Michael Newsome
I spend my life eating, drinking, cooking, brewing and traveling.
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Chardonnay is used to shivering in the cool wet Burgundy breeze like a Portland resident at a bus stop. But in California it's on permanent vacation basking in the sunshine and, like many Californians, getting richer and fatter.
Ever since the iconic and wine-world changing movie Sideways, Americans have, for better or worse, embraced Pinot Noir.
It takes more than just using "organically grown" grapes to make a good wine.
All that sparkles ... is not Champagne.
A meritage puts grapes with wildly different personalities into close quarters. Kind of like a family dinner, but with smoother results.
Kosher wine doesn't begin and end with Manischewitz -- and there's a local option, too.
What to do with the red wine drinker who's eating something that calls for white wine?
Acid is an integral part of making a balanced wine, and certain grapes that thrive in California have just the perfect amount of it.
Mourvèdre, a little-known but adaptable grape, is a favorite of the Central Coast's "Rhone Rangers."
Beaujolais Nouveau creates a sensation every year when it's released, but here in California we have some wine that's just as good, and quite a bit more local.