kids Korps “Build a bike” program
Cindy Bloch, Past Regional President and founding memer of Kids Korps, receives a check along with Robin Chappelow the Regional Program Director from President Michael Manhard

Remember the Jetsons’ kitchen? The one with the robot maid who whipped up entire meals that were the size of vitamins? We’re not quite there — yet. But Betty Crocker wouldn’t recognize some of the innovations available in today’s futuristic kitchens, including talking refrigerators and brainy ovens. Check out these innovations and you might actually feel the itch to do some cooking tonight instead of warming up Chinese takeout or eating out in one  of our tasty  Rancho Santa restaurants.

The lickety-split oven

Do you like to cook but hate waiting for that roast? Here’s a Jetsons-esque oven for you impatient types. The TurboChef oven cooks in insanely short times. Imagine cooking a 12-pound turkey in 42 minutes instead of four hours. Or steaming family-size quantities of asparagus in less than a minute. Or a 2-pound roasted chateaubriand in 11 minutes instead of an hour. Using patented technology, the oven circulates currents of heated air from the top and bottom of the oven cavity to brown, sear and caramelize food, up to 15 times faster than conventional cooking. Microwaves assist when needed. Such convenience doesn’t come cheap: Ovens run $7,900 to $10,000.

The liquid floor

Tired of the same old flooring options? Jockimo’s Living Surfaces Liquid Lava is a fun flooring and countertop material made of liquid sealed between panels. When pressure (like a hand or a foot) is applied, that liquid moves and smooshes around, creating swirls and shapes. A homeowner can also back-light them to make the nontoxic panels glow with psychedelic trippiness.

Through a glass darkly (or in pink, or in green, or …)

“Color is hot, on a huge trend,” says Susan Serra, a certified kitchen designer. Another place color is shining is through countertops — literally. ThinkGlass makes textured and colored countertops that can be lit by LED lights so they literally glow. The countertops also can be made to glow in hundreds of different colors, programmable with a remote control — including the option to change the colors or even have them fade out or strobe.

The do-it-all oven

Appliances that can do multiple things for people are really taking off. So are ones that can be controlled remotely. To wit: the Tmio Oven. The oven ($5,895 and up) functions like a regular oven — except that you can call it from your cell phone, PDA or computer, and it will switch from refrigerating food and begin cooking what’s inside.

INDIAN WELLS — Life high on a hill atop Rancho Santa Fe soon is to begin for Jelena Jankovic. Would that her tennis have similar elevation. Jankovic’s game has been askew since she began the 2009 season as the ranking player on the WTA Tour, but no player around here was talking more animatedly yesterday than the Serbian woman. It’s not tennis that excites her as much as the prospect of occupying the home she is having built in Rancho Santa Fe. Jankovic said she visited the site before coming here for the BNP Paribas Open. “They were putting the roof on. It’s like a dream come true,” she said of a home that, by her measurements, is to have three levels with 20,000 square feet of living space and have a garage large enough for 10 vehicles. “I have five (cars) for now,” said Jelena, who evidently does a lot of driving. Jankovic became aware of the joys of living in the San Diego area when she was competing in tennis events at La Costa. “I picked a lot on a hill,” she said. Its cost, according to San Diego County records: $1.5 million. Jelena advised her architect the place must include a tennis court (it does). “And I wanted a big master bedroom and a huge bathroom,” she said. Done. She is hopeful of moving in by the end of the year. Jankovic’s season, meantime, has not begun positively, with a first-round loss (to Agnes Szavay ) at Sydney and a third-round defeat (to Alona Bondarenko ) at the Australian Open. “But I am working hard,” she said. “I feel every day I am getting better and better. I want to work on coming forward.” Jankovic is the No. 6 seed here. Nothing all that dramatic is apt to occur in the opening round of a tennis tournament with a 96-player draw that hands out 32 seeds and awards all 32 byes. The women’s phase of the Paribas did, however, show off a Justine Henin who soundly eliminated Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-2. “I need tennis; I need to play,” said Henin. “Emotionally, I feel much better when I am playing.”

Rancho Santa Fe lifestyle just got that much sweeter. North County foodies can’t get enough of the new Dolce Pane E Vino wine bar and restaurant, which celebrated a soft opening in RSF’s Del Rayo Center in late 2009, and has since become a neighborhood favorite. Dolce serves handmade small plates of Italian favorites for lunch and dinner, including wood-fired pane rusticos and Panini sandwiches, paired with a tempting wine list designed by Sommelier Michael Melone. Chef Chris O’Donnell is a firm believer in farm-to-table traditions, and makes daily trips to local farms–specifically to the nationally famous Chino’s farm– to ensure the freshest ingredients every day. For those on the go, the attached Dolce Formaggeria wraps up signature small plates and bottles of wine for convenient quick stops.