New Year's Eve conjures images of champagne corks popping and bubbly flowing as party goers sing Auld Lang Syne while the clock strikes midnight to ring new hope for all. Rather than buying the typical boring grocery store Champagne for New Year's Eve, IntoWine.com asked a panel of wine experts their thoughts on what a good sparkling wine alternative would be to toast the clock striking midnight: "At the turn of midnight , New Year's Eve, you don't want to be singing Ol'Langsynen with an expensive Champagne being carelessly flung around. However, you do want to think that you are drinking true Champagne. Well, there is one Cava that hits the jackpot. It is Montsarra at approx $16 a bottle, you cannot go wrong with this wine. It has a beautiful label and also a true Champagne taste. The three traditional grapes, Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Parellada are enhanced by 5% Chardonnay, one of the three principal Champagne gr apes [the other two being Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier]. This 5% Chardonnay lends it to being more true to Champagne, whereas those that add grapes which are neither true to Cava or Champagne may be fun but more of a fruit cocktail. Montsarra has been consistently the highest ranked Cava by the Wine Enthusiast and it is certainly the only sparkling wine that I like to drink as much as true Champagne." - Bartholomew Broadbent, CEO, Broadbent Selections, San Francisco Watch " Sparkling Wine Recommendations " - Latest Wine Tasting Videos on IntoWineTV

The California Central Coast is home to many premium wine makers. Though less renowned than their Napa and Sonoma neighbors, Central Coast wine producers are consistently turning out great niche wines and marketing them to a rapidly growing base of Central Coast oenophiles. Based about 150 miles north of Santa Barbara in San Luis Obispo, Claiborne & Churchill is a fine example of a premium Central Coast winery. IntoWine.com recently caught up with Claiborne Thompson (one half the namesake behind "Claiborne & Churchill) to discuss his winery's focused niche of "Alsatian Style" wines , the current Riesling "craze", and his transformation from academia to winemaker.

Summertime for most of the United States means the return of vegetation. Both our rural and urban areas come alive with the blossoming of flowers, the production of fruits and vegetables and the long hours of sunshine. We spend countless evenings cherishing this season. As we relax, whether on our own patio or at a neighborhood restaurant, we look for refreshing wines to share the intimate harmony between both humanity and nature.

In the Art of Travel , Alain de Botton reflects on how the idea of travel to an exotic locale is often more romantic and enchanting than the actual trip. His point is a good one – how many vacations have you taken where the arduous car ride, the bumpy flight, the long line at the museum, the map juggling in the street, or the prices in the gift shops left you frazzled and perhaps wondering if it was all worth it.

Paradise Ridge Winery is more than just another Sonoma County tasting room. The Santa Rosa winery is equal parts great wine, relaxing view, unique outdoor art garden, and family affair with a touch of local history for good measure. IntoWine.com recently caught up with Paradise's Rene Byck to chat about what makes the winery a worthy oenephile destination spot.

I casually turned over the bottle in my hand. The most storied chateau in France, Mouton Rothschild. The most storied year in French wine history, 1945. This indeed was a bottle above all other bottles. Just imagine it, over 50 years old, this wine was vinted during the Nazi occupation of Bordeaux and France. I was holding history, liquid history. And I turned the bottle over and saw…$13,000.

Use a progressive wine list to please the palates of party members. Each season, I intend to share my favorite party foods and several wine options to serve with a few of the courses, using what is called a progressive wine list.

As the understanding and appreciation of biodynamics continues to grow, we are seeing more and more vintners converting to what has become an innovative practice. The agricultural principles established by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920's, for a time disregarded because they were rooted in mysticism, are being embraced by some of the most successful and high profile winemakers in the New World.

A blending party is one of the most enjoyable of the various events offered by wine clubs. When combined with a lobster feed, it makes for a most memorable day of hands-on play at winemaking, then hands-on work at lobster -cracking. A tasteful pairing of higher education and higher hedonism. It was just such a day at Alderbrook Winery, located just west of Healdsburg, just off US Highway 101 in California’s Sonoma County.

Beer lovers and wine novices rejoice. Billy Merritt is proof positive that anyone can learn to enjoy the art of wine. As I often love to remind people, wine is about joy, conversation, and love and is no longer the realm of stuffy sommeliers or snobby critics.