Media Events: Fleming's/Illumination and Frito Lay

Flemings and Illumination Cocktail Party

Last week, I got a nice invite in my email box to attend an advance screening of Angels and Demons on May 14 at the Arclight in Hollywood. This event was a partnership between Sony Pictures, Fleming's Steakhouse and Quintessa Winery with the focus of the evening geared towards celebrating the release of Quintessa's 2008 Illumination and 2006 Faust Wines. The Illumination is a Sauvignon Blanc that received Wine Spectator scores of 92 in 2006 and 93 in 2007 while the Faust is a Quintessa “second label” Cabernet Sauvignon. At this pre-movie cocktail reception, guests were able to sample these two wines among other wines while noshing on delicious appetizers courtesy of Fleming's Steakhouse.

So what's the connection of the movie, Angels and Demons to this wine release party? Apparently, the storyline of light and dark forces provides an appropriate tie in with the Illumination Sauvignon Blanc and Faust Cabernet Sauvignon. One a white and the other a red, but both are two Napa Valley wines from Agustin Huneeus, legendary vintner and owner of the Quintessa Estate in Napa Valley’s Rutherford district.

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Running a bit late, I did manage to grab one of Fleming's Tenderloin Crostini, which was tasty and managed to sample one glass of the Illumination before heading into the movie. I'm by no means a connoisseur nor am I frequent wine drinker, but I know what I like and I really liked this Sauvignon Blanc. It was crisp, but not sharp and there were citrusy notes that really appealed to me. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample the Faust, but you snooze, you lose. As for the movie, for the most part I liked it, although as with adaptations, I liked the book better.

Click the links below to find out more about Flemings and Quintessa!

Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
Quintessa
Illumination Wine


Hollywood Premiere Webisode of "Only in a Woman's World"

Last February, I was invited to attend a world premiere of a webisode series called "Only in a Woman's World" presented by Frito-Lay at Coco de Ville in Los Angeles. I know I'm late in blogging about this, but as you all know, we can't always get to everything we need to get to.

The main purpose of this event was to really focus on appealing to women, a demographic that Frito-Lay has never really catered to in the past. So how does one appeal to women? First, develop a guilt-free snack line. Second, create an web-based animated cartoon series focusing on the trials and tribulations of 4 friends as a way of addressing some of our concerns as women.

Of course, it also doesn't hurt to throw a soiree for women bloggers at a swanky club and when you include signature cocktails and tasty appetizers (I totally fell in love with these mini cheeseburger sliders that were being served), you're definitely on the right track.

Scattered throughout the venue space were some of Frito Lay's new products ready to be sampled, which included a new Baked Lays flavor, the Southwestern Ranch, the Flat Earth Spicy Salsa Tortilla Chips, a new 100 Calorie Snack, which was Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips and finally, the Smart Food Popcorn Snacks. Women have a love/hate relationship with food, sometimes torn between healthy options and delicious options, with both them not always being one in the same. After trying each of the above products, I have to say, with surprise, that Frito Lay hit it out of the park.

In the past, I haven't been a fan of the Baked Lays since I found them to be dry and lacking in flavor, but that Southwestern Ranch Baked Lays was light, crispy and packed a little bit of heat. I totally fell in love with the Flat Earth Spicy Salsa Tortilla Chips. Again, it was light, crispy and also did have a kick in flavor. As for the Smart Food Popcorn, they came in multiple flavors with my favorite being the cranberry almond because of I liked the tartness of the cranberry.

Towards the end, we all got to see the premiere episode of "Only in a Woman's World", which is in effect, a much tamer version of Sex and the City. Since that premiere webisode, 7 more have been created and posted on the "Only in a Woman's World" website. I just watched them right now. Some are funnier than others, but there are definitely kernels of truth in every one of them that any woman could relate to.

There were also a couple of celebrities in attendance. Brooke Burke and Mel B looked just as gorgeous in person as on tv and it was definitely fun being a part of the celebrisphere even if only for a brief time. It was definitely a fun, "posh" kind of evening and I definitely appreciated being a part of it.

Click Here to Check Out "Only In a Woman's World".


Mel B and Brooke Burke Photo Credit: The Daily Stab

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