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Now that you're wrapping up your Winter holidays, it's the perfect time to plan your Summer ones. In my opinion Summer holidays should be filled with beautiful scenery, great wine, and delicious food. If you agree, then perhaps you'll consider joining me at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic 2009.

I grew up in Aspen, and as a kid, I worked as a catering scamp at the Classic, hauling crates of dishes around, not really knowing what the whole thing was about, other than there was lots of free food. Last year I had the double pleasure of not only returning to my home town for the first time in 14 years, but doing so as a speaker at the Classic.

I believe I was the first blogger to ever present at the Classic, and apparently I didn't screw it up, because they asked me back again this year. Truthfully, I had a blast last year, and so did the folks who attended my seminars. We tasted some great wine together, and I'm super excited to do it again this June.

Tickets have just gone on sale for the 2009 Aspen Food and Wine Classic, and as the event always sells out, now would be the time to start thinking about just how tasty you want your June to be.

I'll be returning to my home town again to presenting two more guided tastings. The first, entitled "Sonoma Superstars" will highlight some of my favorite wines from some of Sonoma County's top producers. The second, entitled "Cabernet: Next From Napa" will highlight fantastic Cabs from several new producers that are just releasing some of their first wines.

When I'm not introducing attendees to some of my favorite wines, I'll be standing in the back watching while the real pros do their thing: Robert Bohr on Champagne; David Lynch on Italy; Michael Bonadies on Washington State; Anthony Giglio on Riesling, etc.

I'll also be poking my head in to see if I can even just get a whiff of some of the amazing VIP reserve tastings, which include a Conterno Barolo tasting, a vertical tasting of Remoissenet Clos Vougeot starting from 1952, and a retrospective on 1989 Bordeaux, among others.

And, of course, in between all that wine, I'll be nibbling on some fantastic food from some of the top chefs in the country, including Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Jacques & Claudine Pépin, Danny Meyer, and the folks from Bravo's Top Chef, including Tom Colicchio and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard.

If that sounds like your idea of a good time, you should come join me! Check out the Food & Wine Classic web site where you can download the schedule of events and buy your tickets.

As usual, the event benefits charity -- this year supports the Wholesome Wave Foundation, a national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and encouraging sustainable agriculture.

I hope to see you there!

OK folks, here's the deal. Today is the last day of A Menu For Hope charity raffle. You've got until Midnight tonight, Pacific Time, to buy raffle tickets for some seriously awesome prizes. Every raffle ticket increases your chance of winning said prize, and every ticket buys healthy, nutritious lunches for school children in Lesotho. What could be better than that?

It's important to realize that even a single $10 ticket can win you some seriously good loot. One of the most popular prizes last year (and this year), the Meadowood vacation package, was won by someone who bought a single ticket.

It's also important that you know that some of this year's prizes have had slightly less bidding than others, which means the chances of you winning them are QUITE HIGH with just a single ticket, and INCREDIBLY HIGH were you to buy say, 10 tickets.

You may be asking, "Now why would I go and spend $100 on raffle tickets, even though the cause is so good." Here's the answer: because if you did, you'd have a very good chance of winning prizes that are in some cases worth THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

Getting the picture? It's like this: if I told you that by spending $100 you'd have a 3 in 5 chance of winning $400 worth of wine and be doing a great thing for charity, I hope that you'd see this as a winning proposition, no?

So here are some prizes that need a little love in the bidding department, and might just be yours for the taking, depending on just how generous you're feeling (or how much Champagne you've already had today). Go bid a little bit (or a little more), and have yourself a very Happy New Year!

Wine and Film Premieres from Wilson Daniels
One of the country's most respected wine importers, Wilson Daniels Ltd., is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008. The Napa Valley-based company has created a Menu For Hope six-bottle collection of wines from its portfolio of European wine estates, offering bidders an opportunity to taste wines from six different regions spanning three countries -- with a high-definition twist. Winners will receive the following wines:

NV Delamotte Brut Cotes des Blancs Grand Cru
2006 Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss Kritt Gewurztraminer Alsace
2005 Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges
2006 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Rouge
2004 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
1996 Royal Tokaji Nyulászó First Growth Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

This fall, Wilson Daniels premiered documentary-style films for its French and Hungarian wine estates, which the winning bidder can watch online or download to an iPod at www.wilsondanielsfilms.com to "virtually" tour the vineyards and meet the winemakers before, after, or while they taste the wines. Value: $275. Prize Code: WB04. Courtesy of Wilson Daniels Ltd.

Two World Class Gruner Veltliners and a set of World Class White Wine Glasses
This prize includes a set of six Denkart Zalto white wine glasses and the two most highly rated Gruner Veltliners in the Winemonger inventory, the 2006 and 2007 Donabaum Spitzer Point GV Smaragd Gruner Veltliner from Austria. The wines speak for themselves, but you should know about the glasses. 100% lead free and dishwasher safe, these glasses were created for the complexity and refinement of the most expressive white wines. Technical perfection is the basic principle of the Zalto Glass Manufactury. Zalto Glasses have always been produced following a tradition of using only the most highly skilled glass-blowers working with a selection of the best raw materials. The curve of the bowls are tilted at the angles of 24°, 48° and 72°, which are in accordance to the tilt angles of the Earth. This stunning glass has become the standard for many world-class tasting rooms and well-set tables. Shipping within the USA only. Value: more than $415. Prize Code: WB07. More details at
Winemonger.

Half Case of Verge Syrah, and a Tour of the Vineyard
Join VERGE Winemaker Mike Brunson for a special tour of Bradford Mountain where you will see firsthand what it means to farm on the edge of the wild. At just over 1200 feet elevation, Bradford Mountain is on the far western edge of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. VERGE Wine Cellars produces small lots of block specific Syrah and these organcially grown vineyards are perfect examples of what we call Fringe Vineyards. Mike Brunson has over 15 years winemaking experience and will describe the ins and outs of organic viticulture, mountain farming, and Syrah winemaking. After the hike, you'll enjoy a tasting of Syrahs from Bradford Mountain as well as a selection of other Syrahs from around the world. As a parting gift, you will also recieve 6 bottles of VERGE Wine Cellars' inaugural release, the 2006 VERGE Syrah. Value: $240. Prize code: WB08. Courtesy of Verge Cellars.

Wine Book Bonanza
There's only one thing better than drinking wine, and that's drinking wine with a nice wine book on your lap. Here's your chance to add to your library and maybe learn a thing or two in the process. Courtesy of University of California Press, pick any 5 wine books from their current list of titles. Value: approx $150. Prize Code:WB09. Courtesy of University of California Press.

Wine Travel Guide Voucher
The main raffle prize on offer from Wine Travel Guides is a gold gift subscription to Wine Travel Guides (worth £49 or approximately $75 or €60) which lasts a whole year from activation. This will give you access to all the travel guides on the site. Today there are 46 comprehensive guides to the wine regions of France. By mid-January there will be a further seven guides covering Tuscany in Italy, Rioja in Spain and Mosel in Germany. Here is your chance to plan that trip to the wine regions of Europe with expert insider advice from 15 top-class wine and travel writers.

The bonus offer: If you can meet author Wink Lorch in either the Jura or Savoie wine regions of France, she will personally drive you around the wine region for a day, meeting and tasting with some of her favourite wine growers and taking you out to lunch. Value: $80 or more. Prize Code:WB10. Courtesy of Wink Lorch.

Inaugural Vintage of Capture's Tin Cross Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
This prize consists of a bottle from the first launch of Capture Winery's 2008 Tin Cross Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is the unprecedented, first product of the winemaking team's efforts with Tin Cross being to be released in Spring 2009. Additionally, this wine will arrive paired with an elegantly framed vision of its origin; an image of Tin Cross' upper vineyard, professionally photographed and signed by the renowned Olaf Beckman. The total package is valued at $542. Prize Code:WB14. More details at Our Wine Story.

Port Wine Starter Set from Quevedo
If you're a lover of port wine, or think you might be, you'll enjoy this gift: A Port Wine Starter Kit made up of:
- port wine tongs
- port wine filter
- port wine decanter
- port wine cups
- dark chocolate
- a coupon for a bottle of Quevedo 2005 Vintage redeemable at the closest wine shop that carries the wine. Value: $90. Prize Code: WB17. More details at Quevedo Wine.

Exclusive Wine Accessory Set
This prize includes four exclusive wine accessories developed by Wine Line:

-Wine Vine 12 bottle stainless steel wine rack
-Wine Flyte Carrier--for easily serving 6 glasses of wine, carrying & drying glasses as well-patent pending
-Wine Aerator w/single glass adapter-patent pending
-Chateau Epernay Handmade Rosewood Corkscrew in gift box

These accessories make fantastic gifts for wine lovers. Value: $200.00. Prize Code: WB18. Courtesy of WineLine

Custom 90 Minute Wine Seminar
Bill Wilson, the host and producer of the Wine for Newbies Podcast will offer a 90-minute live wine seminar. The winner of this prize can choose the topic(s) for this wine seminar which he'll broadcast via streaming video at a time and date of the winner's choosing. The winner can have as many people participate as he or she wants! Since the seminar will be live via the Internet, the winner can be anywhere, as long as they understand English. Prize code: WB20. Courtesy of Wine for Newbies.

Wine, Wine and More Wine from Domaine 547
This prize includes a Magnum of 2003 Pax Cellars Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah and a $50 gift certificate to domaine547.com. The prize can be shipped to anywhere that FedEx legally delivers alcohol to, with the exception of New Hampshire. Domaine 547 is also willing to arrange for shipping to other states, on behalf of any bidder who wants to ship the wine via use of their own UPS account. Value: $150. Prize Code: WB27. Courtesy of Domaine 547.

Magnum of wine, tour, and tasting at Tolosa Winery for Six People
Join Tolosa winemaker Larry Brooks for a past, present and future tour of the Winery in San Luis Obispo and finish with a artisan wine and cheese pairing. A Magnum of our 10th Anniversary wine will also be given to the winner upon arrival.

PAST: Guests will learn about the origin of our name and the story behind our brand. They will also have the opportunity to taste past vintages from the Tolosa library collection.

PRESENT: After a brief talk about our vineyard and outside production area, guests will be toured through our tank and barrel rooms.

FUTURE: The tour finishes with a futures tasting from select French oak barrels. This intimate tasting will take place in our private barrel designed area with our finest wine selections.

Following the tour you and your guests will be guided through an artisan wine and cheese pairing with Tolosa's wine and cheese educator & sommelier, John Shakley. As you relax in our beautiful private Heritage Room, John will pair five limited production wines with five artisan cheeses from around the world. Value: $400. Prize Code: WB29. Courtesy of Tolosa Winery.

See the full list of prizes and instructions on how to bid here. I hope you win!!

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British Spending More on Wine, Less on Beer - 13 August 2007

TiVo and Amazon will Deliver Digital TV Shopping - 24 July 2008

Ordinary middle class Russian society has developed a taste for quality wine, according to Wine Intelligence's Russian Wine Market Landscape report.

clouds came into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storms, but to add colour to my sunset sky - rabindranath tagore  indian playwright, poet and essayist. 

You can read a little more about me if you visit Rosella in Italy. She interviewed me about my foodies travel experiences.

A16 tops the list of the best wine bars in San Francisco. The owner-sommelier Shelley Lindgren?s wine list is focused on Southern Italian varietals. This wine list is an integral part of the A16 experience and what makes it the best of the wine bars in San Francisco.

Andalu on 16th Street is another one of San Francisco?s finest wine bars. They are awesome because they offer small plates with big flavors. This is one of the San Francisco wine bars that has an approachable wine list and offers 35 wines by the glass. The crowd there is mixed and energetic.

Wine bars don?t usually come as good, or as small, as Bacchus on Hyde Street. Bacchus has knowledgeable bartenders that make innovative saké cocktails and they pour over 50 wines that range in price from under $10 a glass to more than $200 a bottle. The signature drink at Bacchus is their sake-version of the mojito.

Cav is one of the wine bars in San Francisco that takes itself extremely seriously. Cav has a well-chosen wine list of over 300 international wines. Some of the wines on the list are offered by a taste, or the glass. The chef has crafted unique takes on lots of dishes and Cav actually offers a cheese course that is served at the proper temperature and is on par with some of the finer restaurants in San Francisco.

Wine bars like Piccolo on Fillmore street handpick the wines on their wine lists. Piccolo is one of the wine bars that choose limited availability and small production wines. They prefer to concentrate on Italian wines. The owner of Piccolo has wonderful antipasti on his menu. There is fierce competition between wine bars to have the most excellent food to accompany their spirits.

Varnish Fine Art is both an art gallery and one of the top wine bars in San Francisco. The atmosphere at Varnish Fine Art is comfortable and it draws a post-work crowd for beer or wine during happy hour. The wine list at Varnish Fine Art is well chosen and features a number of delicious fine wines, as well as soju and saké cocktails.

So my big sister took me to see Madonna last night for my birthday. It's - ahem - a big one, and it's right around the corner. But I digress. Last night rocked, and here's why: Not long after we arrived at the Oakland arena, we stopped outside of our (nose bleed) section to fish out our tickets. As I reached for mine, a woman brushed by me and knocked my tall cup of water all over the floor right at the entrance to our section. Not wanting anyone to miss seeing Madonna on account of a broken neck, we called out for help from two hipster types standing nearby with "official-looking" passes around their necks. "We don't work for the venue" they shot back, and so we were on our own to mop up the mess until a kind woman who DID work for the venue showed up with a mop. As we made our way past these same two hipster-types on the way into our section, one of them followed us up to our seats and sat down right next to me.

Virtues and Necessities
by Martin Field

Wine is all about the senses. About sensory evaluation, sensuality and consensual enjoyment. And wouldn't it be awful to lose your sense of taste, of smell, of touch, of sight?

It happens. Years ago, a wine-loving colleague went through a devastating course of chemotherapy to treat cancer and was cured. Afterwards he told me he had permanently lost his taste for wine. He sold his not inconsiderable cellar soon afterwards. Another friend had an operation on his nose that left him without a sense of smell. He'll drink a glass of wine with dinner but admits to being indifferent to its finer points.

I was reminded of this aspect of wine and the senses recently while listening to a wine expert banging on about the unimportance of colour in wine. If I heard him correctly, his thesis was that if the wine smelt and tasted good you shouldn't worry too much about its colour.

I couldn't disagree more. I love the colour of wine in the morning, or the evening. The crystal clear, green-hued glisten of a young riesling; the black cherry colour of a young shiraz; the vibrant inky purple of a Coonawarra cabern? [enough already! - Ed.] The visual appeal of wine in the glass is to me an unmissable part of wine drinking.

The banging on wine person finally admitted to being colour blind! They used to call this attitude making a virtue of a necessity.

And talking of sensory evaluation
Long due for reassessment is the ancient scoring system used at most Australian wine shows. The one where wines are scored out of 20 - with a possible three points (15%) awarded for appearance, seven (35%) for bouquet and ten (50%) for palate. Anyone who's ever had a cold will tell you that smell is probably the most important sensory sensation where wine is concerned. When people have colds they typically complain, ?I can't taste a thing.' What they really mean is, ?I can't smell a thing.' It's their noses that are blocked up - not their mouths.

I realise that many judges just award an intuitive score out of 20 rather than individually scoring each component and then adding up the total. Nevertheless, I'd re-jig the weighting thus: three points (15%) for appearance, nine (45%) for bouquet, five (25%) for palate and three (15%) for overall finesse and balance. Whether the scoring system is out of 20 or 100, or whatever, the percentage weighting would remain the same.

Deciding when to pick from Adopt A Grape 2008 on Vimeo.

Dubbed the "first lady of wine" by one Robert Parker, Heidi Peterson Barrett makes damn good wine (think Screaming Eagle) in Napa, and now you can listen to her talk about how she decides what and when to harvest in this video just posted by one of her winery clients, Fantesca. Filmed on October 2, Heidi discusses not only Fantesca's harvest but that of the region as a whole, so it's a nice 3-minute primer on what's happening in the vineyards in and around Napa about this time. Personally, I was super lucky to meet Heidi earlier this year in Napa at a fantastic gathering of women in wine, and if you click the link to "read more" you can check out a pic of the two of us. Not my best pic - but then again, that hardly matters when one is so close to Ms. Hallowedness of Wine. Cheers!

Leelanau Cellars markets this unique spiced wine as Witches’ Brew around Halloween, but let me assure you that it is a great wine to have on hand throughout the winter. This wine has two labels, the Halloween one (Witches Brew) and the label for the rest of the year, simply named Leelanau Cellars Spiced Wine.

If you’re looking for something fun and unique to bring to a holiday party this year, this is your wine! This wine is best served heated! Simmer in a pot over low heat until it is warm (the temperature of a witches’ tongue, if you’re celebrating Halloween). This spiced wine should not be served with dinner, but rather as dessert, with some good, dark chocolate. I suppose it could also be good before dinner, while folks are still arriving to the party. It would make a great ice-breaker!

Witches Brew is obviously a sweet wine, with aromas of cinnamon and cloves. It has very different characteristics when heated vs. room temperature. Try both!

Rating: 9/10 — Truly unique!
Price: $5.99
Where can I get it? Many places in Michigan carry this wine, especially around the holidays. I found it at Meijer. You could always visit the Leelanau Cellars north of Traverse City to stock up!