Cupid Knows Wine Is For Sharing

If you are thinking of doing something really special this weekend for Valentine's Day, you should consider taking a nice leisurely ride to Little Compton and visit Sakonnet Vineyards.

It is such an incredibly beautiful place, even in the winter months. The fireplace is always going, the people are friendly and helpful and there is always something to look at or learn about. It is just fascinating that we have such a place here in Rhode Island. What a great opportunity to visit a working vineyard!

Sakonnet Vineyards are having a special Valentine's Day weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am - 5 pm. Featuring red wine for Valentine's Day, you can sample chocolates and special cheeses, warm up by the fire with a glass of mulled wine, or talk to the winemaker and learn about dessert wines.

In fact, it is such a romantic place that several couples every year get married right at Sakonnet Vineyards.

Rosecliff Inspired Mansion Open House on Valentine's Day

Inspired by the location of their wedding, Rosecliff Mansion, the owners of Crawford Court built this romantic home as a tribute to their everlasting love.

This Valentine's Day, come visit this unique home with your special someone. You'll be swept away by the attention to detail in this exceptional Newport home.

The Open House, located at 8 Ledge Road, will be held this Sunday, February 14, from 1 - 3 PM.

Chocolate: the Consuming Passion

Chocolate: the Consuming Passion


I stole these words. But I stole them from my sister and she won't mind; we always share. This is the title of one of her best-known books, a New York Times Best Seller almost thirty years ago. I was working for her at the time, and I will never forget the day she told me about the plans for our work on the book. "It is going to require a lot of research," she said with a grin. And research we did, for the next eight months (okay, we kept right on researching after the book was published... in fact we are still very in-depth researchers).

One of our first and favorite research trips was to Harbor Sweets just north of Boston. The business was started by an unassuming man named Ben Strohecker, who in 1973 challenged himself to create the "best piece of candy in the world", regardless of cost. After spending a day tasting every type of chocolate made at Harbor Sweets, we decided Ben had succeeded.

There were not so many Ben Stroheckers back then, but today, chocolatiers abound. (Obviously my sister and I were not the one people out there researching.) The varying brands of chocolate seem to increase daily, and one can find chocolates these days combined with flavors one never would have imagined would be friendly with chocolate (and some, frankly, are not). Even your local CVS drugstore has an entire display rack filled with gourmet chocolates.

And what an opportune time to blog about chocolate... in a month that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever except... Valentine's Day... the perfect excuse for anyone to overspend on chocolate. In preparation for this upcoming holiday, I offer you some favorite chocolate picks for Valentine's Day from the staff of Rachel Ray.

B.T. McElrath Chocolatier 9-Piece Truffle Assortment

Godiva Limited Edition Mousse Collection

La Maison du Chocolat 18-piece Chocolate Box

Garrison Confections Valentine's Day Box

Last, but surely not least, Sandra Boynton's current pick for the Best of the Best in the contemporary world of chocolate: a small company in San Francisco called Poco Dolce.


These are not to be missed!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Apple's Newest Gadget - The iPad

Yesterday Apple announced the upcoming release of their newest product, the iPad. The iPad is a tablet computer that will connect to the internet via Wi-Fi or cellular 3G networks. It is compatible with all working iPhone apps, so everything you've downloaded to your iTunes account will work right out of the box. Yep, that includes the ever popular games, guides, and real estate applications! The iPad also includes a new application, iBooks. This virtual bookstore and reader will compete with Amazon's Kindle.

I'm a self-proclaimed Mac, so this news excites me. But I'm not sure why I would need the iPad. Oh sure, I know why I want one, I'm just not sure I need one. My days are spent in front of a PC (at work) and when I go home I use my iPod Touch to listen to music and my Macbook to play games and surf the web.

Of course, if I traveled more I could see the appeal. Connect to the internet, read email, watch videos, read a book; all of this available on a tablet with a screen size as big as piece of letter paper. No more squinting at a little phone or iPod screen. Sure, it doesn't have MS Word or Excel, but you can use Google Docs for that; and access them anytime, anywhere.

I have to hand it to Apple, every new gadget seems to bring us one step closer to the Star Trek future I thought the new century would usher into existence. I for one am personally looking forward to the iJetPack and iFlyCar. Beam me up, Scotty!

The Draw of Newport

Working with buyers, not only from Newport, but from throughout the world is the most rewarding aspect of being a realtor. I am fortunate to work with a company that lists a wide variety of properties in a city that promotes art, history, sailing, and culture. From the spectrum of large estates such as my listing of Berry Hill, where one family has held the property as stewards since the day it was completed in 1887 to the smaller cottages near the waterfront and scattered throughout the city from the Broadway area to the Fifth Ward, there are Victorian and Colonial homes, condominiums and contemporary homes along the Ocean Drive.

The architecture varies. The areas do also. We have “The Point” where one sees old sea captains’ homes. We have “Historic Hill” encompassing large federal colonials, gambrel colonials, Victorian homes, Trinity Church where one can do the Historic Walking Tour proceeding from stanchion to stanchion reading and exploring the history of Newport. We have The Fifth Ward where homes vary in architecture and sit on neighborhood-friendly streets within walking distance to town and the waterfront. We have Bellevue Avenue with its Gilded Age grand homes, beautiful gardens, and Newport Mansions preserved by The Preservation Society, Newport Restoration Foundation, and private owners.

The buyers vary also. Newport draws the artists and artisans with its galleries and Newport Art Museum. It draws those interested in history and literature with the Redwood Library, The Historical Society and others. It particularly draws in the sailors who participate in racing and regattas with The New York Yacht Club, Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and Newport Yacht Club.

As a member of the Newport City Council I have traveled to visit our sister cities in Kinsale, Ireland; Shimoda, Japan; Imperia, Italy; and Skiathos, Greece. I go to promote my city. I have worked to sponsor programs to allow students to participate in a student exchange program to learn of other cultures and peoples in other areas of the world, many who will visit Newport in years to come.

There is satisfaction in knowing that the clients who buy here have chosen to come here, as I did. They will become part of what makes Newport special. In some ways it is a village where neighbor recognizes neighbor. In other ways it is an exciting sailing community recognized throughout the world as “the sailing capital.” The people are as diversified as the properties. It is joyous. It is never boring.