Wine tasting is not merely the act of drinking wine, it is the total experience and that includes the physical space you are standing in when sampling Sauvignon Blanc or pondering Petit Verdot. Most wine tasting rooms seem like afterthought - a utilitarian, banal footnote to the wine itself. So...

The long winter has ended; summer is coming. For your drinking pleasure, here are my top ten Rosés to drink this summer. I know, I know. For the last decade it seems everyone touts rosés as the next big thing, but no one really drinks them. They look too much like that sweet white Zinfandel. I get that, but the best of the roses are delicious wines that work by themselves or with food. I am not putting down any vintages. My advice is to buy them from the prior year, maybe two years old, but, never buy anything older than that (with only a few exceptions).

The spring holidays are coming. Easter, Passover and the big one: Opening Day. These are all great occasions to open a nice bottle of wine with friends and family. Easter often features Brunch. What could be more classic than a Mimosa cocktail? The easiest way to make them, is to pour some sparkling wine into a glass and top it with an equal part (or maybe a bit more) or orange juice. Certainly, the better quality ingredients the better drink experience. A Mimosa with vintage Champagne and fresh squeezed orange juice is likely to be delicious. Most of us cannot really afford the time or money for that. Still, it’s a good idea to use good quality sparkling wine. Here are five that won’t break the bank.

The Wine List is a monthly feature by IntoWine contributor Loren Sonkin where he provides a list of seasonal wine recommendations designed to ensure your wine cabinet is sufficiently stocked with fantastic and unique wines. They tell me that Spring begins on March 21st. After this brutal winter, it can’t come soon enough. Of course, some of you live in warmer parts, but that still begs the question, what wines should I be buying now? Here are some suggestions. Spring brings a plethora of early vegetables, and my favorite among them is asparagus. This is traditionally a tough food to match with wine. Asparagus contains a chemical called methyl mercaptan which can make wine taste green or vegetal. First, a lot of times it depends on the preparation. Sauces will impact how well the wine matches the food, but if you like your asparagus, fresh and simple, perhaps steamed or roasted, don’t give up. I tend to choose a crisp, slightly green white wine such as Gruner Veltliner or, perhaps, an Albarino. Traditionally, these come from Austria and northwest Spain, respectively, but there are new world versions that are great as well.

IntoWine recently caught up with the Coravin System's founder, Greg Lambrecht, to discuss what the Coravin can do for you and to get the latest on this wine drinking invention and what affect it will have on the wine industry. What is the inspiration behind the Coravin System? As a medical device inventor with a passion for wine and innovative technology, I came up with the idea of the Coravin out of necessity. My wife Lee became pregnant with our second child and stopped drinking wine with me. I wanted a great glass of wine with dinner, but didn't want to commit to the whole bottle.

California Cabernets are some of the best wines in the world. Unfortunately, the pricing on many of them has gotten quite exorbitant. There are a plethora of great wines for $100 or more. Even at the $75 mark, there is no shortage of outstanding wines. So, for purposes of this list, these are my favorite five California Cabernets priced at under $25 per bottle. In addition, I only chose wines that are very consistent from vintage to vintage. Finally, I have avoided rare and hard to find wines for this list.

There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar Great expectations, everybody's watching you People you meet, they all seem to know you Even your old friends treat you like you're something new - New Kid in Town , The Eagles There's a new kid in town when it comes to Sonoma Pinot Noir and her name is Deborah Bennett.

Ah the ubiquitous list. Everywhere you turn these days there is a top 10, the best 50, or some iteration of a who’s who list. So we can’t resist, besides, our Top 100 Most Influential Wine Industry list scored a lot of buzz, created a lot of chatter and even made a few enemies. This list is all about winemakers, those currently making wine here in America – not the great ones who have come before, but folks who make wines you can find now. There are some 7,000 bonded wineries in the U.S., and there’s a lot of forgettable wine being made. And in a world of homogenization of wine styles and a sense that our domestic wine industry is not legitimate without a French or Italian flare, we desire to promote regional flavor profiles of all American wine craftspeople. There are names here you’ll know and recognize, and names you never heard of but everyone on this list is influencing the public, fellow winemakers and the media in large and small ways. Use this list to learn about wines, varieties and regions you may not have considered; comment on it, share it with everyone, but above all continue your joy of being IntoWine.

Napa lays claim to Cabernet Sauvignon like they invented it. Certainly they are dominant region where it’s grown in the U.S., but Paso Robles is positioning itself to give Napa a run for its money and this central California region is producing Cabernet and Bordeaux blends offering incredible value and diversity, something Napa has strayed from.

The Greeks might be better known for being the architects of democracy, but they have an even longer wine history, stretching back at least 3,500 years on the island of Crete.