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We always have a lot of fun pairing wines and yoga poses, so when the BOXT team asked us to pair each of their six wines with a yoga pose, Rebekah (one of our amazing Austin-based teachers) and I hopped on a call to figure out the perfect pose for each wine. We held a tasting of their wines (which come in sustainable packaging) for our team about a month ago, so we'd both recently tasted each wine - they range from light and dry to dark and fruity, with a bit of sweetness to two of them. Here's what we came up with - and the lovely Rebekah demonstrating for you: ONE - Mountain pose with backbend - This pose starts off a sun salutation, and this version lifts your chest extra high. Perfectly paired with a bright, citrusy, uplifting white wine. TWO - Warrior 2 - This strong pose is part of sun salutation "B," inspired by the sun-ripened fruit we taste in this wine. Fuller bodied and slightly buttery, this pose works with this richer white wine. THREE - Lotus - Inspired by the floral nose of the wine, lotus pose is the ultimate hip opener. Lotus flowers are rooted in the mud and rise and bloom above water, similar to this pose. The wine uplifts our palates and spirits with its fruity, sweet taste. FOUR - Dancers pose - Also grounding from the earth and lifting up into a balance, dancer's pose is the ultimate elegant, yet dynamic yoga pose. Pairs well with this soft, earthy, fruity and light-bodied red. FIVE - Goddess pose - A full-bodied pose for a full-bodied red wine. A pose full of strength and power, like this big, savory wine with dark fruit and spice. SIX - Half Pigeon - A luxurious stretching position, you'll want to sink into this one. This wine, like the pose, is juicy, sweet and indulgent. We'll be featuring these wines (and poses!) at our upcoming class at Wanderlust Wine Co. in Austin on May 8. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit the Alzheimer's Association. Hope you can join us if you're in Austin. Here is the link to the event!

If there was ever a time to support small (and local, when possible) businesses, it's this year. So ditch Amazon for lots of your gifts and support small business owners who need your support this year more than ever! Here are a few of my favorite unique gift suggestions from small business owners (all of which have female founders or co-founders) for the yoga & wine lovers in your life. Vino Vinyasa teacher Mimi founded Maison Palo Santo, they sell amazing self-care products like Palo Santo candles, smudge sticks and bundles. PLUS they plant a tree in Ecuador for every candle sold, so you're supporting reforestation as well. MYSOLMAT makes eco-friendly non-slip, lightweight and super cute yoga mats, plus they are made in Austin by female entrepreneur, Courtney Johnson. I have two of their mats and highly recommend getting one for a friend, and yourself! Good Trouble wine glasses are not only high-quality, but add a little quirkiness to a still-classy looking glass. Also founded by a female entrepreneur, if you buy a set of four they will ship you a free glass if one of yours breaks, which I think is totally cool. They come in black, white and blush dips, as well as an un-dipped option. Plus, their gift pack is super cute! If you want to sip wine out in public and feel a bit safer, my friend Matthew Kaner and his friend, fashion designer Leilani Shimoda founded SipShield, the first-ever fashionable mask with a zipper that opens for sipping. They come in two sizes...mine is in the mail and I cannot wait to check it out! Speaking of masks, my current favorite mask (that you've seen on Instagram a lot!) is my Champagne mask, created by my friend, female entrepreneur and founder of NY Champagne Week, Blaine Ashley. Check out her online shop for cute Champagne masks and other bubbly-themed merch. (The masks are only $12 including shipping and there are two designs!) Check out Wine Style Shop for tons of cute wine apparel, including wine-themed holiday tees, hoodies and more. (I might have had some Champagne last weekend and then excitedly purchased a few items...also in the mail!). Founder Aryanna Harrell also runs Rosé and Chambray, a wine and lifestyle blog and Instagram account. And please don't forget our NEW tanks (and we still have the OG graphic tanks too!). You can buy online or through me directly (I printed all the tanks shown bellow locally and can ship nationwide for $30, or pick up in Austin for $25). Email me at morgan@vinovinyasayoga.com or check out our Teespring shop to purchase tanks as well as eco-friendly tote bags! If you're looking to gift wine, check out Mysa wine. I joined the limited-edition wine club they were running for three months with Wonder Women of Wine, featuring wine made by female winemakers and loved it. The founder Holly Berrigan focuses on natural wines, so you can feel good about what you are gifting and drinking. (No big box, manufactured wines with tons of additives here!) They have wine club subscriptions starting at just $85 as well as wine gift packs to choose from and they ship to all but the following states: AK, HI, UT, KY, AL, MS. Hopefully this was helpful—let me know if you check out any of these brands. Happy shopping y'all! Cheers, Morgan

If you know me or follow me on Instagram, you may know I LOVE Beaujolais Cru wines, but everyone suggests Beaujolais for Thanksgiving...this is because it's a lighter red that's easy to drink and great with a variety of foods (best served slightly chilled). Definitely grab a bottle, but check out a few other ideas as well: Start with bubbles! The perfect aperitif. Check out Champagne Billecart-Salmon's Brut Réserve, sold nationwide at a great price for truly mouth-watering Champagne, which is, as most of you know, my favorite type of bubbly. If you prefer whites, try the Ernest Vineyards Chardonnay from Sonoma, which will work with turkey, dressing/stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and all of the classic Thanksgiving fare (Their Pinot Noir is great as well!) But lighter-bodied reds are the stars of this holiday, so what else to look at aside from my first light-red love, Beaujolais? Schiava is an even lighter red wine from an indigenous grape from Alto Adige in Northern Italy. (Definitely a conversation starter!) Start the meal with this one, or enjoy it before instead of bubbles or a white. Tiefenbrunner, Elena Walch, Alois Lageder and Abbazia di Novacella make great examples available in many states that are usually a great value. Cabernet Francs from the Loire Valley such as Chinon vary from light to more structured and are fruity and sometimes earthy, rivaling many Beaujolais (even some Beajolais Cru) wines for a similar price point. Pinot Noir is the most commonly-found light red you'll see on shelves. But it's hard to find a good (and not overly oaky) Pinot that's a good price. Look to Spätburgunder (German for Pinot Noir) for some amazing values, and one of my personal favorites is the August Kesseler "The Daily August" for about $20. (I might get a case and keep this around as a house red!) If you prefer something that has a bit more structure but can still work with most Thanksgiving dishes, Agiorgitiko wines from Greece are usually medium to full bodied, with red and black fruit with spices like clove, cinnamon or black pepper. Try the Domaine Skouras “ St. George” Agiogirtiko. No matter what you drink, try to get some movement in earlier in the day and just try to avoid big-box, industrially-produced wines with additives that will make you want to stay in bed the next day. Cheers & stay safe out there!

We recently held a"Rosé & Namaste" virtual happy hour in collaboration with Jamie Evans, aka "The Herb Somm," Derrick C. Westbrook and Winebow. We had Louisa Rose, the chief winemaker for Yalumba and Jansz Australia join us as well - it was a fabulous event! As part of the event, Jamie created two AMAZING rosé cocktails - a Watermelon Frosé featuring the Yalumba ‘The Y Series’ Sangiovese Rosé 2019 and a Rosé Berry Aperol Spritz featuring Jansz Tasmania Premium Sparkling Rosé. Head over to Jamie's blog to check out the recipes for yourself! Both are perfect poolside sippers. Cheers and Namaste!

~Figuring out how to translate our experience to Zoom~ Virtual yoga classes...should be a breeze, right? For most yoga teachers, maybe. But what we offer at Vino Vinyasa is very special. It took a bit of fine-tuning to figure out how to bring this online in the best way possible. We combine wine education and yoga, weaving wine facts into yoga flows. This translates well in our in-person classes, but our teachers talk a LOT—giving both yoga cues and wine facts. Since there are no other students in the class to watch, that same teacher giving you a monologue about wine while teaching yoga also has to demonstrate the poses. Usually, I will show one side of a flow, then talk about wine during the other. Moving the whole time was exhausting and literally made me run out of breath at times, plus I kept having to reposition myself so that my backside wasn't to the camera. This was harder than I'd anticipated! (Plus, virtual students are on mute and don't laugh at my silly jokes...making it very strange to teach to a computer.) But with a little practice, I was able to iron out these details...I am just glad that most of this was ironed out before we went live the first time! And don't even mention the fact that at-home yoga teachers need a space large enough to get a camera on their entire body, ideally without a ton of clutter in the background, that has good wifi. I am still working on that, but luckily I have access to an outdoor patio that has a nice backdrop. I feel bad for people in small apartments (like mine) with no good space to hold a class, but everyone is doing their best right now. Other logistics were figuring out all the Zoom settings (there are SO MANY OPTIONS!), getting the wines and glasses ready before yoga begins so I am not running around after yoga (I do give students time to go grab their wines), setting up music for savasana, and putting the puppy away in a place where my students cannot hear him whining. (Maybe we'll have a Yappy Hour one day soon!) Finally, we usually lead our students through a mindful wine tasting after our savasana, but now that we're not all in the same room...and don't have the same wine, this is hard. During our first class, I realized that a tasting wasn't going to make sense, so I quickly pivoted to asking questions of our special guest, Christine Fitzgerald from SmartVine. During the next session, I also led an open discussion and Q& A with the winemaker from Nautilus Estate, and people seemed to LOVE it. (The wine-nerdiness that was happening made me so happy!) We'll continue to have special guests for Q&A following yoga and will focus less on the tasting (though we'll still touch on it, of course). We want to make the experience as inclusive as possible! So our new format is slightly different, the social aspect is via Zoom and not in person, but we're still able to provide a special experience that makes yoga and wine accessible and fun, which is our mission. It's hard to translate the "luxury" part of the experience since we're not on the rooftop at City Vineyard or the lawn at The Four Seasons, but we hope we're helping to mentally transport you to your favorite wine region for an hour, at least. We had 79 people join last week and are asking for donations this week, since we're a small business run entirely by yours truly, I appreciate any donations you are able to give this week. Hope to see you online! Morgan Perry Founder, Vino Vinyasa

As we are all sheltering in place, get off the couch and onto a yoga mat or blanket and move your body while you binge Tiger King and drink some vino. Check out some of my favorites below: This first pose is a chest opener - I am on two (foam) yoga blocks with a blanket over the block under my head to make it more comfy. You can achieve this chest opener with throw pillows as well! A few pillows or one block under your thoracic spine and a taller stack of pillows or a block on a taller height under your head. Low lunge is pretty easy to hold while you watch a show, for a challenge lift the back knee! Use a blanket or pillow under the back knee if it’s down for extra comfort. Half pigeon, but stay upright as to not crank your neck. Seated straddle: put a pillow or blanket under your sits bones to help your spine stay straight. You can stretch over each leg, but be careful with your neck if you’re looking up at the TV. Seated twist - just make sure you set it up so you twist towards the TV and do not crank your neck! Thread the needle behind your back - if you cannot touch your finger tips, grab your shirt - or try reverse prayer.🙏🏼 Neck stretches to each side - gently use the weight of your hand to bring your head towards your shoulder. Lotus pose (pictured) or badakhanasana/butterfly pose (heels of feet together, knees apart - can put pillows under each knee!) for another hip stretch.🧘🏼‍♀️

My friends Jenny & Enrique from Vino Pour Favor put this list together, I am just sharing it. Thanks y'all! LoLo Wine 12pm-8 pm Retail only 1504 E 6th St 832-344-7477 full selection at lolo.wine Travis Heights Wine & Spirits 10am-9pm retail 12pm-8pm delivery app (own app for Android and iPhone) 1948 S I-35 512-440-7778 full selection on app at bit.ly/drinksdeliveredatx The Austin Wine Merchant 10am-6:30pm Curbside or delivery 512 W 6th St full selection at theaustinwinemerchant.com 512-499-0512 info@theaustinwinemerchant.com Aviary Wine + Kitchen 12pm-8pm M-Th 2pm-10pm F-Sat Retail 2110 S Lamar Blvd full selection at bit.ly/aviarywine 512-916-4445 info@aviarywinekitchen.com Lenoir 12-8pm Wed-Sun Curbside pickup 1807 S 1st St 512-215-9778 or email curbsidepickup@lenoirrestaurant.com 40% off full wine selection at bit.ly/lenoirwine Bufalina 11am-11pm Takeout or Delivery 1519 E Cesar Chavez St 512-524-2523 bit.ly/bufalinacesarchavez Bufalina Due 12pm-9pm Takeout or Delivery 6555 Burnet Rd 512-215-8662 bit.ly/bufalinadueburnet The Austin Winery 11am-7pm Retail (20% off pickup orders. Submit order online before picking up.) Free Delivery in Austin (min 2 bottle purchase) 440 E St Elmo 512-326-1445 theaustinwinery.com Salt & Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria 11am-8pm M-Tue, Thu-Sun 10am-8pm W Retail with strict social distancing policies in store (marked by blue tape—very cool!) 1912 E 7th St 512-524-1383 full selection at bit.ly/saltandtimewine APT 115 5pm-12mid Curbside pickup 2025 E 7th St Apt 115 (Bottles shop in 7 East apt bldg) Call or text order 737-333-0780 info@apartmentonefifteen.com 30% off full wine selection at bit.ly/apt115wine Foreign & Domestic, Austin 1pm-8pm Tue-Sat 11am-1pm Sun Pickup 306 E 53rd St 512-459-1010 full selection at bit.ly/fndwine Emmer & Rye 5-9pm Tue-Sat Curbside and Delivery 51 Rainey St, Ste 110 512-366-5530 online selection (or call for add’l options) https://emmerandrye.com/to-go-wine-beer Jeffrey's 5pm-9pm Curbside Pickup 1204 West Lynn 512-477-5584 25% off full selection at bit.ly/jeffreyswine (50% off on Sundays!) The Meteor Austin 8am-8pm Takeout, Curbside, Delivery via Favor 2110 S Congress Ave 512-351-9541 40% off selection at bit.ly/meteoratxwine House Wine 12pm-10pm Curbside Pickup 408 Josephine St 512-322-5210 50% off full selection at https://www.housewineaustin.com/wine Some Texas wineries are still having tasting room visits by appointment only or still offering online/curbside/shipping/delivery orders!

By Morgan Perry We hope everyone is staying home as much as possible & limiting contact with others in the wake of COVID-19/coronavirus. The health & safety of our community is so important to us—that being said, we still want to drink great wine with the foods we're eating at home, either alone or with a friend or two. (And remember, support your local restaurants by ordering take-out from your favorite dine-in places!) Here are some commonly-eaten-at-home foods with my suggested wine pairings, though of course there are so many more. Reach out if you have questions about wine suggestions or have any questions. Enjoy! 🍕🍝 Pizza or pasta with red sauce: I’d go with light to medium-bodied red: think Chianti (made from Sangiovese), Pinot Noir/Pinot Nero, Beaujolais (or any Gamay), Cabernet Franc, or Nero d’Avola from Sicily. 🍗 Chicken dishes/other pastas: check out Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine, one of my favorite food-friendly whites, for reds most of the above should also work, and here’s where rosé could be perfect as well. (Look into Corsica for some fun rosé options!) If you’re making fried chicken, though, please drink Champagne or another traditional method sparkling wine. I recommend Champagne Billecart Salmon’s Brut Réserve. 🍔 🥩 Burgers or other hearty dishes: Rioja is an amazing region because there are great values to be found: pick up a Reserva which has to be aged three years before release by law, this adds some complexity to the wine. Super Tuscans can also be of good value, as well as Susumaniello from Italy, another personal favorite. 🥗 Salads: Props to you for eating healthy during a time when most people are craving comfort food! (I am still trying to do salads for lunch.) I love a crisp wine with some acid if you’re using a citrus-based dressing: Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre if you can), Albariño, Picpoul de Pinet, Chablis or a high-quality Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. Rosé can go well with salad too!

By Morgan Perry, Founder, Vino Vinyasa As the holidays approach, it's time to start thinking about holiday shopping. I wanted to share recommendations in the two categories we know best (wine and yoga) from myself and our team of Vino Vinyasa teachers. WINE & YOGA LOVERS First of all (shameless self-promotion) our new Vino Vinyasa tank tops have been very popular and are available for $30, including shipping in the continental U.S. They make a great gift for anyone who loves wine and yoga. We also sell gift certificates in all three markets (Austin, New York and Los Angeles) so you can purchase someone a ticket to a future class! Email info@vinovinyasayoga.com to purchase. FOR WINE LOVERS For the serious wine drinker in your life, NYC Vino Vinyasa teacher Rafaella recommends Lehman Champagne glasses, which are hand blown from a family company based in Reims (in Champagne). These glasses are very high-quality and we love the shape! Rafaella also recommends cocktail plates with an opening to hold your glass, leaving you a hand to hold and hand to sip easily with. I especially like this wooden version. NYC Vino Vinyasa teacher Tara recommends Cheers Restore after-alcohol aid pills. "I've been using them and I really think they help how I feel the next day after a few glasses of wine," says Tara. These would make a great stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift. Tara also recommends wine glass charms, which are a brilliant way to keep track of whose glass is whose at larger gatherings. There are a ton of options out there, but some of the less cheesy ones I have seen are these flower ones or simple silicon ones. New York and New Jersey Vino Vinyasa teacher Samantha recommends the Arctic Pole, which is an easy way to keep bottles chilled when you don't have access to a fridge and don't want to lug around a cooler. The perfect gift for wine lovers on the go! Check out the fun and cheeky wine glasses and apparel that Lushy Wino has to offer. Amanda from The Real Housewine is wearing her favorite Lushy Wino shirt below. (You can also use the code RHWLUSHY25 for 25% off your purchase for a limited time!) Finally, DRINK PINK, an un-intimidating and educational book about rosé is the perfect gift for those who want to learn a bit more about wine (and love rosé, obviously) without being overwhelmed. The illustrations are super fun, too. Oh, and it was written by my friend and badass Beverage Director & Sommelier, Victoria James. FOR YOGA & MOVEMENT LOVERS Los Angeles Vino Vinyasa teacher Jen recommends this Massage Ball Kit (can someone get this for me, please?). Everyone should spend more time rolling, releasing and stretching and this kit has a ton of amazing tools. A TriggerPoint grid foam roller would be a great addition to this as well. My favorite brand of yoga mats are Jade yoga mats, which are environmentally-friendly and, as it turns out, VERY sticky so you won't slip around. Their mats are made from natural rubber, which is a renewable resource. They're made in the U.S. in compliance with U.S. environmental laws and contain no PVCs—making them the first "green" and non-toxic yoga mats as well (win win win!). Like them on Facebook for a discount, but trust me—this mat is worth every penny. For yogis on the go, get them a pretty yoga mat strap like the one pictured below from Meraki Wayuu or just check Amazon for more basic options or for yoga mat bags. Every year my sister-in-law gets our family members calendars, and last year she got me a Yoga Dogs calendar and it is gives me so much joy each month to see the new dog doing their yoga pose. There is also a Sloth Yoga calendar which is pretty amazing. One of those stereotypes that is usually true is that yogis like essential oils. Who doesn't like something that smells good AND can benefit you in many different ways? A tried and true brand is DoTerra and they actually have a Yoga Collection that would make a great gift—or order their Deep Blue products for anyone with sore muscles (it works, I'll take them all) or their Breathe line for anyone who suffers from a stuffy head (it also works; I keep this bedside). For someone who wants to practice at home, Alo Moves offers a $20 a month online yoga video subscription. What I like about it is the ability to search for specific flows at specific levels. For example, "heart openers," or "beginner yin flow." Plus, you get to experience a ton of different teachers under one service at a really reasonable cost. Finally, yoga clothes are expensive—if you want to give your yogi friend a pricier gift, find out their favorite brand and get them a $75+ gift cart to that store (I would make sure the card can get them at least one pair of full-priced yoga pants at whichever store they chose). They will love you forever because they can pick out whatever they want that will make them look and feel their best, and they'll think of you every time they wear it! Fan favorites include Sweaty Betty, Alo, Outdoor Voices, Spiritual Gangster, Athleta and of course lululemon. Happy shopping. Namaste home and order all my gifts online.

By Tara Marsh (@starrayoga) What pairs really well with yoga? Brunch! One of my favorite ways to spend a weekend day in NYC is with a morning yoga class, followed by mimosas and avocado toast (or green juice and an acai bowl, or an oat milk cappuccino and flaky croissant, or whatever takes your fancy). Spending a few hours this way with my friends is joyful—and for me yoga is about joy. If it ends up leading into a Sunday Funday on occasion, I'm down with that too! But, of the many many yoga studios and many many restaurants, which ones work best together? I've done the legwork, I've stretched and sipped and nibbled my way through many brunches (it was hard work, I tell you), to arrive at my top 5 yoga and brunch pairings in Manhattan. Brooklyn—I haven't forgotten you, you're up next! If you check them out, let us know! Sky Ting in Chinatown + Dimes Full of light, and also a stuffed giraffe, Sky Ting has a beautiful modern aesthetic and is a welcoming space where you want to hang out. Follow it up with a visit to Dimes on Canal—healthy(ish) and hip, with west coast vibes. It's a little bit of a 'scene', a destination-brunch spot - great for people watching! Sky Ting Yoga 17 Allen St, Fl 7 Chinatown New York, NY 10002 www.skytingyoga.com Dimes 49 Canal St New York, NY 10002 www.dimesnyc.com Y7 Flatiron + Friend of a Farmer If you enjoy high tempo and heat, start with an extra sweaty morning at Y7, get a little hip hop fix, and then bring the high vibes to Friend of a Farmer. On Irving Place, it's just off the Union Square hustle and feels like you've stepped into a rustic, quaint country house. The egg dishes are always popular. Y7 Flatiron 25 W 23rd Street Fl 4 New York, NY 10010 www.y7-studio.com Friend of a Farmer 77 Irving Place New York, NY 10003 https://www.friendofafarmer.com Warrior Bridge + Made Fresh Daily Full transparency - I teach at Warrior Bridge and it is my yoga and acro yoga home base in New York. If you want to mix things up and try something different, check out an acro yoga class here, or one of the many handstand classes on the schedule. I teach "normal" yoga here most Sundays at 12:30pm—perfect for those who want a later lunch! For a casual, cozy and oh-so-tasty bite to eat afterwards, Made Fresh Daily is the spot. I've eaten here so many times! Think comfort food but light and fresh and definitely no reservations needed. When the weather is nice, I order to-go and walk to the grassy piers on the water. Note: they don't serve drinks and this is a super casual spot. If you want drinks and more fancy, check out the new development at the Seaport, which includes The Fulton. Warrior Bridge 250 Front Street South Street Seaport New York, NY 10038 www.warriorbridge.com Made Fresh Daily 226 Front St New York, NY 10038 www.madefreshnyc.com Modo Yoga NYC + Westville West Modo has a bit of a cult following and I understand why. It has a laid back and friendly vibe and people love the heated room. There is a sweetness to this spot. Check out their Yang Yin classes: it's a combo I'm a big fan of. After class, head to Westville West. Really, no yoga brunch list would be complete without a Westville mention. There are a few of them in different neighborhoods—this one was the first (hence the name). They have great healthy options. I always come with the intent to order something different and then without fail I order the market sides. They are just SO GOOD. It's super casual so you're fine to show up in leggings and a tank, and you can ALWAYS get a reservation. Modo Yoga 434 6th Ave, Fl 2 Greenwich Village New York, NY 10011 www.nyc.modoyoga.com Westville West 210 W 10th St New York, NY 10014 www.westvillenyc.com Three Jewels and The Smile Three Jewels is where I go most often myself to practice. It is a special space, a hidden gem and where I go for soul nourishing. This is where you deepen your spiritual practice (and your back bend). I have to give a shout out here to Rose Erin Vaughn, who I have been privileged to learn from and whose classes I seek out whenever I can. A non-profit, they also offer free meditation and community classes. After your yoga and meditation, check out The Smile, one of my favorite brunch spots in town. Rustic and charming, it's the complete package. Great food, great vibes, great drinks. Three Jewels Yoga and Meditation 5 E 3rd St East Village New York, NY 10003 www.threejewels.org The Smile 26 Bond St New York, NY 10012 www.thesmilenyc.com

by Tara Marsh (@starrayoga) In this age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. You don't have to sit down to be mindful. You don't need a quiet place on your own. You can bring mindfulness to anything you do - eating, speaking with friends, scratching an itch, walking. And, of course, drinking wine. Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment with awareness and without attachment to it being one way or another. When we drink a glass of wine, we can quaff it in gulps while we watch our Netflix show. We can sip it elegantly at the bar while thinking about whether we actually are into the guy we're on a date with. We can wash down our pizza with a tasty chianti, eyeing that last piece on the table. There is nothing wrong with any of these things. I certainly do them all, anyway! In those moments the wine is not the main act, it is not the focus. But it can be. And, just like breath is a tool for focus in yoga, we can choose to pay attention to the wine we are sipping. We can pause for a moment and watch it pouring into the glass, noticing how it swirls. We can observe the color. We can inhale the aromas - not looking FOR anything, just noticing what is there. We can let it coat our mouths, noticing how we respond to it. Maybe a fuzzy feeling in the gums. Maybe a tightening in the jaw. Maybe a tickle in the nose (this always happens to me with my first sip of red). We can taste it. And we can notice how we feel after a few sips. It would probably take a long time to drink a glass of wine if you did this with every sip, and you might become a slightly less entertaining dining companion. But doing it sometimes, perhaps with the first few sips, or whenever it crosses your mind - that can be a wonderful way to bring yourself to the present moment. Just as we often use breath in yoga practice to bring us back to the present, your awareness of your wine can bring your mind back to the moment you are in. Because awareness is basically the state of being conscious of something - directly knowing, sensing, feeling. Using ALL the senses! Practicing yoga before drinking some wine can prime your mind to be in a heightened state of awareness and openness. The more we pay attention, the more we can expand the scope of what we're capable of noticing. With the first pass, maybe you mostly smell alcohol. Or grapes. Both accurate, no doubt! And then perhaps you notice something else. And then something else again, more subtle. If you want to give it a go and need some help getting started, try this helpful mnemonic that we use in the Vino Vinyasa yoga classes: See the wine Swirl the wine Smell the wine Sip the wine Savor the wine Remaining open to any experience that arises and allowing it to wash over you and then dissipate (yes, my word choice is intentional). Being mindful in this way can transform the nature of an experience. Even if it's a wine you don't happen to like! Maybe a chance to explore new tastes or have a different reaction to something you didn't think you liked, or a deeper appreciation for something you do like. If you see someone in a bar with a glass of wine in front of them and their eyes closed and the corners of their mouth turned up in a slight smile - maybe they are having a mindful moment with that glass of wine. Visit Tara on Instagram at @starrayoga.

by Morgan Perry These words are thrown around a lot in the wine industry. We KNOW we do not want to drink wines produced with a ton of pesticides or chemicals, so here are a few things to be aware of. What is sustainable wine? The Wine Institute defines sustainable winegrowing as a comprehensive set of practices that are environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically viable.  So—they're focusing on things like on energy and water conservation, the use of renewable resources, greenhouse gas emissions, pest management, their role in the community, and much more. Pretty cool, right? I recently visited the region of Alto Adige, in Northern Italy and almost every winery told is that they were using minimal chemicals and trying their hardest to let the wines be made in the vineyard, and not in the winery. They also noted that they want to leave the vineyards in a better place for future generations. This is a simple way to think about sustainability. There are several certification bodies for sustainable wine, and the criteria can vary between countries and states. A few to look out for are SIP (Sustainability in Practice) in California and LIVE Certified (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) which is in Oregon and Washington. New Zealand, Australia, and Chile all have certifications, as well as many other regions. It's also important to note that these certifications can be expensive and that many small, independent wineries may not be able to afford to get the certification, which is another reason to ask your sommelier or wine clerk, or to do a bit of research if you're interested in these kinds of wines. In our Vino Vinyasa classes, we try to work with sustainably made wines when possible—though they are not necessarily certified sustainable—because we want to be sure we're bringing the best (but still accessible) wines we can to our students. It's important to note the differences between sustainably produced wine and organic and biodynamic wines. In a HUGE nutshell: organic wines are made from organic grapes (with no synthetic pesticides used) and in the U.S., organic wines cannot add sulfites. In Europe and many other countries, sulfites can be added—the most important thing they do is to increase the wine's shelf life. Because of the sulfite law in the U.S., many bottles just note that the wine is made with organically grown grapes. To take it a step further, biodynamic vineyards focus on the entire estate as a living organism and even time farming practices with lunar cycles. It also includes special compost preparations that are stuffed into cow horns and buried in the soil. Biodynamic wines must also practice minimal intervention winemaking. I find this FASCINATING when I visited a biodynamic vineyard in South Africa (I loved all the wild animals running around, including a peacock!). Wine Folly has a pretty simple guide on biodynamic wines you can read if you want to learn more. So where does that leave us? Ultimately, we like to know that steps are being taken to respect the earth, manage carbon footprints and keep unnecessary levels of chemicals out of our bodies, which is why more and more people are seeking sustainable wines or even wines produced with organically grown grapes. Ah! That is a lot of information. What do I do? Easy. Rely on the professionals! Shop at reputable wine shops with knowledgeable staff & ask your sommelier when drinking wine out. Avoid wines with the names of animals, spiritual beings or television shows. Check out smaller regions and producers and I promise you won't be disappointed!