Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/148134
Better than a Book While we're quite fond of literacy here at Marketplace HQ, sometimes you just wanna turn off your brain and enjoy a cold brew. But for the guilt-ridden intellect in all of us, Out of Print's unique coaster set comes to the rescue, offering stylish and sophisticated coasters that your hipster book-loving customers will crave. Featuring vintage and out-of-print cover art from some of the world's most beloved books, these coasters pay homage to classics like Pride and Prejudice, 1984 and On the Road. Lovely to look at and sure to keep those pesky rings off a coffee table, these coasters may be out of print, but they're certainly not out of style. Label of Love In recent years, more and more producers are paying as much attention to what's on the outside of the bottle as what's inside. And while the quality of the juice is, at the end of the day, always the most important factor, a beautiful bottle goes a long way in attracting consumer attention on the backbar or on the shelf. VML Gewürztramineris a lively, exotic fruit–laden wine from Sonoma's Russian River Valley that opens up with bright, floral pineapple and finishes with a rounded stone fruit. The label is equally enticing, with a Mother Earth sort of look that has you admiring each carefully drawn line as you would a sip of this lovely wine. Vino Vérité There are some big names in film: Spielberg, Hitchcock, Scorsese. But mixing the art of film and the art of wine is the name of the game with Francis Ford Coppola Winery's Director's Cut, a release from the famed Sonoma producer designed to pay homage to the history of filmmaking. From its film-strip label, to the bold, dramatic flavors in red blend Cinema, the lineup from Coppola begs to be paired with a blockbuster dining experience—nd you may as well put on a great movie while you're at it. Tea Treasures When you're serving artisan spirits, boutique wines and handcrafted cocktails, you're not really going to serve your guests a plain ol' bag of Lipton for their tea, are you? Fortunately, you've got equally artful options in the tea world, thanks to products like Art of Tea, which aim to elevate your caffeinated options. With over 200 wholesale offerings ranging from botanical-driven beauties, to iced and organic specialty teas, there's something for every glam grocery, hip hotelier or red-hot restaurant. The Art of Scotch I think we can all agree that a finely-crafted single malt is a thing of true beauty, and from the distiller to the cooperage, there's plenty of true art going around. Bringing a more literary perspective to the art of whisky is an upcoming book by artist Daniel Zalkus, who spent time at the historic Glenfiddich distillery as an Artist in Residence in 2012. Charcoal & Whisky chronicles the daily life at the distillery, and satisfies the needs of both the whisky- and art-lover in all of us. august 2013 / the tasting panel / 107 TP0813_104-132.indd 107 7/24/13 9:40 PM