What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Tampa Bay Rays themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Rays fan? Florida's Tampa Bay Rays are one of Major League Baseball's youngest teams. They played their first season in 1998, as part of an expansion that also included the Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally named the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the team dropped the "Devil" from its name in 2008 and adopted a new logo with a yellow sunburst emanating from the word "Rays," which appears in blue. Interestingly, that very season, the team's fortunes began to improve drastically. In 2007, the Devil Rays finished last in their division. In 2008, the renamed Rays won their division and went all the way to the World Series, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Wines to Go Buy This Week: A Carneros Pinot Noir by Truchard and a South African Bordeaux Style Red by the (barely pronounceable) MR Mvemve Raats. As frequent IntoWine readers know, in November we are launching our own wine club, The IntoWine Club , in partnership with the California Wine Club (more info on the club here if you are interested). While there are a lot of moving parts, how it works is that the folks at California Wine Club ship me wine samples that are being considered for future club shipments and then I provide feedback and such about the wines that will be included in those shipments. Recently I received my first batch of samples and, let me tell you, I am thrilled about the quality of the wines. I simply can not wait for our club to launch in November. With this in mind, I give you this week's installment of "Wines to Go Buy This Week": Truchard Pinot Noir 2006 - Was going to wait to recommend this until our IntoWine Club launch the first week of November but I'm gonna let the cat out of the bag early. This Truchard Pinot Noir is one of the wines being considered and I could not be more pleased to share the news that this wine is going to be in the inaugural IntoWine Club shipment. So what about the wine itself? For me a tell-tale sign of a good wine is that it is delicious and easy to drink from the first sip to the very last and always leaves you wanting more . The Truchard Pinot Noir passes that test with flying colors. From the Carneros region of Napa, Truchard Pinot Noir is an ideal wine for anyone curious about discovering Northern California Pinot Noir. It's also reasonably priced at approx $35 retail. "Reasonable" is relative of course as some might say $35 for a wine is outrageously expensive. For a quality Carneros Pinot though, this is priced more than fairly as you can certainly pay much more than this for a similar wine. As for the IntoWineClub, you can sign up here if you are interested.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Washington Nationals themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Nationals fan? The Washington Nationals may not be the newest team in Major League Baseball – that honor is shared by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks – but when Liván Hernández threw the Nationals' first pitch on April 5, 2005, the team left its past behind forever. The team first formed in 1969 as the Montreal Expos, but when the Expos moved to Washington, DC after the 2004 season ended, they quickly and wisely embraced their future in the U. S. capital, donning patriotic red, white and blue and displaying the signature "Curly W" everywhere. In return, Washingtonians enthusiastically embraced them, building a classy new ballpark and patiently waiting out the team's rebuilding efforts.

Wines to Go Buy This Week: An "Italian-fusion" California Red by Bargetto and Tahbilk Marsanne, a deliciously rare single varietal white. This past weekend we filmed the latest round of IntoWineTV videos (the first video will be live in about a week, we're moving away from wine reviews to wine discussions. Sort of a wine version of The View if you will). As is typical when we film IntoWineTV, the cast and crew had the luxury of indulging in many fantastic wines. Heck these shoots have almost become an excuse for everyone involved to share their latest wine faves. Over the course of the weekend I discovered two wines that made me do a double take and which are the basis for this week's "Wines to Go Buy This Week": La Vita, Bargetto Family Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains, 2006 - This wine arrived in a recent California Wine Club Signature Series shipment (and kudos to CWC as yet again they delivered a hit. I love the Signature Series.). La Vita is an unusual California red blend in that it is made from the traditionally Italian varietals of Dolcetto, Refosco, and Nebbiolo. Traditionalists may scoff at the notion of a California producer making its version of an Italian red -I'm just waiting for someone to complain that this wine has "no sense of place" - but the end result is a delicious wine that reflects qualities of both California and Italy. If this were a restaurant this wine would be labeled "Italian fusion". No it's not authentic or traditional but it is delicious, unique, and well worth a try (though at $60 a bottle, it's hardly a value buy). Buy Bargetto La Vita

James P. "Bo" Barrett has been the Winemaker at Chateau Montelena Winery since 1982. Bo’s career in the wine industry began in 1972, right after he graduated from high school, when his family purchased Chateau Montelena. He spent the first summer pulling star thistle in the old vineyard and picking up rocks in preparation for replanting. In 1976 Bo transferred to Fresno State University, where he was an honors student in Viticulture and Enology. 1976 was a crucial year, one that would forever change the perception of American wine when a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay bested French White Burgundies in a blind tasting, known as the Judgment of Paris. As 1981 drew to a close, Chateau Montelena’s original winemaker left to pursue other opportunities and Bo was offered the job by his father, the winery’s Managing General Partner. The rest is, as they say, history. Certainly the “Judgment at Paris” where the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay surprised everyone and took top honors, has become a seminal event in American wine history. But at the time, was the whole experience even relevant to you and your family? It was extremely important as soon as it came out in Time Magazine, The LA Times, etc. The hand crafted Napa Valley wines were only being recognized on the West Coast and it was tough to get the other U.S. markets like New York, Boston, and Chicago to take us seriously, and even tougher to sell wines there; no matter how good they were. You have to remember that the center of American winemaking at that time was Modesto! That Napa won both the red and white wines at the Paris Tasting was catalytic to the formation of Napa today. So hell yes it was relevant!

Raymond Twomey Duncan first came to the Napa Valley in the late 1960s and within a year began purchasing land in the Napa and Alexander Valleys. Along with the late Justin Meyer, they founded Silver Oak Cellars in 1972 with a single goal: create the best Cabernet Sauvignon. After selecting Daniel Baron to succeed him as winemaker in 1994, Justin Meyer sold his share of Silver Oak to the Duncan family in 2001. Today, the Duncan family leads Silver Oak forward, maintaining the vision established by Ray and Justin more than 35 years ago. David Duncan serves as the winery’s President and CEO, overseeing production and operations. Today Silver Oak is regarded as one of the top Cabernet Sauvignon producers in the Napa Valley, earning legions of fans and a near cult-like status. Silver Oak makes only one wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, and you are known for this. When the idea first started with your dad, was there any concern that you would not be able to make a name for yourself with just a single wine? It is hard to appreciate from today’s “cab is king” mentality but we really stepped out and took a big risk with our singular focus on just one wine. I don’t think we were too worried about making “a name,” just making great wine.

Although the origin of spinach salad is unclear, Germans who settled in Pennsylvania are credited with bringing a similar concoction to the United States. Food expert and humorist Alton Brown claims the original mixture comprised dandelions, bacon drippings, vinegar and hard-cooked eggs. Because dandelions were not necessarily appreciated in this country, they were later replaced with spinach.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Houston Astros themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Astros fan? The Houston Astros team started its Texas baseball adventure as the Houston Colt .45s, definitely an appropriate name for a team from the Lone Star State. Founded in 1962, the Colt .45s changed their name in 1965 when the team took up residency at the high-tech Houston Astrodome. Highlighting Houston's connection with the space program, the Colt .45s became the Astros. Fortunately, the team did not change its name when it moved again to newly-built Enron Field, now known as Minute Maid Park, in 2000.

Wines to Go Buy This Week: A Crisp Summer White Blend by Chateau Bonnet and a Complex Napa Cabernet by Clark-Claudon Vineyards Labor Day weekend is here and people across the US are gathering to toast the end of summer. As Labor Day marks the tipping point between hot summer nights and cool autumn evenings, my wine recommendations this week will focus on both a cool, refreshing summer sauvignon blanc to savor on these last days of summer and a full bodied Napa cabernet for those upcoming autumn evenings by the fireplace. So as we say farewell to summer 2011, here are two wines to go buy this week: Chateau Bonnett Entre-Deux-Mers Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Muscadelle Andre Lurton, 2010 - Now say that 5 times fast! A quick lesson for those of you who are unfamiliar with French wine: The French label their wines slightly different than we do in the US as they emphasize the place more so than the grape varietal or the producer. In this case, the vineyards and winery are located at Chateau Bonnet, the region is the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation of Bordeaux, the grapes are a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon, and muscadelle, and the producer is André Lurton, whose family has presided over the vineyards for over 100 years. White Bordeaux is almost always a blend of primarily semillon and sauvignon blanc, with a few other varietals permitted. So why do I like this wine? It's light, crisp, low in alcohol (12%) and at approx $15 a bottle, a fantastic way to introduce yourself to a white bordeaux without breaking the bank. This wine is ideal for a warm end-of-summer picnic that calls for a cool refreshing beverage.

France's Burgundy Wine Region: A Primer on the History, Wines, Vineyards & Terroir contains an excellent introduction into the ethereal wine of one of the most famous wine producing regions. No winery is more famous, or produces such legendary wines in Burgundy than Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Often abbreviated as DRC, the winery makes some of the most exclusive and expensive wines in the world. They are, for those lucky enough to have tried them, the pinnacle of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.