Yesterday I went to the Uncork New York event at City Winery, an event space/restaurant/bar/winery in Manhattan. Kind of a mistake.

In my welcome post, I mentioned that when given a choice, I prefer to drink organic wines, biodynamic wines, or, at the very least, “sustainable” wines. Here’s why.

One of the most common questions I get is: is it ever OK to buy a wine because of its label? The right answer, of course, is no. But.

Made primarily from the rare Pineau d’Aunis grape, this wine is packed with peppery, herbal, olive and earthy notes that were incredibly refreshing after a few days of Thanksgiving-induced indulgence.

With the holidays officially upon us, we are in prime entertaining/dining out/party hopping mode. That means we’re also at the height of wine giving and receiving, a time of no small anxiety for many of us. One thing that legitimately stresses me out though is the fear of giving someone a bottle of corked wine.

100% without irony, I have always loved “very special” holiday-themed television programming, so here’s my addition to the canon with a brief list of what I’m thankful for, STBNY-style.

As promised, Paul and I had a “friend-giving” potluck, where we invited over a bunch of friends for a pre-holiday dinner. We road-tested several wines that I think would go nicely with a variety of turkey feasts.

Inspired by Stephen Colbert and his genius “Better Know a District” segment, I’m kicking off an occasional feature profiling some lesser-known grapes. First up: Petit Verdot.

Alcohol is the most obvious component of wine — but the hardest to talk about. We’re all familiar with its effects on us, both good and bad, but we’re much less conscious of how alcohol influences the way a wine tastes and feels in our mouth.

Saturday night’s Spin the Bottle launch event at Heights Chateau was, if I do say so myself, quite the success. There was a great crowd, the folks at Heights were so kind to let me host my event there, Sarah’s flowers were lovely, and oh yes, the wines.