Doug Frost is a Kansas City author who writes and lectures about wine, beer and spirits. He passed the rigorous Master Sommelier (MS) examination and two years later became America’s eighth Master of Wine (MW). He is one of only three people in the world to have achieved both these remarkable distinctions, and he’s sincerely a nice guy. Doug is also the author of three books on wine including “ Far From Ordinary: The Spanish Wine Guide.” He is a contributor to the Oxford Companion of Wine, and writes about wine and spirits for many publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, Underground Wine Journal, Drinks International, Practical Winery & Vineyard, Wines & Vines, Wines & Spirits, Cheers Magazine, Santé Magazine, and Epicurious.com, and he is the beverage columnist for the James Beard award-winning food section of the Kansas City Star .

Treasure Island Wines® is the first Treasure Island Winery and tasting room founded in 2007 by intrepid brothers James and Paul Mirowski. Dedicated to making “affordable luxury” artisan wines minutes from downtown San Francisco, Treasure Island Wines is a “micro winery” that incubates other “micro wineries” with a small complementary collective of alternating proprietorships including Bravium and Eristavi. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I studied at UC Davis and had been a serious home winemaker for well over a decade when I discovered the former Naval PX on Treasure Island. It was a perfect spot to make wine – with the infrastructure in place from the food processing. Consistent temperatures – drained paver floors - high humidity- three points of access for processing/large equipment to get in and out. There isn’t another comparable facility on the island.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Los Angeles of Anaheim themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Angels fan? Although their baseball stadium is in Anaheim rather than Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim display their own brand of L. A. glamor. The team was created in 1961 as a Major League Baseball expansion team, with Gene Autry, the "Singing Cowboy" and media mogul, as its first owner. The Angels' name dates back to Los Angeles' first professional baseball team, the 1892 California League Los Angeles Angels.

Mendocino wine country is a lot like my sister – the middle child who never gets any attention. Napa and Sonoma are the best known regions, Paso Robles is “up and coming” and Santa Barbara had “Sideways” to thrust it into popularity. Mendocino seems left out of the equation. Geographically, Mendocino (just Mendo as it is known) is north of Sonoma, but few wine lovers ever seem to make it that far. They should.

It's Fourth of July weekend and, on what will likely be a boiling hot summer day for most of the US, picnics and barbecues with their typical summer holiday fare will rule. While I am tempted to suggest wines that pair well with picnic fare like burgers, ribs and chicken, I'm going to ignore the food and instead focus on the weather. An unusually warm San Francisco summer has put me on a rosé kick of late. -A quick aside: Rosé all too often gets a bad rap for not being a "serious" wine. Part of this is deserved as there is no shortage of crappy bulk rosé being pawned off on ignorant consumers. The reality though is that there are some fantastic rosés on the market and it's a shame that rosé is often bypassed and dismissed as some sort of inferior alternative to "real" wine (i.e red or white).- Anyway, rosé is arguably the ideal wine for a hot summer night (though Vinho Verde and Alvarinho make an incredibly strong case for the title "Best Wine for Hot Summer Night").

As an avid foodie, and pretty good home chef, one of the things I’m loath to admit is that I am frequently ambivalent towards vegetables. There are a few vegetables I hate, there are also few that I love, and then just a whole bunch somewhere in the middle. Not sure if I was attacked by killer tomatoes (movie reference there for those over 35) as a kid, or what, but I rarely get excited about cooking the vegetables. That said, there a few I do really like, and when the season hits I tend to overload on them. During spring, one of my favorites is Asparagus…which is absolutely delicious and is great to pair with food. But asparagus, also brings some serious wine pairing challenges.

Languedoc, France 2009 93 D/H 2008 89 D/H 2007 98 D/H 2006 93 D/H 2005 93 D 2004 90 D 2003 90 D 2002 85 D 2001 94 D 2000 90 D 1999 90 D 1998 95 D 1997 89 D 1996 88 D 1995 83 D Vintage Charts should be used for a generalized guide in lieu of specific knowledge about a bottle or producer. The better...

Ohio/Michigan 2010 88 D 2009 83 D 2008 85 D 2007 96 D/H 2006 87 D 2005 87 D 2004 86 D 2003 89 D 2002 88 D 2001 89 D 2000 86 D 1999 88 D 1991 92 D Vintage Charts should be used for a generalized guide in lieu of specific knowledge about a bottle or producer. The better wines from a vintage will...

Sicily, Italy 2010 90 D/H 2009 91 D/H 2008 90 D/H 2007 93 D/H 2006 92 D/H 2005 91 D/H 2004 96 D/H 2003 90 D 2002 89 D Vintage Charts should be used for a generalized guide in lieu of specific knowledge about a bottle or producer. The better wines from a vintage will generally have longer lives and...

Tokaji, Hungary 2010 85 2009 80 2008 84 2007 92 2006 90 2005 86 2004 82 2003 92 2002 86 2001 90 2000 97 1999 98 1996 91 1993 97 1988 95 1986 92 1983 94 Vintage Charts should be used for a generalized guide in lieu of specific knowledge about a bottle or producer. The better wines from a vintage...