If you ask me where to go to enjoy a glass of wine with friends in Raleigh, that’s a no-brainer. Clairemont client, Vita Vite opened at the end of last year and has quickly become a downtown hot spot. Best place for dinner with wine in Chapel Hill? Oh, pick me! I know that one, too. Il Palio, also a Clairemont client, is the absolute best at pairing regional Italian cooking with wine from Italy’s 20 regions and vintifications produced in every corner of the Italian Peninsula.

Ask me to pick a bottle of wine outside of the doors of these establishments with no expert help from our clients and I might hesitate. However, my recent trip to Napa certainly provided a strong foundation for my wine knowledge. What better place to start than Opus One! I captured this shot during a tour and was intrigued to learn that Opus One hand-harvests and hand-sorts all grapes, and after about a year and a half in these beautiful barrels, the wine is bottled.

Can learning about wine really help me be a better public relations counselor? Many of our clients would say so. Read more about our restaurant PR work, and let me know if you agree.