Many of us wish we could be Carrie Bradshaw dashing around the city from one glamourous event to the next in her Christian Louboutin heels.  However, we are not all Carrie Bradshaws, at least I know I don’t have $700 to spend on a pair of heels!  But good news ladies, there is hope for us single gals.  There are numerous (non e-dating) ways to meet your Mr. Big.  And on this fine Tuesday I’m going to give you the scoop on some hot events going on in SF!  As the song goes, I left my heart in San Francisco.

1. Attend a wine tasting

We all know wine is one of my life essentials, so I HAD to make this one my number one.  You get to learn a little bit about wine and taste its deliciousness.  (Plus I love toting out my “wine expertise” and big wino words!)  UncorkedEvents.com has a great listing of classes going on in SF.

2. Signup for a cooking class

Would you rather have a stuffy, awkward first date dinner OR have a blast cooking up a storm and getting to know each other? I know I would choose the latter!  I can just see it now… feeding each other finger food, a mini food fight maybe, maybe we’d cook an aphrodisiac food!  You can find out more info and signup for classes at www.partiesthatcook.com.

3. Head to the Fort Mason Event Center

Fort Mason Center, an historic Port of Embarkation, is now a waterfront destination for thought provoking programs, events and organizations which support and reflect the evolving cultural fabric of  the Bay Area.  The 13 acre campus is a partner of the Golden Gate National Parks. For more info visit: http://www.fortmason.org/

4. Grab a pooch and go to a dog park

We all know that a dog is a man’s best friend, so why not head to where a man and his best friend will be??  Described as the mecca of dog parks and doggie heaven Fort Funston combines the best of grass,  sand, dogs, beach, trees, sewer tubes (dry, of course), and trails!  Click on the link for more reviews and directions.

5. Chow down at a sports bar

Guys love nothing more than a girl grubbin’ down a burger and a beer while cursing at the TV (well I might be able to think of one other thing but for now we’ll stick to this scenario).  So throw on a jersey, make sure it’s for the right team/sport, and head to the nearest sports bar!  Visit www.yelp.com for locations and reviews of sports bars near you.

The weekend is almost here! Time to celebrate with those precious few days off.  What will you do?  Sleep, read, relax… How about throw a wine and cheese party!?  A simple way to gather with friends and enjoy the decadent pairings of wine and cheese.  And with these easy steps throwing a fabulous soiree will be effortless.

Step 1: Invite Your Guests

Six to 10 people is the ideal group for a tasting party: big enough to spark interesting conversation, but still small enough for everyone to sit around the table.

Step 2: Go Shopping

Buy three or four different wines and cheeses. You’ll need 12 to 20 ounces of each cheese and two or three bottles of each wine. Buy cheeses no more than a day in advance so they’ll be fresh and flavorful.

Chill sparkling wines overnight. Chill white wines two to three hours before the party (too cold kills the flavor), red wines about 30 minutes prior.  Take cheese out of fridge one hour before the party.

Step 3: Arrange the Pairings

On a side table or counter, pair cheeses and wines in order from mildest to strongest. Group similar cheeses on one plate (soft cheeses, goat cheeses, etc.). “Don’t crowd all the cheese together,” warns Marguerite Thomas, a writer and editor for winereview online.com, “or the flavors will get murky.”

On folded index cards, list each cheese and its accompanying wine.  On the dining table, put out palate cleansers (crackers, bread, water) for guests to nibble on or drink between selections, and notepaper and pens so guests can jot down their thoughts and impressions.

Pairing Suggestions
Sparkling wines go with mild, buttery triple-cream cheeses (St. Andre, Explorateur).

Simple, young wines (sauvignon blanc, Sancerre) go with soft, young cheeses (goat cheese).

Chardonnays and full cabernets go well with semisoft cheeses (Brie, Camembert).

Medium-bodied reds (pinot noir, Côtes du Rhone) go with hard, stronger-flavored cheeses (Parmesan, Gruyère, aged cheddar).

Sweet/dessert wines go with pungent blue cheeses. It may sound odd, but try it!

From: Redbook.com

The obesity epidemic is a major health problem in the United States. Alcohol consumption is a source of energy intake that may contribute to body weight gain and development of obesity. However, previous studies of this relationship have been limited, with inconsistent results.

To find some answers, Archives of Internal Medicine conducted a study on normal weight, healthy, middle-age women.  They found that when compared with nondrinkers, initially normal-weight women who consumed a light to moderate amount of alcohol gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming overweight and/or obese during 12.9 years of follow-up.

For all the rest of the science-y explanations and research, read the rest of the study here.

Learning how to taste wines is a straightforward adventure that will deepen your appreciation for both wines and winemakers. Look, smell, taste - starting with your basic senses and expanding from there you will learn how to taste wines like the pros in no time! Keep in mind that you can smell thousands of unique scents, but your taste perception is limited to salty, sweet, sour and bitter. It is the combination of smell and taste that allows you to discern flavor.

Here’s How:

1. Look: Check out the Color and Clarity. Pour a glass of wine into a suitable wine glass. Then take a good look at the wine. Tilt the glass away from you and check out the color of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of the glass (it’s helpful to have a white background - either paper, napkin or a white tablecloth).

2. Smell: Our sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good impression of your wine’s aroma, swirl your glass for a solid 10-12 seconds (this helps vaporize some of the wine’s alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression.

3. Taste: Finally, take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your mouth. There are three stages of taste: the Attack phase, the Evolution phase and the Finish.

The Attack Phase, is the initial impression that the wine makes on your palate. The Attack is comprised of four pieces of the wine puzzle: alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar. These four puzzle pieces display initial sensations on the palate. Ideally these components will be well-balanced one piece will not be more prominent than the others.

The Evolution Phase In this phase you are looking to discern the flavor profile of the wine. If it’s a red wine you may start noting fruit – berry, plum, prune or fig; perhaps some spice – pepper, clove, cinnamon, or maybe a woody flavor like oak, cedar, or a detectable smokiness. If it’s a white wine you may taste apple, pear, tropical or citrus fruits, or the taste may be more floral in nature or consist of honey, butter, herbs or a bit of earthiness.

The Finish The wine’s finish is how long the flavor impression lasts after it is swallowed. This is where the wine culminates, where the aftertaste comes into play. Can you taste the remnant of the wine on the back of your mouth and throat? Do you want another sip or was the wine too bitter at the end? Does the taste persist or is it short-lived?

4. After you have taken the time to taste your wine, you might record some of your impressions. Did you like the wine overall? Was it sweet, sour or bitter? How was the wine’s acidity? Was it well balanced? Does it taste better with cheese, bread or a heavy meal? Will you buy it again? If so, jot the wine’s name, producer and vintage year down for future reference.

Source: About.com

According to Persian mythology, wine was discovered by a woman. She drank the fermented juice from grapes stored in a jar, went to sleep, and surprisingly woke up cured of a headache, instead of suffering from the world’s first hangover as one might have expected.

Wine became the drink of the gods, whether they were Egyptian, Sumerian, or Greek, and the early deities of wine were often women, since they were also associated with fertility. The symbolism of wine, as well as its effect, became potent as it was adopted into religious ritual.

The modern Egyptian papyrus illustrated here reproduces ancient Egyptian winemaking techniques, and was a recent donation to the Library.

Another source of potent images, the sea, which was crucial to early transport and communication, was given the feminine gender by the Greeks. When the ancient Greek poet Homer sang of “the wine-dark sea” he was linking two forces central in Mediterranean life to create an image which continues to have great emotive power.

http://www.winelit.slsa.sa.gov.au/winelore.htm

Who’s says all celebs prefer Dom Perignon?  These famous stars were caught red handed with a glass of red.  NBC compiled a slideshow of telling pics on their website.  I think these celebs might be in need of Wine Wipes!

Click on the picture to view the full slideshow.

Borracha is celebrating the holiday season with free shipping on all U.S. orders through December 26th!  The holidays are the idyllic time to drink like a borracha, but don’t scare away your midnight kiss—grab a Wine Wipe before heading under the mistletoe.  Make sure to check off everyone on your list this year, friends, family, co-workers, we all need Wine Wipes after those holiday parties!

December is the Season of the Nutcracker - the famous ballet by Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky was commissioned in 1891 to write this for the St. Petersburg Opera, but it was many years before the ballet was performed outside of Russia. The ballet was based on the story of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by Hoffmann, a Prussian. The original story was very bleak, meant for adults, but the cleansed version is now loved throughout the world as a children’s fairy tale.

It seems highly appropriate, then, that Soviet wines are a good topic to discuss! While the post-Russian republics are not well known for wines in most countries, they actually have quite a few vineyards and a wide variety of wines. They only export a small percentage of this wine, though, so it is rare that a typical wine drinker has tried one of these wines.

The most prolific wine-region in this area is the Republic of Georgia. This region has a long history of winemaking, dating back to 5000BC. There are some who even feel the word “wine” is originally a Georgian word! Set beside the Black Sea, Georgia has a great climate for winegrowing.

Georgia creates over 500 styles of wine, but they are very well known for their semi- sweet and late harvest wines. Khvanchkara is shown in its distinctive ceramic bottle; another well known brand is Kindzmarauli, Castel Georgia.

Moldova is another republic that creates good wines. The fertile pastures and sloping land are almost ideal for winegrowing. Two names to watch for from this republic are Mileshti and Krikova-Veki.

The Ukraine is well known as the “Breadbasket of Europe,” and it also has vineyards planted in the southern regions of the republic. In addition to red and whites, they make a variety of sparkling wines, such as this Krimskoye sparkler made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

http://www.wineintro.com/history/holidays/nutcrackersuite.html

Since we are in the middle of wine harvest season, I decided to do a little background research on this celebratory time of year.  Along with many romantic and intriguing stories about ancient Europeans and how they stumbled upon the creation of the delicious nectar we now call wine, I found interesting facts about harvests in present day.  Here is some of what I discovered from Wikipedia:

“The harvesting of wine grapes (Vintage) is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to produce. The weather can also shape the timetable of harvesting with the threat of heat, rain, hail, and frost which can damage the grapes and bring about various vine diseases. In addition to determining the time of the harvest, winemakers and vineyard owners must also determine whether to utilize hand pickers or mechanical harvesters. The harvest season typically falls between August & October in the Northern Hemisphere and February & April in the Southern Hemisphere. With various climate conditions, grape varieties, and wine styles the harvesting of grapes could happen in every month of the calendar year somewhere in the world. In some European wine regions the harvest time is known as vintage. In the New World it is often referred to as the crush.”
Cheers and Happy Harvest Season!

It’s not really a secret: Japan loves vending machines. So it’s not really surprising this newest (and quite unique) model is made in Nippon, too: A vending machine that lets you buy luxury wines through a pre-paid card. The machine is supposed to soften the negative effects the current recession has for wine lovers.

The vending machine is operated by the Goss Wine Bar in Ginza, Tokyo’s poshest neighborhood. All customers need to do is to insert said pre-paid card, select a bottle of wine among 24 different kinds and watch how the wine flows into their glasses. Reportedly, customers enjoy the fact that they can actually see the bottle before they drink the wine and that they can now taste expensive wines in smaller quantities.

The Goss Wine Bar claims the number of customers has risen by 20% in September (when compared to September 2008).

By Crunch Gear