Bacchus and Me : Adventures in the Wine Cellar Jay McInerney More Information on this Book

About the Artist A graduate of the prestigious Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Erickson spent years as a freelance graphic artist compiling an arsenal from the innumerable and varying demands exerted by his considerable clientele, the culmination of this freelance experience is a style that bares rich evidence of the hand, brush and paint, but without distracting from the total impact of a completed image. A meticulous researcher, Erickson tracks the slightest details�from license plates to period clothing�to render them historically accurate for a finished work which appeals to both the aviation-travel historian and any admirer of fine art. Erickson is a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society recipient of the Most Innovative Painting Award at the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Exhibit in Osage Beach, MO. Other recent awards among his numerous honors include the Patron Purchase Award at the 1997 Watercolor USA Juried Show in Springfield, MO., as well as the Gold Award at the 1994 California Discovery Awards Juried Competition.

About the Artist A graduate of the prestigious Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Erickson spent years as a freelance graphic artist compiling an arsenal from the innumerable and varying demands exerted by his considerable clientele, the culmination of this freelance experience is a style that bares rich evidence of the hand, brush and paint, but without distracting from the total impact of a completed image. A meticulous researcher, Erickson tracks the slightest details�from license plates to period clothing�to render them historically accurate for a finished work which appeals to both the aviation-travel historian and any admirer of fine art. Erickson is a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society recipient of the Most Innovative Painting Award at the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Exhibit in Osage Beach, MO. Other recent awards among his numerous honors include the Patron Purchase Award at the 1997 Watercolor USA Juried Show in Springfield, MO., as well as the Gold Award at the 1994 California Discovery Awards Juried Competition.

These ARE the good old days. More wines, in greater variety, are made available to us today than at any other time in history. This Golden Age of Wine, as it has been called, presents us with an array of wines that is hard to absorb let alone enjoy. We will not try to explore every wine available, but cover some of the best the world has to offer.

Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery Rutherford, California Peirano Estate Vineyards Lodi, California Penfolds Wines Australia Joseph Phelps...

Alderbrook Vineyards and Winery Sonoma County, California Barefoot Cellars Santa Rosa, California Callaway Vineyard & Winery Temecula, California

The web sites listed below represent some of the best resources online for wine enthusiasts. UC Davis' Viticulture & Enology Department...

The Wine Cellar. ....a place for wine to grow to maturity without distraction. Dusty bottles sleeping in orderly rows, breathing with imponderable slowness in a dark, moist, cool climate. Candle-lit treasures of ancient Bordeaux, golden brown Sauternes, mellowed California cabernet, and crusted Port await behind an iron gate. The wine cellar conjures up different images to different people. But whatever the image, it is simply a place to store wine.

A well made toast can make a simple moment special, as few things in life do. This gracious gesture can be delivered by anyone. All it takes is a little forethought, practice, and a familiarity with some toast etiquette and protocol. Guide to Gracious Toast Giving There are no hard-fast rules to toast-making and giving. What follows are guidelines to give you a starting point.

You may have wondered just what a roasted slice of bread has to do with the practice of offering a toast? The two couldn't seem more unrelated. As early as the 6th Century B.C., the Greeks were toasting to the health of their friend's for a highly practical reason — to assure them that the wine...