Passion, uncorked

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

Three women, three friends, three diverse approaches to business, yet one driving force unites them: passion. Barbara R. Banke, chairwoman and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, partners with Peggy Furth, former co-proprietor of Chalk Hill Estates, to form SonomaCeuticals, while Sandra Jordan, formerly of Jordan Winery, sits at the helm of her own Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca Collection. Each woman is unique in her own right, and each has a legendary career in the wine industry. Today, instead of running from a faltering economy, these women are charging forward with entrepreneurial ventures that are taking them beyond the traditional business of wine to include eradicating poverty and building a sustainable future. Click to continue reading

AVAs—Creating Confusion or Selling More Wine?

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

One could argue that Napa Valley became known as a world-renowned wine and grape growing region when it “got on the map” as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1981. But many battle lines have been drawn since then over the official delineation of subappellations, as growers, vintners and wineries duke it out for their slice of the Napa Valley pie. Memories of Calistoga’s six-year battle still linger, a fight that necessitated multiple trips to the nation’s capital to lobby the cause. While few could dispute the uniqueness of the region’s terroir, it was the “if it isn’t our grapes in the bottle, it shouldn’t be our name on the label” controversy that caused this particular battle to rage on so long.

As a Calistoga resident, I supported the cause, but have to wonder: At what point does the continued separation of the Napa Valley AVA threaten to dilute the brand we fought so hard to win? Perhaps more important, when do we risk outsmarting the very consumers we rely on to sustain us? Sure, many locals are familiar with the levels of distinction across our small stretch of the wine world, but does anybody outside Napa Valley know or care that Coombsville landed its gold star AVA status while Pine Mountain-Mayacmas (status pending at press time; purposely spelled with the U.S. Geological Survey name as opposed to the more common Mayacamas) still fights for its? When is enough enough? Click here to continue reading

Retail Tactics Go Beyond the Bottle

Excerpt from Napa Insider column, NorthBay biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

With the preponderance of wineries in Napa County, it’s a wonder any wine-based retail stores survive—yet they do. Bold contenders open up shop in the midst of a faltering economy, while old standbys do anything but stand still.

In much the same way that wine tasting is a personal affair, so too is today’s retail wine business. It’s a matter of mood, price and preference. Who has the juice and service that speaks most adeptly to the “eager to spend” consumer pool? Downtown Napa’s Bounty Hunter (also a restaurant and wine bar) has been at it for more than 17 years. In that time, circulation for the store catalog has grown from 40,000 to nearly 2.5 million recipients worldwide. Its scouts (also dubbed personal sommeliers, Wine Country advisers and, my favorite, wine gurus) taste between 5,000 and 6,000 wines per year. The shop’s mantra: “If it’s not great, we don’t sell it.” Makes sense, given that price-to-value ratio has never mattered more. While Bounty Hunter paved the road, many others have entered the market since, each forming a niche of its own, and all leaving the highfalutin’ wine attitude of yesteryear in the past—where it belongs. Click here for full article

Napa Insider - Year in Review

Excerpt from: NorthBay Biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

As one year ends and another begins, I can’t shake the urge to reflect. So, instead of bucking it, I’ll embrace it. Here’s the Napa Insider: Year in Review. As with any roundup, there’s lots of ground to cover, and only so many words, so this isn’t meant to be all-inclusive, just some notable mentions.

The year 2011 brought many firsts. One of the most celebrated would have to be the Napa Valley Film Festival, which hosted its inaugural five-day event in November. I’m still recovering from the bevy of events that spanned from Napa to Calistoga, with wine pavilions, cooking demonstrations, countless VIP parties, more than 100 film screenings and celebrities galore. The festival reported total attendance of approximately 25,000 people (5,000 unique visitors), with 50 percent concentrated in Napa, 25 in Yountville, and 12.5 in St. Helena and Calistoga. More than 600 cases of wine were poured. Click here for full article.

Terra Valentine - a storybook setting

Excerpt from NorthBay Biz magazine
By: Christina Julian

“Storybook” is the only way to describe the view that unfolds as you haul up Spring Mountain and through the gates of Terra Valentine’s castle-like fortress. It’s indeed the stuff fairytales are made of: medieval stone walls, a tower fit for a queen and a grandiose villa to house her highness. A bounty of mountain wines that straddle the moat between subtle tannins, elegant texture and bold fruit flavors—the crown jewels.

When owners Angus and Margaret Wurtele purchased the Wurtele Vineyard in 1995 (followed by the Terra Valentine Estate and vineyard in 1999), a wine-fortress-in-the-making wasn’t evident. “The property had been let go by the previous owner. You could just barely see the view through the trees,” says Angus. Despite the “into the wild” nature of the land, the Wurteles saw its potential. Not even the lack of a reliable water source (aside from a spring) would stop this duo from making their fairytale a reality.

The cowboy heydays

Original owner Fred J. Aves purchased the estate in 1965, leaving behind a legacy of crafty inventions (including old-school car curb feelers and chrome license plate covers) in favor of his dream of owning a winery. Aves built the winery from the ground up, including one-of-a-kind architectural accents, stained glass and wood paneling originally brought over for use in Hearst Castle. But his reclusive nature led him to pull out the bulk of the vineyard plantings in the 1980s, right as they were on the brink of flourishing. Click here and scroll down to continue reading.

Do good glasses make bad wine better?

Excerpt from The Weekly Calistogan
By: Christina Julian

I remain forever flummoxed about how to drink fine wine.

Whether I’m throwing open my kitchen cabinet or trolling the aisles of Target looking for the perfect wine glass to receive my grape-filled treasure, I’m transported out of bliss and into confusion over which glass I should use and what brand I should buy.

I’ve become so desperate I’ve vowed to never drink wine out of a glass again and to merely pop the cork and drink it straight out of the bottle as the wine gods likely intended.

But my rational side steps in. Will a cheap glass make a great wine bad or can a fabulous goblet make a hack wine worthy?

Wine expert Robert Parker has said, “The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make.”

This is a lovely sentiment, but this man drinks only the best wines from all over the world, for free. As a laywoman, I have a hard time fully trusting his opinion. He steers us to the right wines to drink, but do we really need to rely on him and his type when it comes to our crystal decisions as well?

Perhaps it makes sense to consider the glass holder. Are they a delicate and graceful sort, or a clunky and clumsy someone? If the latter, stemless might be the obvious choice, but if you fall nowhere in between, then what? Click here to continue reading

von Strasser - a diamond in the rough

It’s true, in moving out of the concrete jungles of New York and Los Angeles I vowed to end my days of winding curves and working for my wine. Traffic is long and life is short. Part of the reason why I don’t often venture to tall places despite loving the fruits that those mountains bear is my lack of interest in driving anything but a bike. But adventure got the best of me when good weather busted through one day, calling me to make the small climb up Diamond Mountain to von Strasser winery. This was a hike worth taking, and truth be told it wasn’t much of a hike, a mere mile or two up the road. Regardless, I would climb to much higher altitudes to enjoy a sip amid the stars at this swell spot. Gone are the whizzing cars of the 29 and Silverado Trail, replaced with the buzz of the birds and bees and wind whipping up between the trees. Life is good here, and downright country. We are in the wine country after all despite the look of the valley these days. The woodsy setting of the winery is made all the more sweet with a swig of the wine. Many tasty delights from red to white and even some rosé. Despite being unable to correctly pronounce Grüner Veltliner, the wine captivated me anyway, it was so tasty I became quite content to shut up so I could savor this beaut in peace. A swoon-worthy concoction that is both tropically tart and heady with fruit flavors like rhubarb, an A+. Then there is the Sori Bricco Cab, sinful. I was tempted to slurp this down in one slurp, but the serene setting got the better of me, and instead I decided to relax into my day and swig into night. In a town full of perhaps one too many wineries, it’s great to get a side dish of country served with my wine. Von Strassesr - a climb worth making. Wacky WineSense rating: 4.5 Grapes

Westwood Winery

Article excerpt from Northbay Biz magazine
By: Christina Julian
One fine day, John Kelly woke up with the realization that, despite an advanced degree in biochemistry from UC Davis, a career in academia wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend his days after all. He contemplated his next move over a glass of wine…one sip led to the next. Wine Country boondoggles then led to helping a bio-chem buddy with some garage winemaking. Said friend, Bert Urch, then made the leap into commercial winemaking in 1984 with Westwood Winery. Kelly’s career aspirations in biochemistry melted away, and his roots in the wine world were planted.

Some roots are hard to ignore
“Being able to think as a scientist has let me pursue winemaking in a very focused manner. It’s also let me interact with wine scientists from all over the world,” says Kelly. “I’ve had very fruitful, intellectual contacts with people at the AWRI [Australian Wine Research Institute] and a number of people in South Africa, Italy and France. I’ve been able to discuss wine production issues at a very high level.”

Kelly credits his scientific background for his formal entrée into the wine industry. “My experience in the academic field gave me direct access to jobs at Stags’ Leap and Sonoma-Cutrer,” he says. “They needed somebody who could do research.” Prior to those posts, Kelly managed a high-end wine shop in Davis. It was here he helped sell the first vintage of Westwood Wine, a 1984 Lake County Pinot Noir. click here for full article and scroll down to Westwood Winery

Clif Family Winery and Farm

Excerpt from NorthBay biz magazine... Nutrition and fitness? A likely pairing. Wine and food? Another winning combination. Health food and wine? A bit of a stretch—or so I thought until my visit with Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, the ever-fit, ever-active founders and owners of Clif Family Winery & Farm. The same dynamic duo that put “taste” into energy bars through another little venture, Clif Bar & Company. Erickson got his start in the kitchen during his high school years under the tutelage of his mother and grandmother. His first commercial endeavor came in 1986, with Kali’s Sweets and Savories, which went on to become Clif Bar & Company in 1992. “I started to enjoy wine when I was in Italy, traveling around the world. I spent several months there, climbing and cycling” says Erickson, “but at every meal, it seemed like someone was having a glass of wine. It was just part of the meal.” Crawford’s start in the business came from a different (yet similar) passion. “I grew up in a family that didn’t drink wine, so my introduction came when I lived in San Francisco as a dancer. I worked at a shop where they made handmade pastas and sold Italian wines. The wines of Italy are how I developed my appreciation for wine.” Click here and scroll down for full article.

Miner'in for wine

I love when I cry tears of joy. Preferably when it is about good food, wine and let us never forget frolic. My latest sobfest came with a jaunt to Miner Family Vineyards. From the moment I stepped foot into their love cove (they were more than happy to welcome me in the door and into their wine family, after a not-so-friendly step into a winery that will remain nameless, hint: Tre—then, a welcome surprise) I knew I had discovered sweet greatness. Sweet in several senses – first hospitality, one of the most jovial crowds and tasting personell I’ve ever had the good fortune of stumbling into. You would be surprised that in the ever-vast landscape of tasting rooms, dubbed the “hospitality industry,” how all too often I am greeted with anything but. All the more sweet for those wineries that have never lost sight of the basics–pouring fine wine with a smile. After a long, soggy-wet, not totally fun day spent on the tasting trail I have renewed hope for the industry. The next sweet deal was the vibe at this jumpin joint. All I can surmise is that people, just like me, were so damn happy to be treated to fine slurpin wine in a warm and hospitable enviroment that all they could do was bop & hop. The last sweet sensation was the wine. Not a bad taste in the whole lot. I loved them all, fruit forward, and financially affordable. What a smacking good combo! Proving that there is good wine out there that you don’t have to spend a fistful in order to enjoy. The Viognier – splashing and smashing, its light and fruity sensation made me dance. The Chard, not my favorite style wine but this one was downright delectable, a great balance of exactly what I want, more fruity than buttery. The Sangiovese, oft messed up and not given its rightful place in the wine bunch, these folks mined a good one. Light and fruity yet substantial in taste. And the grand daddy of them all (price tag jumps up here) The Oracle. Each year they pick the best grapes of the litter to form this ever-changing Bordeaux blend. Hefty yet smooth, classic tendencies while showing off some distinctly different flare. So, check your ties, nametags and snobby pretense at the door and slide into this sweet little grape of a winery. Then, sit back and enjoy the vino and the company, in the comforts of what feels like the perfect non-dysfunctional familial home that we all strive for (ok me). Wacky WineSense Rating: wine and hospitality 4.8 Grapes!!!

It's A Zin

Excerpt from Northbay Biz magazine, By Christina Julian

In a region where Cabernet often holds reign, seven like-minded Zinfandel producers are banding together with a collective mission—to give the grape its due.
Zinfandel holds a unique place in the history of American winemaking, dating back to the 1820s with initial plantings in California during the Gold Rush. The grape has continued to dazzle and spice up lives ever since. Now, with the support of organizations like ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) and the anointing (by ZAP) of November 19, 2010, as the first annual “Zinfandel Day,” the varietal is gaining well-deserved attention.

Only about 5 percent of Napa Valley’s vineyards are planted to Zinfandel, but that statistic didn’t deter Zin-loving wineries from forming the Napa Valley Zinfandel Trail in June 2009. Those who opt to hit “the trail” can download a roadmap that includes wineries pouring a range of Zinfandels, whose styles and tastes are as diverse as the settings and proprietors of this hand-plucked bunch. Each of these wineries runs a shoestring operation, where the owners are the winemakers, growers, sellers and tour guides; each one serving up its rendition of Zinfandel while paying homage to the Napa Valley of yesteryear. No quirky ripening patterns, tight clusters or propensity to rapid dehydration and sugar spikes will stop these trailblazers from sharing why Zinfandel is a challenge worth accepting. Click here for full article

Firebelle Lil’ and the wines of Larkmead

Being a fellow fireball, spitfire, scrappy New Yorker at heart, I immediately bonded with the historical figure behind Larkmead Vineyards, Firebelle Lillie Hitchcock Coit (yes, of that Coit). Good God this gal was a feminist, decades before the “movement,” having been named the first female member of a fire company way back in 1859. Somehow fitting that she would make her way from San Francisco to little old St. Helena. My wine induced romp down memory lane was abruptly halted with a mere swig of Larkmead’s 07 Firebelle Blend, a slow seduction of a wine. A bawdy brew, much like the vino’s namesake. Love at first swig. The intense yet plush layers of this silky delight threatened to make me cry. But I resisted. I didn’t want any of my salty mushy tears to muck up this damn fine wine. I chided myself for cursing about this wine in public, but then I thought better of it. While I only know of Lil from the literature I’ve read, I suspect she would applaud my boisterous side, especially when spewing expletives about the merits of Larkmead wines. The 07 Solari Cab with a scant bit of Petite Verdot was a knock out, too. So lush, so fruity, it knocked me right off my pa-tootie! So go ahead, get off your rump and roll down to Larkmead Lane so you can revel in how good it is to live in the Napa Valley, and if you don’t live here, trust us, and enjoy some of this fine wine. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!

When it's not volcanic, Lava(vine) is a very good thing

Nothing could be finer than finding another hidden wine gem that's just a quick pedal away from Calistoga. While people have been known to flee from red hot lava, except when rubbernecking at Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, I urge you not to flee from Lava Vine (the winery), and here's why. Sweet indulgence. While I love a good cupcake as much as the next gal, the only thing that trumps that sugar high, is port. We can't technically call this wine a port, but Joe's non-vintage dessert wine isn't fooling this wine scribe. Much like a lamb in sheep's clothing this wine is a port dressed up as a dessert wine. Regardless, this baby sang as it slid down my wine tube. Lightly sweet, yet supple. Well, it made me feel supple while drinking this delight. A hint of this, a hint of that. All I know is that this mish-mash of vintages swirled into one bottle, is divine. The best of many worlds. Joe wouldn't tell me much more than that, but I lost interest in the semantics and gained interest in scoring my own case of this juice. I'd recommend snatching up some of the Cabernet Franc, too. A spicy, bawdy counterpart. The vibe in this tasting room is casual-friendly, with soulful tunes wafting in the background, and vintage photography (the pink caddy photo would do The Boss" proud) pinned to the walls. A good time is prime for the picking at this joint. Wacky WineSense rating: 4.5 Grapes

Girard = Glee in a bottle

Gleeful. Yes. And I'm not talking about the TV show, though almost as entertaining as a good wine. I'm speaking of how I felt after a mere sip of Girard's 08 Petite Sirah. A deep dish berry pie of a wine. Boisenberry comes to mind. As does the chill that this fine wine sent down my spine. I love it when a wine gives me goosebumps. And this little gem did just that. The wine was as bodacious in flavor as the crowd was lively at this year's Yountville Festival of Lights. It was hard work, but the WineSense crowd, had to troll the streets scooping up as much sampling as our ticket allotment would allow. And after searching far and wide for the top wine of the night, Girard will be the "star" atop my wine tree this year. Make someone merry with some of this magic juice. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.5 Grapes!

A "Back Room" that rocks while the wine rolls

DOWNTOWN NAPA'S ROCKING BACKROOM WINE SHOP MOONLIGHTS AS A TASTING BAR TOO. WE CAN GET BEHIND THE SIP AS YOU SHOP PHILOSOPHY AS WELL AS THE STORE’S CUSTOMER SERVICE MANTRA “WE LISTEN TO WHAT YOU LIKE, HEAR WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR, AND MATCH YOU WITH THE PERFECT WINE.” YOU'LL FIND SOUGHT-AFTER AND HARD TO FIND VINO AS YOU SIP AND SUCK DOWN FEATURED WINE FLIGHTS AND CHEESE PAIRINGS THAT ARE EVER-CHANGING DAILY. LINGER AT THE TASTING BAR OR SLIDE ONTO THE COMFY COUCH AS YOU GIVE YOUR TONGUE A WAKE UP CALL IN THE WINE COUNTRY WAY. SLURP YOUR LATEST INDULGENCE WITH CLASSIC ROCK TUNES BOPPING IN THE BACKGROUND. THEY ALSO HOST SPECIAL TASTING EVENTS (CLICK FOR DETAILS) JUST ABOUT EVERY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT SO YOU CAN KEEP YOUR GOOD TIMES ROLLING RIGHT ALONG WITH THE FINE WINE, MUSIC, AND COMPANY. WACKY WINESENSE RATING: 4.5 GRAPES!

Bears that Dance Wine that Sings – Cakebread’s Dancing Bear Ranch

While you have most certainly heard about the legendary wines of Cakebread, firmly planted into the Napa wine scene for over 35 years and counting, you may not be aware of it's other half. Perhaps due to its “up the mountain” locale, but there is another Cake in town, and boy is it a dandy, well actually a Dancing Bear Ranch. Just a short jaunt up Howell Mountain and its hugging twists and turns will park you in the middle of nowhere, quite wonderfully so. Imagine a Napa Valley without throngs of inhabitants crawling all over our streets. Just pure countryside and roads in their most native state. Close your eyes (after you’ve driven safely up the mountain, of course) and that is exactly where you will have landed in the Dancing Bear Ranch. Infamous bears have been known to dance for their meal of sweet, plucky-delicious grapes found only on this mountaintop. But who could blame them. After one swig of this beyond bodacious 2006 red blend of a wine, well a lady never reveals her secrets but dancing may have ensued. This wine is as hefty as those dastardly bears that once scooped up their fair share of grapes (until Dennis Cakebread, resident bear whisperer/head honcho, showed them who was boss), yet as elegant as a New York ballerina dancing her way through the Nutcraker. One sniff will reveal sweet scents of fig, chocolate and so much more. One sip will knock you off your seat, with the only foreseeable reason to get up being to slog down some more of this wine. But a little more about what one visit will grant…. A)You might bump into a black bear, how cool would that be? Wine country gone wild! B)This 200-acre sprawling vineyard is eye candy for the visually inclined. Steeps, flats, stellar views of the valley below, bird’s eye glance at a lake, and C) for you nature-preservationist out there, this ranch has been dubbed and awarded with the certification of “Fish Friendly Farming Vineyard” – translation they are not only respectful to the art of winemaking but also to the land that is responsible for delivering this special wine. Hats off to the Cakebread clan. You have done oh-so right by this wine swill’in gal. So get off your rump this harvest season and hop on up the hill to see some of the most spectacular views of this valley and enjoy some damn fine wine in the process. Wacky WineSense Rating: 5.0 Grapes!

The Mountain Men of Smith-Madrone

Think wine is stuffy and pretentious? Get ready to change your mind.
A visit to Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery grants many pleasures, starting with a thrilling ride up Spring Mountain (brace for narrow roads, sharp turns and scenic vistas). Upon arrival, prepare to be charmed by the men behind the bottles, who’ll regale you with as many stories as you like. The no-frills approach not only adds to the charm but embodies the spirit of the brothers. “I hand them a glass of Chardonnay, tell them to stand where they are and turn in a circle: The tour is over. Now we can get to tasting the wine!” says Charles F. Smith III, winemaker. There isn’t even a tasting room, just a foldout table outside, a salt of the earth barrel room inside and the bodacious scenery. But it’s the company and the wines that keep people coming back year after year.

Up the mountain
When asked what drove him and his brother up the hill and into the wine business nearly 40 years ago, Charles replies deadpan, “I was cuckoo about wine. It was a hobby that got totally out of control, for both of us, really.” Perched at the highest point in the Spring Mountain appellation in St. Helena, looking out over the vineyard and valley floor below, younger brother and general partner Stuart Smith elaborates, “I was at Berkeley in the ’60s, where a food and wine revolution started in the Bay Area. At the time, roast beef wasn’t ‘done’ unless it was gray, vegetables weren’t cooked unless they were limp and exotic cheeses were Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar and Velveeta. All of that started to change.”
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Parallel - A White Wine Worth Waxing-On About!

Oh how I don't typically find myself falling for white wines (especially Chards) once the summer psuedo-swelter stops sizzling, unless I happen to uncork a very good cause. In this cause Parallel Wine's fantabulous 2008 Chardonnay. I'll be brief since I am knee-deep (finally) tending grapes this harvest. In a word-divine. In a longer roll of my taste-filled tongue word: delightful-toasty-pinepple-y sensation. A sweet sip' of a deal. I can't be certain, but I believe I may have detected a bit of what can only be referenced as "toasted-marshmallow bliss" in there somewhere. So when you are ready for something white to wet your whistle this fetching fall season, look no further than this sweet little diddy of a wine. You'll be glad you did. That's all for now folks, I'm hitting the grape trail. Harvest "field" reporting to follow, as the plucky suckers start hitting the bins. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.5 Grapes!

Swanson’s Sip Shoppe Feeds the Adult Candy Store Fix

At the risk of sounding redundant I will repeat myself for this very good cause. Wine should be fun. Life is serious, wine doesn’t need to be, or so speaks this low-brow wine junkie that will remain nameless (ok it’s me, Ms. Wacksense). Enter Swanson Vineyard’s Sip Shoppe, answering my call for a care-free, unique take on a tasting room. For those high-brow readers in the crowd, defer to Swanson’s formal tasting salon, this "shoppe" is gonna be way too footloose for your tastes. Low-brow readers, here is a wake up call for your peeps and palate. The Sip Shoppe is a wine spin off from the classic soda shop and jerks era (soda jerks, not dating ones), but lucky for us, the “candy” of choice is vino instead of soda pop floats and suckers. The décor is eye candy if I ever saw it with red pinstripe walls and intriguing wall adornments. A delightful outdoor sipping spot. The jovial food and snack pairings conjoined with your wine are downright dizzying (my personal favorite – the Dizzy Lizzy snowball whose garnish is some damn fine Pinot Grigio drizzle) if not bizarre in some instances, but for us here at Wacky WineSense, we thrive at the school of slightly off center, so we felt right at home here. Each wine taste (different tracks available depending on your taste buds) is paired with a tasty morsel of some sort (caviar, snow cones, candy, and more). Another favorite concoction – The 06 Petite Syrah with a slab of Clark’s Bark (a smash up of dark chocolate and toffee, and who knows what else). These folks realize that a day on the tasting trail can be hard work in these parts so don’t forget to ask for a “Rhodie” before you hit the road, and no we are not encouraging drinking and driving, we are talking about a New Orleans style iced coffee delight that’s made up of cold pressed coffee, 2% organic cow juice, and god help us, a dollop of brown sugar. But let us not forget about the real business at hand, the stuff behind the pinstripes, what Swanson has become infamous for – the wines. The Sauvignon Blanc, layered, fruity, crisp – a sheer delight. The Petite Syrah, rich, daunting, and for lack of a better word, dreamy in all of its intensity. The Alexis Cabernet and its drop dead deep fruit intentions will leave you and your loved ones screaming for more. So if it is fine wine you crave, make it point to slip slide into the Sip Shoppe or drop in “announced” to the Salon for a more formal tasting. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.8 Grapes!

Summer Swings at Oxbow’s Public Market

It’s about time that us locals (and tourists posing as locals can apply) got a break and the Oxbow Public Market was just the place to provide it. One-stop shopping for all your indulgent food and drink needs. Locals' night (every Tuesday night) serves up a bounty of food, frolic, and slurp-worthy beverages. Too much to cover in one quick swoop, but here are some shenanigans that I suggest you partake in. While I love to slurp wine as much as the next, this Tuesday I found something almost as enticing. Sucking down cheap Hog Island oysters and brew skies. And I don’t mean cheap in the sense that you will spend the night in the emergency room spewing out sullied seafood and PBRs, no siree. Cheap as in succulent oysters ($1 pop – I kid you not) and Class A beer (3.50 a pint) all on the cheap from 5-7PM. And you even get to be entertained as you slurp and suck. Live music (6-8PM) hums in the background ranging from jazz, standards, blues, techno (well, not really) and beyond. I followed up with killer, knock-you-off-your-diet-for-life cupcakes at Kara’s. I thought about eating one of everything she had to offer but opted instead for a Sweet Vanilla (inside and out) and Fleur De Sel. Each made me cry tears of food joy for different reasons. The butter cream frosting was just the right balance by not being overpowered with butter and not so sweet as to make you go into sugar shock. For local's night you can get cupcake minis for $1 (one per/person minimum – so augment with the reg. size). I have it on good accord that the banana caramel one could convert even the most devout non-sugar fiends. Cheese, cheese and more cheese at the Oxbow Cheese Market. Belly up to the cheese bar and order yourself a slice of the Caveman. And I don’t mean that strapping young gent that’s eye chickies from the wine bar, it is a cheese my friends and a damn tart/tangy/tongue defying blue one at that. I had to be peeled off the cheese fridge. Finally when my belly and liver could take no more I slid out to the terrace and planted my butt in a chair and enjoyed the sites of new friends and old dancing in some of the delights that bring this fair city to night – a night where food and drink finds are friendly to the locals that help make this joint and town hop. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.5