Wanna See My Shake Face?

My world is wine with a little beer mixed in, so cocktails are relatively new to me. But they're making a comeback, and the more I taste some of the purer, fresher quality concoctions, the more intrigued I become. I gotta start out slow, so right now I mostly enjoy drinks made with a little wine.

Making cocktails is a little like being a mad scientist. Limitless different ingredients, mixed together in different ways to make thousands of different drinks. And when you shake your masterpiece with some ice, the expression on your face is called your "shake face." One bartender I met claims to have seven different faces; I'm gonna stick to just perfecting one.

My friend Jason Burton (pictured here with Brent Anderson, Stir Branding) from The LAB is a pro, and this summer he invented a drink that uses Riverbench Chardonnay. He served it at a recent tasting we hosted, and it was, in short, eye opening. I might be in love with St. Germain Elderflower. I bragged about our Riverbench cocktail to my owners and it ended up on the Far Western Tavern's bar menu, named, embarassingly, for me: the Mohseni. I'll probably always think of it and remember this past (unbearably hot) summer's trip in Kansas City, where it was invented, but I'm super honored.

The takeaway here? Dive in, folks. The cocktails are fine.

Try our very own Riverbench cocktail, and work on your own shake face. Here's the recipe:

Rock Star in Kansas City

Sometimes, selling wine can be a drag. There's so much competition and so many reps on the road these days, so you’ve got to try to stand out. I’m not very good at that, as I have a knack for being unable to kiss ass. What I am good at, however, is absolutely completely truly and terrifyingly loving what I do.

It’s a jolt to stumble onto people who appreciate that, and many of those people live, unexpectedly, in Kansas City, Missouri. Without exaggeration, talking wine with folks there is a pleasure because they’re passionate, too. My bud Jason Burton (The LAB) tells me it’s because they can appreciate artisans, and I think that’s part of it. The other part might be that they’re genuinely fun folks who love to have a good time and appreciate really special things.

My opinion of those outstanding KC folks was elevated and cemented thanks to a tasting at Lukas Liquors hosted by Jodi Dyer and Dennis Schaefer. I already have a soft spot for Dennis, because he was the first journalist to write about Riverbench when we first opened four years ago. The rest of the group was just as cool; they asked awesome questions about food pairings (my favorite thing) and who puts the pink wax on our rose (our vineyard manager’s dad, Fred, who deserves a post solely dedicated to him). I don’t think I stopped talking the whole time, but the time flew by because it was just so darn fun.

I think Sean and Michael (QED Wine Purveyors) who sell our wines in KC must only take me to the good places, because every account is friendly, excited about the wine, and supportive. I do think that good people should surround themselves with other good people, as it promotes that positive energy. Seems like that’s what these guys do. They’re the epitome of a small business, a two man sales team who are working hard to spread the story of California’s artisan winemakers. It’s not an easy task, but they do it and they do it well. They treat me rather like a rock star, which is an incredible ego boost, but it’s because they love what we’re doing at Riverbench, and respect the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into it. It’s probably largely because of them that I’ve fallen a bit in love with Kansas City.

So KC, and all the charming and wonderful people there, thank you. Thanks for “getting” it, supporting it, and living it!