Vampire Lestat Wine

Posted on April 9th, 2009 by Jean

In 1995, author Anne Rice joined forces with Babcock Winery of Lompoc, California to produce a wine worthy of the name Lestat, Rice’s lead vampire. Rice’s husband, Stan, a noted artist and poet, designed the wine labels for Cuvee Lestat Syrah and Chardonnay.

The following year, Babcock Winery and the Rices combined their talents again to produce these red and white wines, as well as a bordeaux, all bearing the Lestat name. Reports vary, estimating between 150 and 200 cases of Syrah were produced, selling for $30-$35 per bottle.

1996 was the last year the Lestat wines were produced.

It was always in the back of my mind, as a huge Anne Rice fan, to obtain a bottle of her wine. In 1995, I was traveling around on a fixed income with little internet access. In 1996, the same was true. The two years Anne’s wine was easily attainable through her website and relatively affordable, I was unable to make the purchase.

Fast forward 14 years. I’m at the McDonalds’ drive-through, and then BK’s, picking up Happy Meals for my daughters. Natalie’s toy prize was a pair of Pink Panther sunglasses, while a Hello Kitty digital watch greeted Pearl at the bottom of her bag. A few minutes later, I’m handed my non-emotional meal at Taco Bell. One of my daughters asked, What’s your prize? What is my prize? The wheels were turning. What would be a prize suitable for an adult?

When we arrived home, I plopped myself in front of the computer, dipping nachos with one hand, surfing with the other. Most prizes are themed around the release of movies.

Movies
Adult movies
Horror movies
Animation…. bingo!

Coraline Nike Dunks. If they were handed to us with our Happy Meal, I doubt they would be selling for $3,432.56 on ebay. Less than 1,000 were produced. Movie goers searched for clues following the credits of Coraline for a chance to win a pair of these unique sneakers.

Moving on.

Girl Flicks… bingo!

Confessions of a Shopaholic make-up palette. More attainable than the Nikes, yet the lipstick may not fare too well pressed against my warm taco… and I mean that in the most non-sexual way. Created by Too Faced Cosmetics, retails for $29.50.

Vampire movies… click! Lightbulb moment! Lestat wine!

Googling led me to two sellers. One had posted an entry at the Amazon.com Vampire Romance Discussion Forum. Who knew that even existed? The seller, MJ, had two bottles, and was open to establishing a price. The other seller has 5 bottles, one of each Lestat wine produced, and was (still is) asking $7,550 firm for the collection. Needless to say, I began communicating with MJ.

22 emails and 7 weeks of negotiations…. free
1995 Cuvee Lestat Syrah plus shipping…. $125.00
Fulfilling a dream…. priceless

Should I drink it?

Thanks for reading!

Tags: Anne Rice, funny, Happy Meal, Humor, Lestat, Shopping, vampire, Wine

Sugary Sweet Childhood Fears

Posted on March 27th, 2009 by Jean

Things that frightened me as a child seem laughable as an adult. Thank goodness I matured, and realized what was plausible and what was not. Perhaps that is where childhood fear comes from, thinking that anything is possible.

When I was a child, we used to watch Creature Features. This was a late night television show which aired old black & white films. One movie, The Vulture, was particularly frightening to me. The storyline involved a man who had bird legs. I could have sworn he hid his creepy legs under a blanket while he sat in a wheelchair, but a brief synopsis I read says he wore a large coat. Regardless, at night he would swoop down and prey on innocent victims. Not long after seeing this movie, a huge stork flew over my house, and I would have bet money it was the bird man!

The Adventure Thru Inner Space ride at Disneyland scared me senseless! It wasn’t the ride itself, but the dread of being disintegrated! Here’s how the ride was described; “While waiting in line, you see other guests enter one end of the Mighty Microscope, appear near the opposite end only a few inches tall, and finally disappear entirely. Now it’s your turn.” WTH? No thanks! I begged and pleaded with my parents not to go on this ride! Even at age 2, I knew I preferred living and breathing over whatever fate awaited me in the “Microscope Of Doom”! Could I talk sense into them? Of course not. It STILL haunts me.

Do you have some fears to get off your chest?

Tags: creature, disneyland, fears, funny, Humor, movies, rides, Scary

Ducks Run Amuk

Posted on March 21st, 2009 by Jean

Spring Break began with promise of sweet adventures! Natalie volunteered to watch the classroom bunny, so Friday afternoon Shakespeare joined our little family.

Saturday morning, I made a big batch of pancakes. Sure, I planned to fill our bellies, but I also wanted to put a pancake on Shakespeare’s head ala this little internet sensation.

The bunny wouldn’t cooperate, but we had all week. Right?

After breakfast, we headed to the local Duck Derby. Tom was recruited to help launch the 5,000 rubber duckies into the Colorado River. This was a charity event which raised $20,000 for The American Cancer Society.

Our first hurdle was waiting for the river to rise enough for the boats to launch. The event was scheduled for 10am, but the water wasn’t high enough until noon. Our second hurdle was agreeing where to dump the duckies. Original instructions declared the pipe line as the dumping zone. We made our way to the pipe line, following a boat carrying a few of the event coordinators. To our surprise, the boat continued up the river, depositing two ladies & two babies off at a beach. The men in the boat yelled for us to dump our duckies here, way up river! Didn’t seem like a good idea, but who were we to argue? In go the duckies!

Tom driving our boatload of ducks.

Aerial of the Colorado River.

The idiot who had a harebrained idea.

Instead of catching the flow to float across the finish line, the ducks swirled towards the Nevada shores, nestling into the tulies and beaching themselves on the sand.

Jet skiers, kayakers and canoeists attempted to herd the wayward duckies towards the Arizona finish line.

Herders (ya, right!)
 
We scooped up about a dozen ducks in a net, and dropped them just upstream of the finish so that winners could be declared. We then spent the next 2 1/2 hours scooping ducks from the river.

Event coordinators are now urging the public to help retrieve ducks from the river. The coast guard has threatened to fine the event hostess, Loretta of Lazy Harry’s Bar & Grill, $50 per duck for littering.

Actual reward is 1 raffle ticket per duck. Prize undetermined.
We would have returned to the river, but we became infected with THE FLU. We have never in our lives been so ill! Although I lost 5 lbs and Tom lost 20, I would not recommend the flu to anyone!

More disappointing than not being able to scoop ducks, is running out of time to put a pancake on Shakespeare’s head!

How was your Spring Break?

Tags: Arizona, Boat, Bullhead City, Derby, Duck, funny, Humor, River