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Let me tell you a story about two sisters raised worlds apart, quite literally on opposite sides of the map. Despite the mileage between them, they grew up in similar surroundings and became women of similar tastes with similar dreams. And when they finally met — after plenty of girl’s nights and quality time spent together — they set forth on a joint journey to establish themselves in the wine industry.

It sounds a lot like the vino version of The Parent Trap, doesn’t it? Well, there’s no double-Lohan in this plot. This is the very real story of two real women who make real wine that’s really delicious. I’m talking about Robin and Andrea McBride of McBride Sisters Collection.

Robin McBride was raised in Monterey, California, while her kid sister Andrea McBride grew up in Blenheim, located in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. They were unaware of one another’s existence and didn’t meet until they were 25 and 16, respectively. But when Andrea McBride moved stateside to attend the University of Southern California, the duo quickly fostered a bond rooted in a similar personality trait: a sincere appreciation for the places they were raised — coastal enclaves where the grapevines are vast and respect for the land runs deep.

“We both grew up with this background of vineyards and winemaking families and wineries nearby,” Robin McBride says. “We were both learning more on our own as adults, getting our wine chops together and starting our wine journey. At a certain point, we started to realize that this was part of our story—this was who we were.”

That love of terroir led to the McBride Sisters Collection, a range of affordable, high-quality, sustainable wines produced by the sisters and their team on their properties in both California and Marlborough. Wines that, above all things, are meant to be shared.

“We like to say our wines pair best with great times and great people,” Robin McBride says.

To help you get acquainted with the McBride sisters and the wines they produce, we rounded up eight of their most popular bottles. These wines are easily accessible in retail shops across the U.S., and you can find them online in the linked price points below.

McBride Sisters Collection Central Coast California Chardonnay

ABV: 13%
Average Price: $17

The Wine:

Made with 100 percent chardonnay, this pale golden wine is not the buttery, toasted vanilla stuff that’s usually associated with the grape. This is a youthful sipper. It’s extremely aromatic and beautifully expressive—a quality of every single one of the wines under the McBride Sisters Collection umbrella. And it’s completely driven by fruit, likely a nod to its fermentation process, during which the wine spends 85 percent of the time soaking in stainless steel barrels.

Tasting Notes:

The aromas of pineapple and honey permeating from a bottle of this wine will instantly transport you to a tropical oasis. But the character and complexity of this chardonnay zaps you right back into reality. It’s lightweight for chardonnay but it commands attention. On the palate, the wine is soft and creamy with the slightest hint of oak that balances out all the ripe pear, apple, and lemon flavors.

Bottom Line:

Drink this wine with a five-piece crispy chicken dinner from Popeyes, a portobello mushroom burger, or something light that’s hot off the grill. Heck, drink this chardonnay with a pound of pasta drenched in parmesan and sprinkled with black pepper.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself drinking more than you’re eating, though.

McBridge Sisters Collection Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

ABV: 13%
Average Price: $17

The Wine:

Being raised in areas where environmental practices are based on protecting and preserving the land, it was important for Robin and Andrea McBride to focus on sustainability when they set out to make their own wine. “When you have a product that based in agriculture, taking care of the land and the environment is paramount. You can’t destroy the place where you are creating the process. All of it makes for better wine,” Robin McBride says.

That seems inherently true for the sisters’ sauvignon blanc. You can almost taste the sparkling sunshine, glistening coastlines, and rolling hills of Marlborough.

Tasting Notes:

This wine smells like a fruit bath at an exotic luxury spa. The fragrances of peach and mango are delightfully soothing to the senses against aromas of Green and Yellow Delicious and Fuji apples. The palate beams with notes of key lime pie (without the caloric guilt), while the body of this wine has an interesting oily mouthfeel that is balanced out with refreshing acidity and mineral undertones in the finish.

Bottom Line:

This sauvignon blanc may be the closest you actually get to experience the bliss and beauty of New Zealand. Drink it when you need an escape.

McBride Sisters Collection Hawke’s Bay New Zealand Sparkling Brut Rosé

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $23

The Wine:

This pretty bubbly is a blend of pinot noir, chardonnay, and malbec grown in vineyards located in one of New Zealand’s most prestigious fine wine regions: Hawke’s Bay. Although you can’t tell from its reasonable price point, this exceptional sparkling rosé is quite the award winner. It’s nabbed a platinum medal at the Monterey International Wine Competition and a gold medal at the San Diego International Wine & Spirits Competition.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is greeted with fragrances of strawberries and cream and a delicate bouquet of roses. The sip leans into the red fruit with notes of tart raspberries, ripe strawberries, cranberries, and a splash of peach. The shiny little bubbles dissolve into an almost creamy texture on the palate, which cleans up well with a dry finish speckled with just a little bit of spice.

Bottom Line:

Drink this wine when you want a standout bubbly that won’t break the bank.

Black Girl Magic California Riesling

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $20

The Wine:

As two of the few Black winemakers in the world, the McBride sisters launched their products with an agenda to change the industry for the better and interact with people of all walks of life who were interested in wine. They got an opportunity to do just that when they were asked to showcase their wines at the 2018 Essence Festival in New Orleans. Initially, the McBride sisters created the Black Girl Magic label as a way to celebrate the city’s first Black woman mayor — but when the wine kept selling out, they knew they were on to something much bigger.

Of course, you don’t have to be a Black woman to enjoy the splendor of wines like this Californian riesling. Wines under the Black Girl Magic label are for “anybody who identifies with the spirit of beauty, power and resilience,” Robin McBride notes.

Tasting Notes:

This wine smells like jasmine petals and honeysuckle blooms. The palate shines with bright citrusy notes of juicy nectarine, pineapple, and guava. There’s a little bit of residual sugar in this medium-light wine that gives it a dash of sweetness, but that’s all balanced out with acidity that’s not too pulling and results in an elegant, mouthwatering finish.

Bottom Line:

You’ll want to drink this wine ice cold with a couple dozen oysters.

Black Girl Magic California Red Blend

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $25

The Wine:

This garnet-colored wine is comprised of Merlot and Cabernet grapes. It’s another award winner, having scored a gold medal at the San Diego Wine & Spirits Challenge.

Tasting Notes:

This wine is like a blackberry cobbler, without all the messy aftermath of baking a pie. The nose is loaded with smells of dark fruits like blackberry, blueberries, and Java plum, plus a little bit of tobacco. Those notes show up front and center on the palate too. But then there are these seductive hints of mocha, toffee, and cherry that develop throughout the sip.

This wine is full-bodied with a memorable peppery finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a red wine that’s super versatile. It will pair with just about anything from steak to grilled chicken and even hearty vegetarian dishes.

Black Girl Magic Merlot

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $25

The Wine:

Here’s a wine made of 100 percent merlot grown in California that will give your red meats and winter stews some sophistication. This garnet red wine is luscious and juicy with aging potential that will make it worthwhile today or years from now.

Tasting Notes:

Take a whiff of the black cherry cola, spiced cocoa, and plum spilling out of the glass with this wine. As the wine opens up, the palate is overcome with flavors of vanilla bean, cherry, fig, and chocolate that get a lift from chewy tannins — the naturally occurring polyphenol found in fruit seeds and skins that informs a wine’s astringency. The finish is opulent and lingering.

Bottom Line:

This is a wine for the dinner table. It will pair nicely with steaks and lamb chops, mash potatoes swimming in gravy, and winter vegetables.

Black Girl Magic Zinfandel

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $25

The Wine:

Produced in California, this wine is made with 100 percent Zinfandel. Although it’s leaning on the dense side, it shows incredible fruit and the type of character that will convince you to pour glass after glass.

Tasting Notes:

The aromas of this slightly purple wine — dried cherries and red plums — leap out of the bottle. The sip is generous with the fruit flavors, evolving into a melange of jammy red and blackberries, Medjool dates, and a sprinkle of peppercorn. The body is bold and silky, you can feel the weight of this wine at first sip through its rounded, lengthy finish.

Bottom Line:

This wine will stand up to almost any holiday meal and is a good one for making celebrations all the more special.

Black Girl Magic Rosé

ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $20

The Wine:

This friendly, easy-going rosé is made with a blend of pinot noir, merlot, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and malbec. This is a dry-yet-mouthwatering expression, meant for drinking all year round.

Tasting Notes:

The smell of orange blossom and red berries and cherries are hard to miss once you pop the cork on this bottle. As bursting as this rosé is with floral and red berry fragrances, it’s just as crunchy with notes of apple and pear and bright citrus flavors that will leave you licking your lips after each sip. There’s some fresh acidity that’s noticeable in the palate, but overall this wine is refreshingly light.

Bottom Line:

This is that easy-drinking rosé you’ll want to sip no matter the weather, the time, or the place. Drink it while you Netflix and chill with bowls of salty and sweet snacks, or pair it with your grilled fish and roasted chicken. It’s good whether you decide to enjoy it with food or as a solo sipper.

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and if you don’t already have plans, don’t worry. Justin Bieber and TikTok have you covered. While many of us are scrambling to figure out what to do to fete our romantic partners on the heart-shaped Hallmark holiday, Bieber at least has a thematically appropriate concert streaming live on TikTok, where he’ll be performing one of his most beloved, romance-inspired projects: His December 2013 “compilation album,” Journals.

For those who may have missed out on one of the blog era’s biggest musical moments, Journals was the moment Justin officially “grew up” in the eyes of many, setting aside his usual pop tunes for an album of maturish, feature-packed alt-R&B. Employing a small army of the genre’s best-known and respected producers including Andre Harris, Darkchild, Maejor Ali, Poo Bear, T-Minus and more, Journals saw Justin embark on his first foray into the world of unapologetic Black music, accompanied by some of the biggest names in rap at the time. Big Sean, Chance the Rapper, Future, and Lil Wayne all appeared, helping to lend an edge that the former tween pop star had been missing.

While it received lukewarm reviews at the time of its release, among a certain subset of fans, the album was a tremendous hit, even going so far as to earn Justin the unofficial nickname “Biebervelli,” playing on Tupac’s Makavelli alter ego. It’s a very fitting album for a Valentine’s Day event, especially after a year in which most concerts were forced to move online for safety reasons. Some of us may end up spending V-Day by ourselves, but at least we won’t be alone.

Tune in via Justin’s TikTok at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT or, if you miss it, catch the encore Monday at 1 pm ET / 10 pm PT,

Throughout its run, Key & Peele always seemed to leave a space for sports fans, a testament to the fandom of hosts Jordan Peele and Keegan Michael-Key. The show explored everything from why basketball players slap one another’s butts to the tragedy of brain injuries for NFL players, to most famously why football broadcasts have little videos of players introducing themselves and their colleges.

That came in “East/West College Bowl,” which many rank among the best sketches in the show’s run and which Key broke down in an episode of 10 Questions with Kyle Brandt over at The Ringer this week.

According to Key, the idea for the sketch came after watching a broadcast in which the Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, rather than stating that he went to the University of Michigan simply said, “you know the school” with some gusto. The admittedly silly line inspired Peele to then write up the entire sketch full of names like “Jackmerius Tacktheritrix” that get more absurd as the sketch (and its sequels) go along.

Even funnier, Key describes how Peele was not even a football fan when they wrote the sketch, but had discovered by way of playing Madden that there existed a player named D’Brickashaw Ferguson, to which Key replied, “Have you heard of the SEC?” And thus, a beloved sketch was born.

Donald Trump Jr. ranting about his father’s second impeachment trial was bound to be wild, given that he’s taken a slight break from appearing on Fox News in his energetic ways that make people wonder if an intervention is in order. He has always denied rumors when he’s accused of being blitzed out of his mind, but it’s hard to overlook those previous suspicious instances when he does stuff like wildly rant about Hunter Biden during a weekend jaunt that inspired lot of “Motel 6” jokes and made people wonder what the heck’s going on. What shall people wonder about with Don Jr.’s latest Fox News appearance to speak with Sean Hannity?

That answer’s a simple one: how does Don Jr. wildly rant for at least 1 minute and 45 seconds while appearing to not come for air? It’s mystifying to watch happen:

“If it wasn’t for double standards, the Democrats would have no standards at all” is only one of his declarations. He also accused Democrats of selectively editing the video footage used in the opening remarks of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). And he believes that this impeachment is all about hypocrisy because, in Don Jr.’s mind, his father’s inciting of an insurrection was “mild” compared to Black Lives Matter protests:

“You sort of highlighted all the hypocrisy that we saw during 10 months of rioting, looting, arson, in-your-face type of politics. Candidly, whatever my father said on January 6th was mild in comparison, but if you were to take his speech and compare it to literally any stump speech ever given in the history of politics, you would see absolutely no deviation.”

Beyond Don Jr. refusing to see the truth here — that there’s no comparison between peaceful BLM protests (looters, allegedly including Jake Paul, were generally not affiliated with the actual movement) and the deadly U.S. Capitol riot, in which MAGA insurrectionists stormed the premises and which left at least five people dead — it is very hard to get past Don Jr.’s bizarre ability to not breathe (through his nose or mouth) while ranting unabated.

Meanwhile, Trump’s second impeachment trial (which Trevor Noah has compared to a Michael Bay movie) continues after Trump’s newest bumbling lawyer, Bruce Castor, caused quite a reaction (even from Ice-T) with his opening remarks, which made Rudy Giuliani look like the pro of all pros. Also last night, Sean Hannity gently suggested that Trump replace Castor, so it’ll be interesting to see who Trump hires next.

As part of a long story on their relationship this week at GQ, newly-engaged sports power couple Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird shot a Couples Quiz video, and the results were predictably hilarious.

Asked to give Rapinoe’s father’s first name, Bird froze, only able to think of the grandfather’s name, not the father’s (it’s Jim). But later on in the video, there were several charming and interesting moments including the reveal of Rapinoe’s dream vacation in Tahiti, why Rapinoe loves to play in Los Angeles and Portland, and which milk additive the couple uses in its coffee these days.

Though Rapinoe accompanied Bird to the WNBA Bubble in 2020, the two largely lived the year out of the spotlight, but ahead of the Tokyo Olympics this summer in which both women figure to be prominently featured in Team USA’s exploits, they are growing as a couple as well. Rapinoe is in the running for her second gold medal if she makes the U.S. Women’s National team, while Bird could win her fifth for the women’s basketball team.

And most importantly, though they’re in a simple studio answering silly questions, both Rapinoe and Bird made sure to bring out some of their best fits to show off their ever-impressive fashion sense.

Then-president Donald Trump was banned from Twitter in early January for his role in inciting the attack at the U.S. Capitol building that left five people dead.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” a statement from the social media platform read.

On Monday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal confirmed that even if Trump runs for office again (“We will be back in some form,” he said the day he left the White House), he’s still banned. “The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform, whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO, or you are a former or current public official,” he said on CNBC. “Remember, our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence, and if anybody does that, we have to remove them from the service and our policies don’t allow people to come back.” Despite (or because of?) deplatforming the extremely online former-president, Twitter is doing fine:

In its earnings report Tuesday, the company provided a unique disclosure on user growth in the current quarter, saying it saw above average growth throughout the month despite “unusual circumstances.” … Twitter shares were up as much as 13% as of Wednesday morning.

Trump’s anger was reportedly at “an eight” on a scale of one to 10 while watching Tuesday’s impeachment trial, so it must be killing him that he can’t tweet. Now, or ever again. He’ll have to save his Diet Coke takes for real life.

(Via CNBC)

The pop music world went into a frenzy after Olivia Rodrigo released her debut single “Drivers License,” which named-dropped a particular “blonde girl” who had swept away her ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett. Shortly after the single’s release, Sabrina Carpenter, apparently the “blonde girl” in question, released her own song “Skin.” Though Carpenter’s song seemingly responded directly to lyrics in Rodrigo’s song, the singer claims that was not the case. Now, she’s brought the single to late-night television with a performance on The Late Late Show With James Corden.

Carpenter gave a dazzling rendition of the soulful song in an abandoned warehouse. She started her performance with a delicate piano and her soaring lyrical delivery. Eventually, Carpenter moved to an area that was pouring down rain, evoking the act of washing away her critics.

Just ahead of the performance, Carpenter sat down with Corden and addressed the drama surrounding the single, saying that people have misinterpreted its meaning:

“I genuinely was coming from a place as a 21-year-old that is navigating her feelings and was going through a lot in my personal life. The reoccurring theme was that I was allowing people to get under my skin. So I wrote from that place, knowing that there’s so many experiences that will continue to happen to me in my life where I have to remind myself that people can only get to you if you allow them to. […] People will make a narrative out of something always. I think this was a really interesting song for people to misinterpret and make it into something that it really wasn’t supposed to be in the first place. But I’ve just been enjoying making music.”

Watch Carpenter perform “Skin” and chat about the single with Corden on The Late Late Show above.

Late Tuesday evening, Twitter came alive with rumors that actress Lauren London, the late Nipsey Hussle’s former partner and the mother of his son Kross, was pregnant after again finding romance. The rumor originated with local Los Angeles newspaper the LA Sentinel, which published a short story claiming a source “confirmed” London’s pregnancy. The Black-owned newspaper has long been a staple of the South Los Angeles Black community, but locals know to take many of its stories with a grain of salt.

However, on the Wild West that is social media, the rumor spread like wildfire, with many weighing in on their opinions of London purportedly finding love after Hussle’s death in 2019. Unfortunately, her love life has been a favored topic of debate as she was so closely tied to such a beloved public figure; many believe that any suggestion she could move on so “soon” after Nipsey’s death is disrespectful to his memory, while others want her to be allowed to live her life without scrutiny.

London herself finally addressed the rumor herself before the buzz could get too loud, definitively shutting it down. “Woke up to some straight bullsh*t,” she vented in her first tweet of 2021. “Rumors ! Lies ! On a woman trying her best to heal?! Please stop. I’m NOT pregnant.”

Lauren was previously forced to deal with the public’s obsession with her shortly after Nipsey’s death in 2019, when Kodak Black drew attention for flirting with her on his Instagram account. His comments, which were perceived as disrespectful by many in the hip-hop community, resulted in a ban from LA’s Power 106.

For some reason, Phoebe Bridgers has been facing backlash after she smashed a guitar on Saturday Night Live this weekend. As she noted last night, she’s been “cancelled by incels.” A lot of people have her back, though, including Dave Grohl.

Foo Fighters guested on the Howard Stern Show this morning and as Consequence Of Sound notes, Grohl said of Bridgers’ SNL guest spot, “I saw that performance — I actually talked to my mom about it. […] She goes, ‘What did you think about that girl Phoebe?’ I’m like, ‘She’s got a beautiful voice, she can really sing.’ My mother was like, ‘I loved it, I thought she was great!’ When you watch us jam and freak out and do our thing… I think that’s what they did.”

He went on to compare it to his days in Nirvana, saying, “It was every f*cking night. My drums had holes in them from Kurt [Cobain] f*cking chopping my drums. I’ve seen enough smashed guitars. It feels f*cking good to do it.”

Grohl also spoke about the re-emergence of guitar-based rock music, saying, “You have to understand that for the last 10 years, every interview I do I’m asked, ‘Is rock and roll dead? There’s no guitars anymore!’ So in the last year, there’s been this return to guitar rock music in popular music — like, Miley Cyrus is becoming Joan Jett… You’re starting to see, people are realizing rock and roll is cool.”

For brief week in the beginning of December 2020, Mellissa Carone was the national punchline thanks to her feisty, erratic and sometimes slurring testimony during a hearing on voter fraud. Carone was a contractor for Dominion Voting Systems and questionably claimed to have proof that votes were being stolen from Donald Trump. Obviously, that strategy didn’t pan out, but Carone quickly became known as “Rudy Giuliani’s Wine Lady,” which led to her being parodied on Saturday Night Live and being the butt of jokes by late night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel.

After sketchy details about her personal life began to emerge, Carone disappeared from the spotlight. However, she’s back, and this time, she’s running for office. The 33-year-old Republican is reportedly going after a seat in the state’s House of Representatives, according to The Detroit News:

“I am running on election integrity,” Carone said in a Tuesday interview.

She also criticized Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the state’s three top Democrats. Michigan needs “conservative values” back, Carone said.

As for Carone’s chances of winning, it is a Republican district. While she does have a bizarre legal record for sending sex tapes of herself to her fiance’s ex-wife, that could easily be canceled out by Carone’s penchant for repeating right-wing conspiracy theories. During an interview with Sarah Palin’s website, Carone accused the Obamas of creating COVID and repeated her claims that she has “binders” of evidence that Dominion rigged the election. Granted, Palin’s website pulled the interview within hours, but it does show that Carone knows how to work the more conspiratorial-minded factions of the GOP, which could work in her favor.

(Via The Detroit News)