One of the best vintages in years in Spain's Campo de Borja and Calatayud wine regions was 2007, so you owe it to yourself to pick up a few of these. At $10, why not? Itís a big, bold, hefty red not lacking in fruit. Savor the lush raspberry, roasted cherry with plush yet leathery tasting tannins and balanced acidity. Perfect with grilled beef. Sw=2. $10. 4 stars.

This wine is featured in this...

This time of year, states north of Florida lead the good life. Just in time for the Memorial Day holiday, Mother Nature ushers in mild weather up there while she shoves torrid 90 degrees/80 percent humidity down my throat. But it signals the official beginning of grilling season and that’s always a good thing. So grab what you got in the fridge and get cooking.

Which might be chicken sausages...

Western Australia's cool climate Margaret River produces bracing and grassy sauvignon blancs and austere yet spicy shiraz. Leeuwin remains a favorite from this region, offering this zesty, herbaceous, green apple and lemon/lime white blend. The addition of semillon gives it a slightly mineral, white pepper finish. Sw=1. $20. 4 stars.

This wine is featured in this week's Corkscrew column -...

Listening to the pre-trip food-poisoning, bug-eating horror stories, I expected to lose weight. But far from the miracle Dexatrim solution I’d envisioned, my recent vacation in China proved to be an incredible culinary adventure.

China is far more modern, clean and sophisticated than I ever imagined, at least in the cities. Its citizens are warmly hospitable and enthusiastically curious about...

Spring presents perfect weather for sauvignon blanc. From the king of New Zealand comes another reliably charming wine ñ capped with a screwtop, no less. Its green grass aromas give way to dry, crisp acidity, ripe Granny Smith apples, zingy lime and plenty of refreshing grapefruit. The 2008 trumps previous vintages. Sw=1. $13. 5 stars.

This wine is featured in this week's Corkscrew column -...

Cool climate Carneros delivers up some great pinots and chards, and this refined Artesa beauty delivers value too. Soft, elegant tannins and subtle acidity break into bright, luscious red cherry, raspberry, apple pie spice and a long, dusty finish. Surprising price on a pinot of this quality. Sw=2. $22. 4.5 stars.  

This wine is featured in this week's Corkscrew column - Craft Projects for...

Navigating the wine world's vernacular can be tricky. Here's a glossary to help you survive among the latest linguistic landmines.

Malolactic Fermentation. Even Microsoft Word swiggly-lines "malolactic," a scientific word previously confined to a winemaker's lab. Malolactic fermentation, or "Em El" (get it, M-L?) in wine circles, got released to the wild when Americans fell in love with...

Sauvignon blanc is a bit of a chameleon. In a cool region, it's green and grapefruity, but grow it in a warmer climate and blend in a bit of softer, creamy sauvignon musque and you get this wine. Soft, elegant and honeyed, with a green herby follow up. Lovely and lively with a tart finish. Sw=2. $22. 4 stars.

This wine is featured in this week's Corkscrew column - Traversing Wine Geekdom.

To oak, or not to oak: that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler to let wine languish in the belly of a barrel or soak in stainless steel.
The slings and arrows of the outrageous cost of oak
And take arms against a vast forest of trees. And by opposing end them? To let the grape run free;
No more, say winemakers; and by boredom we say nay
The cream and butter of chardonnay oft shocks
Their...

Most wine geeks are also foodies (a term I loathe, but it's pervasive) who own a decent corkscrew, a set of sharp knives and upgraded-from-college pots. But we can never have enough gadgets or tasty ingredients to fan our foodie fire. Satisfy insatiable yearnings with these gift ideas:

Food Gifts

Bacon of the Month Club
Not vegetarian-friendly, this club sends a new shipment of artisanal...

Holiday parties present a plethora of "impress people" possibilities. Wine knowledge delivered with confidence can bring out your "inner coolness," as well as shut down that verbose braggadocio trying to abscond with your date. Armed with a wine label, take over the scene with these urbane tidbits, both useful and trivial.

Vintage
Most wines carry a vintage date, meaning at least 95 percent of...

As a kid, Thanksgiving was always – and remains – my favorite holiday. It's the pinnacle of gluttony, a gustatory bacchanal, an excuse to eat 20 pounds of poultry and not gain a perceived pound. And it's the perfect pretext for opening numerous bottles of wine without being labeled the family drunk.

Consider the "walking around wine" technique. Cooking duties can be tolerable if blended with a...

Dear California winemaker,

I've been kinda broke lately, and since (insert name here) has won the White House, who knows what's going to happen with my bank account? I wondered if you might be able to produce some tasty wine I can afford? Most in my price range ($10 and under) are mega-fruit bombs with no depth, or whites that wrestle in a tub of Jell-O vanilla pudding. What's a thirsty girl...

I receive plenty of spirited mail deriding my use of "foul" or "salty" language, mostly from conservatives who'd like to control the world. Naturally, it stings when an e-mailed Corkscrew column bounces back from business addresses at staid corporations, but it also bemuses me.

When I lived in Europe, censorship rarely reared itself, and the words "shit" and "fuck" (actually, "merde" and...