Why the name "stars & dust"?
Summer of 2020 mid-Pandemic insomnia often had me falling in and out of sleep watching movies. After lulling off to Gladiator one morning around 5am, a line from the movie was positively caught in my head.
“We mortals are but shadows and dust…”
I woke up with the makings of the name swirling around in my head. And while shadows seemed a bit too “heavy” to me, I kept chewing on it.
something & dust…stardust…stars & dust.
While other concepts and names for this new project felt forced, something about it just felt right. After all, we are all made up of stardust. All the same and all connected.
Bringing the Name to life.
The name; a little nerdy and sciencey, a bit hippie and playful meanwhile still undeniably thought provoking. It felt like home for me.
We’re all the same and we’re all intertwined.
stars/dust is within the make-up of these wines & the unique places they’re grown just as it’s the makeup of each of us.
Nature is not outside us – we are nature.
Furthermore, what is the view of a vine? Ethereal stars above and vital “dust” below. But, what in the heck WAS stars & dust? What would the label and vibe be?
Inspiration Behind the Label
When seeking some needed guidance from the Universe I looked to one of my best and oldest friends: Music. Typing “stars + dust” into Spotify had me standing in my kitchen in happy tears. I was unbelievably sure this was a good idea in less than 10 minutes time as Joni’s iconic ‘Woodstock’ came on in full force.
Thus our label is inspired by the album cover on which that song is recorded. Entitled Ladies of the Canyon, the album artwork is an understated sketch of Joni with colorful images from Laurel Canyon in the folds of her dress.
Painted by Joni herself this is hands down my favorite self-portrait that she created among the many over her lifetime. The below four lines from the song Woodstock brought things full circle for me, hearing it instantly assured me that this indeed was it.
We are stardust we are golden
and we’ve got get ourselves
back to the garden
When it came to the design of the label, I was lucky to have a friend & über talented illustrator, Lompoc local Michelle Ball, create a primitive sketch (we used me to respect and stay authentic) and decided on stardust as the pattern of the dress.
Cowboy boots were added because I love to wear ‘em (even in the snow when slanging wine in NYC in February). And, of course, as a loving nod to my set of maternal Grandparents with deep Texan roots.
In the Stars since 1982?
Hi! I’m Nikki, the wine nerd behind stars & dust.
I thought for many years that it was my passion for food, cooking and working in restaurants from circa 16 that led me to wine. But, these days I’m starting to think maybe it was the other way around.
Even though I didn’t grow up around wine through my Family or the being exposed to the industry per se, I actually did have vineyards in my backyard from the start.
The Cucamonga and Temecula Valley AVA’s of SoCal were where I lived (in or near) all the way through High School. But, as mentioned, I’d be lucky to see Franzia or 2 Buck Chuck at home growing up.
By the time College rolled around and I finally managed to find a steady non-restaurant (read: non-fluctuating!) paycheck to put myself through school part time, a restaurant I’d worked at in the past came calling as they were opening up the first fine wine retailer in my hometown. I jumped ship at the stable job, had to move back home to afford the pay cut and dove in head first. And, that move changed my life as before I knew it I was self-studying more about wine (creating thousands of nerdy flash cards) than I was my Psychology studies.
I think I knew I was done for was when I realized with wine, the true beauty and best thing, is NEVER would I (or anyone else for that matter) ever know EVERYTHING about the subject because like the vines and the resulting bottle of wine, it’s a living, breathing thing. Timeless. Magical. Ever evolving. It was IT.
There would always be something new, a new region doing great things, new varietals being made somewhere unique, old methods being brought back, stylistic changes and the list goes on – a wild, beautiful, complex beast. My favorite kind.
So, I took a walk to really think – one I will never forget as it changed the course of my life entirely. I thought to myself it seemed so many, too many folks I knew in the industry had (with much regret) waited until their 40’s or 50’s or beyond to get into the business. But, passionate as hell, youthful hopefulness coursing through my veins, and geeked out to the max, I didn’t want to wait one second.
Couldn’t I just MAJOR in this whole thing and get straight to it? Yes. And couldn’t I find a beautiful place to study wine not too far from my neck of the woods? Yes!
Click here to read about the Cal Poly Wine & Vit shenanigans to Present.
The Music Of Stars & Dust
Even as a little girl I drew a lot of motivation and inspiration from written word and music. So, it’s not surprising that back in 2020 when the name and project was still only in my minds eye, I typed “stars” + “dust” into Spotify to see what possible inspiration may find me…
And there they were. Four lines from the song ‘Woodstock’ that gave me the courage to take a deep breath and dive into harvest!
Times of THEN + Times of NOW.
Because Ms. Mitchell undoubtably continues to be a force of inspiration to so many artists of our era. And, don’t even get me started about Joni and my other top 5 female singer-songwriter, Brandi Carlile of The Highwomen playing together at Newport Folk Fest this Summer. Absolute magic.
70’s folk and otherwise lovely vibes of the era for all. You’ll find a welcoming bar cart filled with allll of the diverse styles of music being made (Pre 1980) concurrently with and inspiring to our Queen Bee – Ms. Joni Mitchell.
Press play, click it to shuffle if you fancy and pop a bottle of any Old Vine Chard or if you’re craving something red and fabulous – the Red Table Wine has your name on it.
An anything goes Post-80’s eclectic smattering of “modern” day tunes with the kind of s&d vibes we love.
The perfect mix to flip on for a relaxing afternoon turned wine filled evening and pairs like a mf dream with one (or four) chilled glasses of the mineral driven ‘Crowded Table’ Rosé or Young Vine Chardonnay –so, kick off your shoes, grab your wine opener and press play.
