Nv + Bl = Crush → Cy!

No, no chemistry here folks (I was a word guy in school, avoided the science topics like the plague). Just a big announcement regarding friends, clients, clients as friends, and an amazing pending restaurant experience.

Long story short: My filmmaking friends Susan and Wayne Boyer, of TwinBrain Productions (see pic at right), have developed an idea for a reality show called Crush. The idea is to follow three wine-related folks through a season of winemaking. Because S&W aren’t independently wealthy (yet!), they needed each winery to kick in some $$$ to help pay for the production of the “sizzle” reel: a five- to seven-minute film which will then be used to pitch the big execs on the show, its concept, etc. So… yours truly introduced them to the Nord family… who in turned signed on… and who in turn introduced Susan and Wayne to the owners of Bennett Lane Winery… who in turned signed on too… and which made it easier to secure the third party, Carol Farrow, a Sonoma County grape grower. So now wheels-are-in-motion re: Crush. Three days of filming are in the vault (see pics here, of Julie Nord and the Nord family, all courtesy of Lori Laube), the sizzle reel should be finished by approximately June 1, and hopefully S&W will receive a “go” from a network by the end of June, with filming throughout the summer and fall to produce six or seven episodes.

Ah, wouldn’t it be FUN to be part of a TV show? And FROTB would receive all kinds of cool invites, such as being able to attend certain filming dates, the cast party, etc. Anyway, stay tuned for more Crush info coming soon….

(BTW, the Nord's are featured in today's Napa Valley Register newspaper. Man, they're getting a lot of great pr of late. They must have a great marketing guy working for them.)

P.S. And here’s the really cool part: as a thank-you to me, S&W have given me a gift certificate to… Cyrus Restaurant in Healdsburg. Can you say SCORE! Cyrus is considered by most to be THE best Sonoma County restaurant, and one of the top wine country (Napa and Sonoma) restaurants, period. In fact, in the 2008 Zagat guide, Cyrus received a 28-point rating – second only to The French Laundry’s 29-point rating. So this will be quite the splurge and certainly an Every Meal A Feast-worthy posting (or two, or 20). And Jimmy Z, man, I’m this close – this close – to inviting you. I just gotta figure out how NOT to invite G., if you know what I mean. I mean, come on, wives can come and go… but poker buddies who love good food and wine, well, they’re FOREVER, right? (Right? Hey, back me up on this, man....)