This week’s pick resulted from my desire to please a good friend that isn’t a huge fan of dry wines. But, she is a huge fan of sweet wines. However, I was also going to have a table full of other people to please so I couldn’t start off the evening with dessert wine, which is my friend’s absolute favorite. As I looked over my racks of wine to see what I should take, I spotted an Australian Moscato. Until we received the bottle from Pernod Ricard, I didn’t even realize that the Aussies produced Moscato, or Muscat as it’s also known. I seized upon it and away we went, along with a few other bottles. Needless to say, it was a huge hit with the entire table. Everyone appreciated the light and refreshing wine with a spritz as a starter to the evening. …Read More

This week’s Wine Wednesday was a bright, crisp, zippy white. The wine didn’t pretend to be anything that it wasn’t. It was simple and refreshing and evoked days of summer during the dead of winter. …Read More

I know that I have warned you against buying bottles based on how much you like the label, which was something that I did with alarming frequency as a newbie. But, sometimes when I am at a good wine shop where I know and trust the buyer, I will indulge my love of beautiful labels. This bottle falls squarely within that category with it’s abstract label that provided a lovely contrast to the wine bottle itself. Luckily, this time, I won and bought a bottle that was not only lovely on the outside, but lovely on the inside as well. …Read More

Tonight marks the Feast of the Seven Fishes in some Italian families. Others will choose to celebrate tomorrow. But, it occurred to us that there will be a great deal of fish and seafood consumed in the next week as Christmas morphs into New Year’s. Our own family traditions have come to include heaping amounts of San Francisco’s local dungeness crab. For Christmas, we make the local San Francisco seafood stew – Ciopinno – a medley of seafood and fish in a spicy tomato broth. For New Year’s, we get a smorgasbord of local shellfish – crab, shrimp, oysters and clams (if you are on top of things, order from Swan’s Oyster Depot, which has been slinging seafood in San Francisco for 100 years). What goes better with seafood and fish than white wine. …Read More

The holidays are here! Today is the second night of Hanukkah with Christmas and Kwanzaa just around the corner. Plus, don’t forget New Year’s! We know that the rush to buy gifts for family members, friends and co-workers is in full swing. One short week after that, the pressure is on to bring a great bottle of wine to your New Year’s party. These wines are a great answer to your holiday gift giving quandary and will sure to be a hit at the New Year’s party. …Read More

With the holidays upon us, it makes me think of Christmas and my wish lists of yore. It also makes me ponder how my adult would look. I thought about it and thought about. As an avowed oenophile, I decided that my adult wish list would be filled with amazing wines from around the world. The only drawback to my wishlist is that you might only get them if Santa has a very good year. …Read More

This week’s high/low picks come from the famed French wine producing areas of Burgundy and Bordeuax. …Read More

This week’s Wine Wednesday comes to us from one of my favorite wine regions in the world, Italy. And it’s made from an ancient and relatively obscure grape, the Fiano. While Fiano generally grows in Campagnia, these grapes were grown in Sicily. Who knew? For those of you who like big, luscious, fruit forward wine, Fiano is the wine for you. If Marilyn Monroe had been a wine, this is what she would be. Sexy, … Read more

I can’t remember anymore if I have shared my enthusiasm for Cameron Hughes wines. But, if I haven’t, I will in this week’s Wine Wednesday pick. Cameron Hughes Lot series started in the early 2000′s (and I can’t seem to find the first year they started selling wine) and I have been consistently purchasing the Cameron Hughes wines since Lot 3. They are now up to Lot 290 and I estimate that I have probably … Read more

After 25 years and many, many “Aha!” moments, Oprah signs off for good May 25th. How to toast the Queen of Daytime? Tequila, of course. The folks at Tequila Sauza whipped up these two tequila cocktails for you and your friends to enjoy during Oprah’s last call.

The “O” Revoir

Add a note of class to your farewell get-together with a Sauza Silver Tequila margarita spiked with some traditional celebratory bubbly and the delicious flavor … Read more