Adam Strum is the Founder and Chairman of Wine Enthusiast Companies and Editor and Publisher of Wine Enthusiast Magazine and heads up the largest group of wine commerce and media companies in the world. With more than 800,000 readers Wine Enthusiast Magazine and its Web site Winemag.com provide editorial content and authoritative reviews and ratings of tens of thousands of wines every year. The Wine Enthusiast Catalog/Web business is the world’s leading inventor and seller of wine accessories and wine storage. Strum, a second-generation, 35-year veteran of the wine business, is a pioneer whose multi-faceted wine-related businesses have had a major impact on increasing wine consumption and wine culture in America. Since 1979 Wine Enthusiast Companies has mailed and distributed more than 300 million wine-related publications in the United States and around the world. Not bad for a husband and wife team who started a mail-order business in their attic.

Tigers legends abound: Mickey Cochrane. Charlie Gehringer. Al Kaline. Willie Horton. Ty Cobb. Sportscaster Ernie Harwell. Since 1894, when they joined the Western League, the Detroit Tigers have been in the spotlight each and every season. With a loyal fan base and a distinguished history, the "Bless You Boys" continue to attract huge crowds to Comerica Park each year. In truth, the Detroit Tigers are part of some of baseball's best and worst moments. When the Tigers won the World Series in 1968, they did so with center fielder Mickey Stanley at a position he had only played nine times before – shortstop. The Tigers' 1984 World Series victory over the San Diego Padres was the culmination of a fantastic season with a team record 104 wins. The Tigers have won four World Series and ten American League Championships. They have also, unfortunately, earned the unwanted record for most losses in American League history – 119, in 2003. In 2010, pitcher Armando Galarraga's hopes for a perfect game were dashed in the bottom of the ninth when umpire Jim Joyce declared Cleveland Indians batter Jason Donald safe at first base. Replays showed that Joyce had, indeed, made an incorrect call, and Galaragga left Comerica Park without his perfect game.

Most everyone knows the name Frescobaldi. After 30 generations of producing wine in Italy, they continue to dominate with distribution of their wines in 65 countries. They own five different estate vineyard sites throughout the Tuscany region planted to nearly 3,000 acres of grapes. Founded in the 14th century and a supplier of wines to the royal courts of Europe for generations, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi is still a family-owned company today. The company continually upgrades and modernizes its grape growing and winemaking operations, maintaining a relentless focus on producing unique wines that range from approachable, everyday wines to rare, collector vintages. Leonardo Frescobaldi has been President of Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi since 2007, acting as leader and managing partner of multiple Frescobaldi companies. Prior to this position, he was Director of International Sales and Marketing, Board Member, and President of the Luce della Vite estate. With 700 years of wine experience, are there still things you learn, things that take you by surprise with each vintage? I consider that life represents the occasion for a continuous learning process. Particularly when you love the work you are doing. Certainly every vintage is a new chapter and brings a different challenge which enriches my patrimony of knowledge and experience.

Established in 1896, Te Mata Estate remains family owned, producing internationally recognized wines exclusively from its Hawkes Bay vineyards. Under the direction of John Buck, Te Mata Estate has, over nearly thirty years, produced a stunning array of red and white wines. Te Mata Estate has also developed a unique single vineyard from which it produces its Woodthorpe wines. IntoWine recently caught up with Te Mata Estate to discuss wine and thoughts on current trends in the wine industry. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I was born into wine, grew up in it, and was exposed to too many wonderful wines at an impressionable age. I’ve since been unable to consider any other career.

As part of video wine review series, Cult Wines of Crushpad, IntoWine had the delightful opportunity to catch up with Twin Oaks winemaker Mark Weiner to hear his thoughts on the Twin Oaks wines and wine topics in general. Thanks to Mark for chatting. What inspired the name Twin Oaks Cellars? Named after my twin daughters, as well as the twin oak trees in our neighborhood...

IntoWine recently caught up with WineStraws founder, Jenny LaFever, to discuss what WineStraws can do for you and to get the latest on this wine drinking trend. What inspired the idea for wine straws? The idea was born one night in December, 2007. I had a few girlfriends over for wine and appetizers before we headed to a holiday party. Two of the girls had recently had their teeth professionally whitened and (dentist’s orders) had to use a straw for their wine. The rest of the girls and I decided we didn’t want wine staining our teeth either so we all decided to used a straw. I had seen firsthand many times what a night of drinking red wine can look like! Right away, aside from having fun trying something new, I noticed that the wine taste and experience was not minimized whatsoever, I had no staining, and my lipgloss stayed on lips—not the glass. The only downfall to that first experience was the straw itself… it wasn’t perfect. After many delicious trial runs and tests, what started out as a whim of an idea amongst a few wine loving friends has now turned into the conceptualization and launch of my company: WineStraws.

Giacomo d’Alessandro is the founder and owner of the d’Alessandro Winery, located near Agrigento in Sicily. Though the winery’s lands and vineyards have been in the family since 1820, only in 2006 did Giacomo open the family winery. His latest entrepreneurial venture is d’Alessandro Wines, a technologically advanced winery that merges the family history and connection to the land with modern ecological “green” practices while making wines from indigenous Sicilian grapes. Giacomo lives in Rome where the corporate office of his travel business is located, traveling frequently to the family home in Agrigento to oversee the development and expansion of the winery. When not in Sicily or Rome, Giacomo can be found traveling the world promoting d’Alessandro Wines.

I had the pleasure of having my sister-in-law visit my wife and I yesterday, and generally whenever we have someone over to the house, I take the opportunity to cook a nice meal. Unfortunately, the primary reason for my sister-in-law’s visit was not actually to see my wife or I, but rather our new 3 month old daughter…and food was not top of mind. Additionally, the afore mentioned daughter isn’t the greatest of sleepers, I was exhausted, and didn’t really feel like cooking anyway. So….we ended up ordering Thai food.

How many food & wine apps do you know of that focus solely on gourmet food & wine pairings? How about budget-conscious pairings? What about food & wine education? If you answered none, you’re about to learn all about food & wine apps like these (and a few others) by reading the following top 5 food & wine apps for iPad.

IntoWine recently caught up with Brotherhood Winery's Winemaker, César Baeza to discuss wine and his thoughts on current trends in the wine industry. What prompted you to pursue winemaking as a career? I was born and raised in Chile, a country that’s always been proud of its wines. Back then, Chile was producing “artisanal” wines, using minimal technology.