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Wine and Jazz Adventures |
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Are you looking to take a trip of a lifetime, perhaps something with
elegance and maybe combining two of your passions, good wine and good
music, in a place you have never been before, while rubbing shoulders
with a superstar musician and her extraordinary wine connoisseur?
We have something in mind that may just be what you are looking
for, Wine and Jazz Adventures with Jazz saxophonist Mindi Abair
and her husband Eric Guerra. If you are hesitating a bit on the word
Jazz, I will let you in a secret, somewhere along the line in the
eighteen years or so that Mindi Abair has been a friend to Riveting
Riffs Magazine, we remember her once describing to us, at least at that
time, that her music was Stadium Jazz. She can play elegantly and
quietly and she has rocked out touring with Aerosmith and Duran Duran
during the early part of her career, plus she can play anything in
between those two styles. As for wine, not only have Mindi and Eric
developed their own brand of wine, but with Eric Guerra’s connections
and stature they have connected with some of the world’s most famous
wineries and they are inviting you along for the experience.
Mindi Abair sat down with us one afternoon recently to chat, “At the
very end of 2019 my husband and I kind of had this ah ha moment. We came
together and said we both have dream jobs. I get to go off with my band
and travel the world and to make records. For all of all his life Eric
has run really amazing wineries, so he would go off to Kendall-Jackson
or he would run Mountain Napa (winery). We both had amazing jobs, but we
said let’s get out the whiteboard, the marker and a bottle of wine and
see if we are truly living our best lives. It may sound trite. We wrote
down what was really important to us and what we loved to do. We wanted
to be together and we wanted to share his passion for wine with
everyone, with people, instead of corporations. For me I wanted to
expand my world in music to places outside of the U.S. more and play
with different artists, explore and expand. We came up with a company
that was the best of both of us. Obviously, he is the wine and I’m the
Jazz.
We don’t have to be anything we are not, but obviously the combination
of wine and Jazz is pretty spectacular. Eric and I have been together
about fourteen years now. It is awesome to fall in love with someone,
but it is even more awesome when what he does for a living completely
compliments what I do for a living.”
So, when did this all start?
Sometimes these things work out. I know most of my friends started
drinking like there was no tomorrow. People ate and drank like oh my
gosh. Why? Where are we going? Our little wine company took off. Of
course, the next incarnation was we wanted to get out of Dodge. We were
all stuck in our houses and we created our Wine and Jazz adventures. Now
we have done twelve weeks all over the world of Wine and Jazz Adventures
over the last five or so years. It has been incredible.
We take forty people max, so it is super intimate. Those forty people we
put up in a five-star hotel. It’s crazy. It is such a beautiful way to
travel. We go to Bordeaux France and spend five days or we do the same
in Tuscany (Italy) or the same in Piedmont Italy, which is coming up in
May and June. We are doing Provence France at the end of the fall this
year or we will do Sonoma again at the end of next year. A five-star
resort for five days, a concert a day with myself and people that I
think are amazing around the world. We have had Opera singers come into
Tuscany to sing in castles for us and Flamenco guitarists in Spain,” she
says.
It is easy to detect the enthusiasm in Mindi Abair’s voice as tells us,
“It is really interesting to go into places that have never had our
group before and we try and tell them what we are doing. At first, they
are a little tentative. The hotels love us, because we come in and drink
at their bars, even after all of the wine tastings and everything. We
are having fun. What is most interesting are the wineries, because they
are always a little snootier and they are thinking forty people is a lot
to bring into our winery and we say would you want to do a concert? They
say no, there is no music in the winery, this is a winery. The wineries
that have opened their doors to us have just gushed when we left. They
loved it. I am thinking of one particular place in Bordeaux and it is
one of the most award-winning wineries in Bordeaux, It is called Château
Figeac. The winemaker was wearing an Armani suit and he is a
much-decorated winemaker. I realized while talking with him that he has
a collection of guitars. They are Rock guitars. I talked to him a little
bit further and I said I know that my roots here, as an artist are in
contemporary Jazz and Blues, but I have toured with Aerosmith and Duran
Duran and played a lot with the guys from the (Rolling) Stones,
Fleetwood Mac and all of those bands. I pretty much know every Rock
song, so name it and come sit in with us. He was alright, I will get
back to you with that. We kept talking and he sat in with my band and he
played all of the lead parts on one of my songs, which was his wish. He
wanted to play my song “Forever.” Then he sat in for some Aerosmith. He
killed it. The whole winery came out. This is a number one winery in
Bordeaux and it was just unbelievable. It does change people’s
perception. The owners sent us cases of champagne to say thank you for
coming. That doesn’t happen everywhere,” she chuckles.
Then she adds, “That was a really beautiful thing. To try to get into
that winery is ridiculous. Most people can’t even get in for a tasting.
To go there, have that experience and leave there with such love and
affection was a really special thing. It happens more so than not.
We did another concert in this twelfth century palace and it was just
amazing. These places never have music and all of a sudden, the owners
are going around and pouring wine for people. What a beautiful thing to
bring music into some of these places that don’t usually have it.”
The music part of Wine and Jazz Adventures is not just about
Mindi Abair’s music however and she and Eric bring in some pretty
incredible talent from the countries that they visit.
“The idea is wine and music, and Eric opens doors to wineries that no
one can open, but him. I can open doors musically that hopefully not
many people can open. In Europe we have had so much fun, just delving in
and getting to know people in the area. When we went to Spain, I hired a
Flamenco guitarist who usually tours with Hans Zimmer. He is just
unbelievable. His name is
El Amir. He looks like a pirate! When he plays Flamenco guitar I am
mesmerized. He never looks at the guitar he is just looking out. He
looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world, but he is playing his
guitar like wildfire. I got to know him and hired him. I knew him enough
to know that he was a rocker at heart. After doing this incredible
concert for us that was all full of Flamenco guitar, which was stunning,
I came up on stage, introduced him and said thank you. I asked,
would you like to do one more song with us, but would you want to
rock out? We had a guitar in the back that we brought out for him and we
played Jimi Hendrix. People lost their minds, because they had just seen
him play classic Flamenco repertoire and they had no idea that he could
be a rock star too. That was super fun. We like to do things that are
very (much) of the spirit of the place that we are in.
Another example is we brought in Daria Biancardi from Sicily. We brought
her into our Wine and Jazz Adventure in Tuscany last year. I hired her
to come in and sing in a castle. She has won a few singing competitions
in Italy. She is absolutely of another world. She won this competition
called Everyone Altogether. It is a huge singing competition in Italy.
She not only won that one, but she won the next one when they brought in
all the winners who had won this competition over the years. When she
started singing, she sounded just like Aretha Franklin. She was singing
for just our group of forty in this castle and I had a guy come up to me
and hug me. He was just so moved, because she is such a phenomenal
talent. He had no idea who she was and she moved him to tears.
I love that we can bring people out of the woodwork and they may be
stars where they are from, but maybe we as Americans wouldn’t know who
they are or someone in another country might not know her. We have fun
bringing in people like that as we move around the world and we have
different adventures. I love Daria so much and everybody had this
amazing visceral reaction to her that I am bringing her to perform at
our New Year’s Eve celebration in San Diego. Nobody is going to buy a
ticket to see Daria, but once she opens up her mouth people are going to
go nuts.
I think it is super special that I am meeting people from around the
world through our Wine and Jazz Adventures and that I can then bring
them in and introduce to people in different areas of the world. I am
going to have so much fun on New Year’s watching people who have no idea
who Daria is and they are going to be blown away.
It is fun to mix it up. People want to experience different types of
music. They are adventuresome enough to go halfway around the world and
to experience great wineries, Michelin Star restaurants and five-star
resorts in beautiful cities and they want to explore music too. They
want to be wowed and they want to be shown something that they can’t get
in their backyard. I love seeking out amazing artists and great
musicians that will wow people,” she explains.
The more Mindi Abair shares these stories with us, the more excited we
are getting.
For those who are wondering, the Wine and Jazz Adventures are
usually sold-out months in advance, so make sure you click on the link
at the end of this interview to connect with the website and subscribe
to the newsletter.
Mindi Abair talks about their next adventures, “The next Jazz Adventure
is in Piedmont in Northern Italy and we have three weeks, because it
kept selling out. Then we have Provence in France coming up this fall. I
think we have two rooms left for Provence. I just can’t wait for
Piedmont Northern Italy (you can hear the excitement in her voice).
I have been there a few times now and the wine is spectacular. Some of
the most beautiful wineries and the most incredible wines I have ever
had.
I married a wine guy. I have had entrée to some cool stuff (she
laughs). We really tailored this whole trip to this beautiful life
they have up there. It is amazing, the countryside. You can see the alps
in the distance. You feel like you can reach out and touch them.
We basically do the same thing each week (in Italy). The first week the
people come in and then they leave and forty more people come in and we
do the same thing and the third week forty more people come in and we do
the same thing. Everyone is staying at a place called Casa Di Langa.
This is a beautiful five-star resort which is in the I Langhe region. It
is a stunning resort. Everything they serve there is from their
property. It is an incredible place. There are hazelnut trees, olive
trees. We have ordered room service there and it is nuts (meaning how
good it is).
The first three days there we go to a different winery. The first day we
go to Cordero Di Montezemolo, which is one of the most famous there. We
take you through the winery and we do a tasting. We are going to do a
concert a day and one of the artists coming in is Daria Biancardi, whom
I mentioned before. We are bringing her back from Sicily to sing for us.
Another day it is the Italian Groove Collective. It is a group of
musicians, three saxophonists, a singer, bass guitar, keyboardist and
drums. They are these guys who just love groove music, R & B, Jazz and
Soul. They are incredible. It is not something (the style of music) that
Italy is known for. These guys kill it and they are just unbelievable.
We then move everyone to the lake, Lago Maggiore and then we will stay
in Hotel La Palma, which is right on the shore of the lake. Everyone has
a lakefront view room. We are going to take you to a few islands. We
will do a few concerts there. I am bringing in Roberto Restuccia, who is
an Italian guitarist and he is very well known in the smoot Jazz world.
He is an up-and-coming star who is very soulful. He has a beautiful
approach and he reminds me of my friend Jeff Golub whom we lost a few
years ago. I am going to do my concert of course with my guys and I will
do the best of Mindi Abair.
This will be a really magical trip.
It is pretty amazing having these people who just follow us knowing
there is going to be great music, great wine and great food and they are
going to stay in a place that is going to knock their socks off.
There is so much to see in all of these regions and they are seeing it
through our eyes. We are planning our perfect vacation and we are going
to places that we think are a must see. Anytime you go to an area you
are going to find different things to do. Hopefully, we are going to
create something that nobody else can create that has the magic with the
wine and music.”
This fall we are going to Provence France. It is such a beautiful area
in the south of France. It has a very romantic notion to it. We are
staying at five-star resort, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in this very small
little region in Provence and we are telescoping out from there. Every
day we do something different and go to
a different region. There are so many wine regions there and so
many regions that are just so famous. One day we are going to
Aix-en-Provence, which is very famous for its rosé wine and some white
wines.
Another day it is going to be Southern Rhône which is one the
quintessential red wine regions in the world (and the
Chateauneuf du Pape winery). It is very very famous. Another day
it will be La Presqu’île, which is the beach. I am going to do a show at
a place overlooking the ocean. It is super beautiful. Then we are going
to a winery that has one of the most incredible art collections in the
world. When I say art collections, it is not like walking through a
building of art. You walk through the whole property and these are art
pieces as big as your house that you are walking along and seeing. It is
like a Disney world of fine art. They are sculptures and buildings. We
will do the final concert, which will be my band at a place that is a
bunch of caves, Carrières des Lumières. They have created this whole
interactive, audio-visual experience. It is pretty spectacular that you
are in the middle of these caves and getting this whole show of art. Our
show is going to be in there, which I think is going to be amazing.”
If you are wondering, yes, the Wine and Jazz Adventures do also take
place in the United States, and one such place is Sonoma (2026 is almost
sold-out), but we wanted to take a moment to highlight the New Year’s
Eve three-days at Lowes
Hotels Coronado Bay Resort
on Coronado Island adjacent to San Diego and speaking from this writer’s
personal experience if you have never visited the island, it is simply
magical.
“This will be my second annual Wine and Jazz New Year’s Eve. Coronado is
the sexy island right off of San Diego. I have always loved that island,
because it is magical (editor’s note: see we told you!) . San
Diego has always had a special place in
my heart, because I started my career there playing all the
little clubs, restaurants and wherever they would let me play and my
husband got his degree at San Diego State. We both have huge draws to
San Diego. We are bringing in amazing talent, Richard Elliot, Marcus
Anderson, a band called DW3. They are very renowned around here. They
are a super party band with three amazingly talented lead singers. Pat
Prescott is going to host it. Daria Biancardi, we are bringing her all
of the way from Sicily to sing for us. It is a three-day event, so we
have different packages that people can get. There is a wine and Jazz
tasting and there is a storytellers event. With the storyteller’s event
we all sit on a panel and we ask questions about our lives. They are
different things you don’t get seeing (and hearing) an artist on stage.
Last year a few of the questions were how do you name your instrumentals
or what did this song come out of? How did you meet this other person
and it was interesting to talk about our interplay and how we knew each
other. I don’t think a lot of people knew the history that I had with
Ellis Hall. It was fun to go back and forth and talk about our
friendships and recordings.
For our New Year’s Eve events it is not our Wine and Jazz Adventures. We
wanted our New Year’s event to be open to everyone and for the price not
to be a big deal. It is a beautiful hotel and it is on the beach. The
food is amazing and the chef is incredible. We have all of our wines
there from our company, usually eight or nine of them. It is a beautiful
place to come and it is affordable to stay there. It is not out of
reach, says Mindi Abair.
Mindi Abair has a new album coming out soon and in our review of that
album, as we move into summer, we will include some of her comments.
For now, please visit the
Wine and Jazz Adventures website for more
information about locations, pricing and artists and you can drool over
the photos of the wonderful scenery from so many places around the
world, where these adventures will take you.
#MindiAbair #WineAndJazz #WineTours #RivetingRiffs #RivetingRiffsMagazine #JazzTours #JazzInItaly #JazzInPortugal #JazzInSpain #MindiAbairInterview #WineInterview #JazzInterview
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“We
started our little company at the end of 2019, with the idea being we
would make eight wines each year. He hires winemakers like I hire
musicians, because he knows everyone. You and I as civilians can’t do
something like that, but he can and that is his world. He hires
winemakers to make great wine for us. We get to brand it all and come up
with the artwork. All of the artwork and labels are music centric. Then
I get to come in and pair all of it with music. Every wine that we make
has a playlist that I pair with the style of the wine. We had so much
fun coming up with this and then 2020 hit. At the beginning of 2020 the
pandemic hit and I guess we started our business at the wrong time,
didn’t we?