Choose Your Own Adventure

| WEARING | J.Crew linen shirt, A.P.C. jeans, Tom Ford glasses | ON THE FLOOR | Almost an Eames Chair, IKEA rug | PHOTOGRAPHY | by Rob McIver Photo

Some of my absolute favorite books growing up were the Choose Your Own Adventure series. You know the ones. Read a few pages, pick from a few options of where you wanted the story to go, then read on to the ending that you helped create. Totally awesome. Looking back on it, not only were these books a lot of fun, but they were a great way to engage someone like my fourth grade self, who wasn’t much interested in reading at all.

When you grow up, it’s your life that becomes your own personal choose your own adventure story. There are large scale decisions to make that will shape its outcome and then there are those choices we make that contribute to our happiness and well-being on a daily basis. What am I going to wear today? Should I go for that run? Do I have time for this, that, or the other thing?

At the end of every day, I always ask myself, “How am I going to relax?” And even that question opens up a realm of possibilities. What do I want to eat? What am I going to watch on TV? Wine or whiskey? When the answer to the last question is wine, I’m usually going for a red. While I love big red wines, in the summer, especially, I want something a little bit lighter. And when you’re talking lighter reds, you’re talking pinot noir.

| ON THE TABLE | Wine glass, olive wood cheese board (SIMILAR) and dish from Crate & Barrel, La Crema 2012 Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir

I recently had the opportunity to try (and collaborate with) La Crema, who in addition to having a really nice pinot noir have also just launched a first of its kind Virtual Vintner program, where participants will help chart the course of La Crema’s next offering. Think of it as a choose your own winemaking adventure.

I gave some advice recently about getting into wine for the first time, and having gone through the Virtual Vintner program myself, can say that this is also a great place to start in terms of understanding varietals, appellations, regions, and so on. Basically, you’re getting a behind the scenes look at an artisan winery and an opportunity to gain some really fantastic knowledge directly from the winemaking team. I definitely learned something.

One last thing, by going through the process not only will you get first crack at ordering La Crema’s new community-created wine, but you’ll also receive a discount code just by registering for the Virtual Vintner program and voting on Stage 1. Give it a try!

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian
He Spoke Style

Disclosure: Compensation for this post was provided by La Crema. The opinions expressed herein are mine alone and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of La Crema.