It’s true that the Italians were not the first to invent wine. But more than any other people throughout history, they have demonstrated a serious passion for it. No one has to explain that the Italians are passionate people to start with- about romance, art, culture, family. Wine is also a very important part of life and everyday, which is why the Italians care so much to perfect the production process and quality of taste. The origin of wine actually lies in ancient Mesopotamia, near present-day Iran, sometime between 4000-3000 B.C. The Greeks brought the art of wine making to Southern Italy and Sicily. The Etruscans, from Asia Minor, gave it to central Italy. It might have been love at first taste, but the Romans, in particular, obsessed enough about the Greek process to later refine it and make improvements. They enhanced the Greek presses used for extracting the juices from grapes, increasing the yields, which became especially important as the demand for wine naturally grew as the population expanded.

Most of us wine geeks have a seminal moment in our wine-drinking careers that we can pin down and say “That’s when I got hooked, that’s when I really caught the wine bug.” I bet most of us didn’t have silver spoons in our mouths, and this moment was probably not borne out of some pretentious snobbery involving a $1000 bottle of Bordeaux that had aromas of gunflint and wet saddle leather. I’m willing to bet that, for most American wine geeks anyway, these wine beginnings were much less formal. For my brother it was during his college years at Ithaca when he visited several local wineries in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. For my friend Sean it was when he and his wife travelled to the Napa Valley on their honeymoon. Wine geeks love to tell their wine stories, and it is these stories, these personal connections and experiences that make wine so special to so many people. I thought an appropriate initial column would be to share with you the experiences that got me hooked on spoiled grape juice.

“Many of the wineries of California’s Central Coast are still young, but their potential to produce great Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah are enormous. In a decade, the top viticulture areas of Santa Barbara, Santa Rita Hills and the limestone hillsides west of Paso Robles will be as well known as Napa and Sonoma.” ~Robert Parker, August 2006 Little more than 30 years ago, the Central Coast - defined as Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties – were nothing more than a loose aggregate of beachside towns, tract housing, mom and pop eateries and lone motels. There were few reasons to visit, unless you preferred an idyllic stroll along the Pacific Ocean or the gentle rolling hills of the rural valleys. No one wanted to live in isolated communities that offered no real amenities, other than nostalgia and nice views.

“You know the old caution: Champagne after sherry makes tummy grow wary.” -Niles Crane I’ve always wondered what Niles and Frasier Crane were talking about. They walked around espousing obscure French literary references, in Italian suits, while holding those tiny wine glasses . And from those glasses they sipped this caramel-colored, somewhat translucent beverage that provoked the haughtiest of behavioral patterns. I knew it had to be something special.

What sets Sonoma, California apart from any other wine-producing town in the world? Is it the history surrounding the region? Is it the cozy, romantic getaways that entice both first-time visitors and frequent guests? Is it the world-famous wineries that scatter throughout the picturesque landscape? Or, is it because upon entering the town of Sonoma, you are instantly transformed from the busy and stressed life you live to the laid back and relaxed person you long to be, well before you take a sip of locally produced wine? The answer to this question is simply: all of the above. Located just an hour north of San Francisco, the Sonoma Valley is located in the southern part of Sonoma County, California. The southern end of this vast and hearty valley opens toward the San Pablo Bay and the northern end gives way to 17 miles of bountiful vineyards, quaint towns and plenty of wine tasting for any occasion.

The stress and tension of a professional kitchen can sometimes make cooking seem like a life or death situation. After all, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when the dinner orders begin piling up on a Saturday evening. An extremely busy night is one of those occasions when, even though you do your very best to prepare for it, there is really nothing you can possibly do to avoid the onslaught. At best, you can stay just a half step ahead of the rush and have enough food to get through the dinner service. You finish the night exhausted, but with an innate sense of accomplishment. At worst, you become buried by tickets and bring the entire kitchen to a grinding halt. That’s the most helpless feeling in the world.

The first book to chronicle the rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr., the world's most influential and controversial wine critic, who, over the last twenty-five years, has dominated the international wine world and embodied the triumph of American taste.

A few friends, a good meal, a glass of wine, what could be a more simple pleasure? Why then does the subject of wine -and particularly writing about wine- often seem so darn complicated, so needlessly technical or frustratingly pretentious? In this book I wanted to tell a different story about wine, share my experience of two years spent among French winemakers and vineyards; two years in which I discovered that the story of wine from vine to glass is as much the story of the people who make it, their history and traditions, their intimacy with the land, as it is a tale of yeast, grape, and barrel. Happily, it is also, in the small family vineyards where much French wine is made, a very warm, very human story.

From the time of Attila the Hun to the Germans of World War II, waves of invaders have tried to conquer the verdant region of Champagne in northern France. Yet this strife-torn land is also the birthplace of the world's favorite wine: champagne.

From Chile to California, South Africa to Alsace, Ralph Steadman has seen the best of the world's wine-producing regions. On a search for the unique and original, he meets Aurelio Montes, the Chilean winemaker who planted syrah vines on a rocky, south-facing hill in order to "steal the wild complexity of the mountain's soul."