family

Wine labels can say a lot about the wine inside, and they're certainly a great opportunity for artistic and creative expression, but Oggau Estate Wine has taken wine labeling to a whole new level. The Oggau Estate in Austria produces 9 varieties of wine, all of varying ages and characteristics, and what started as simply giving each wine a face, name, and 'personality' to help the drinker identify the wine inside (younger faces equals younger, lighter wine while older faces equal more aged varieties) eventually grew into something much more complex. The wines now not only have faces, names, and personalities, but also relationships and stories with each other as they've become a family of children, parents, and grandparents. The wines have grown popular in Austria for both their quality and for the novelty of being able to collect the entire 'family clan.'

The importance of family-owned businesses in terms of the economy is pretty amazing. A full 68 percent of businesses are in private hands. Many of those family businesses however, don't have a succession plan in place, even when there are millions of dollars at stake. A new study, "Protecting the Family Fortune" sponsored by U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management finds that the majority of owners of ultra-high-net-worth family businesses haven't fully prepared for the future when it comes to business succession, asset protection and estate planning.

The ultra-high-net-worth businesses surveyed in the report have interests valued at a minimum of $300 million and had already successfully transitioned from the first to at least the second generation. The majority of these family businesses have wealth transfer plans in place and yet most of these plans have lapsed. A majority (89%) of these wealthy business owners were "very" or "extremely concerned" about protecting the family's wealth but nearly three quarters (73%) of them do not have asset protection plans in place.

Most of the business owners are also very worried about personal security, believing that their level of wealth makes them a target. The survey also found that while most had many stresses which affect their personal and professional lives, overall 64% of the affluent family business owners are personally very happy with their lives. The study did find that those who consider themselves "highly centered" are overall in a much better place in life and the report found that one of the best ways to protect the family fortune is actually to manage stress in a positive way.

Home decor is all about individual touches and putting your personal stamp on the living spaces you spend your time in, and what better way to personalize a room than with a throw pillow detailed with your unique family unit on it? Family Pillows by K Studio allow you to do just that. After deciding if you want hemp square (No. 1) or cotton rectangle (No. 2) you personalize the design by choosing from a group of characters to represent the members of your family (pets too!) and then also selecting who will stand where in the layout. $134

BOB is a new device from Hopscotch Technology that lets parents manage the time their kids spend online, watching television or using a variety of other tech devices during the week. Parents can set the device for a predetermined amount of time and BOB will automatically shut off once that time has elapsed. BOB works with most computers, televisions and video game consoles. Features include: a personal PIN number for every family member and a master code (for the parents), weekly and daily time frames and overall time reporting for each user. A very interesting feature allows the master user to block out certain time periods - so when there is a babysitter, you can still be sure the kids aren't watching any late night TV. BOB will be released later this month. Price $90.