CusickGallery.net: Henry Ian Cusick

Ian and Daniel went a-tastin’ during the Emmy festivities…

Tasting with the Stars, Part 2

I’m always struck by how seriously actors and athletes generally take their wine, and how knowledgeable they tend to be. Every time I’ve had a chance to speak to some boldfaced name or other, and the conversation turns to wine, it generally gets technical rather quickly: Grape yields, oak barrels, flavor profiles, food pairing, and the like seem to be sources of endless fascination.

This trend continued last weekend in Los Angeles as we tasted wine with Emmy nominees and presenters. As a result, we spent a good bit more time with many of the guests than we anticipated: Michael Chiklis, for example, spend somewhere around 20 minutes bouncing between our wines and the amazing cheeses on offer by Point Reyes. Jonathan Pryce, who’s been in everything from Pirates of the Caribbean to Glengarry Glen Ross, lives in Provence, and is a serious oenophile with a deep well of knowledge about all things grape-related. Gregory Itzin, 24’s President Logan, couldn’t get enough of our reds–big, concentrated wines appropriate for one of TV’s best villains in recent memory. We also enjoyed glasses with Blair Underwood, Alan Cumming, Seth Green, Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and others. (We’ll post the full list, with photos, later in the week.)

And yes, that’s Henry Ian Cusick in the photo above–Desmond, from Lost. He loved the wine, and managed to stay in this dimension the entire time–no flash-sideways at all to interrupt his enjoyment. Thank goodness.

Tasting with the Stars, Part 1

Daniel is mentioned in Part 1.

Brian plans to post photos and video of the event, so stay tuned!

Here are his links to the Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve selections they have available:

Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve Carneros Napa Valley 2007

Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve 2006

And here’s their website…thanks, Sheila!

Cakebread Cellars

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