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The Wine Country Lifestyle

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     Have you ever dreamed of living in a home that's adjacent to a vineyard and working winery?

     But have the multi-million-dollar prices in the Napa Valley virtually guaranteed that your dream will never become a reality?

     Tom Swarthout, a Chicago area developer, may have the solution. He's planning to develop just under three dozen homes on land in Lake Forest, Ill., north of...

Rutherford Hill: America's Most Improved Wine Estate

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    If there were an award for "most improved winery," Rutherford Hill Winery would be a leading candidate.

     Prior to 1996, the bottlings of Rutherford Hill could be hit or miss; you might get a very nice wine, or you might get a clunker. But when Anthony Terlato and his sons, Bill and John, purchased the estate in '96, they put their years of winemaking experience to work in an effort to guarantee a pleasant drinking experience in every bottle.

     As Anthony Terlato likes to put it: "Quality is a way of life. For Rutherford Hill, it begins in...

How to Make Your Nose Smarter

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     Food may be the way to a man's heart, but keep in mind that the food goes through his nose before it reaches his stomach.

     In other words, a huge part of enjoying food involves smelling it. Don't believe it? Then try this trick: Place pieces of four different types of food with similar textures on a plate, then close your eyes and have a friend hand you a forkful of one of the items - but before you bring the fork to your mouth, squeeze your nose so you can't smell the food. Once the food is in your mouth, try to identify it. Trust us, it's not as easy as it sounds.

     Because the aroma of food is so closely associated with its flavor, it should come as no surprise that some of the best wine judges in the...

What Would Alpana Drink?

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     In Chicago, the most prominent of all sommeliers is a young woman named Alpana Singh. She manages the wine lists for the city's leading operator of high-end restaurants, and also hosts a restaurant review program called "Check, Please!" on the local PBS station.

     Singh wrote a less-than-memorable book a few years ago, but her blog is must-reading for anyone who enjoys pairing wine with food. You can tap into her vast knowledge of the subject at: WhatWouldAlpanaDrink.blogspot.com.

     Although quite successful in her career, Singh maintains a down-to-earth attitude and readily admits to enjoying "comfort food" every bit as much as the fancy dishes...

Tillamook Cheese & Macaroni

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     Yes, we've switched up the name of this classic American dish, for two reasons:

     1. In honor of the 100th birthday of Tillamook, a name synonymous with cheese in the Pacific Northwest.

     2. Without the cheese, what would this dish taste like?

     This recipe makes 4-6 main course-sized servings, and an outstanding wine partner would be either Merlot or a...

A 'P&L' on the 2009 California Harvest

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     There are two ways to look at the annual winegrape harvest in California: in tons crushed, and from a purely business perspective. As much as we like to romanticize the world of wine, there can be no romance without a successful business model.

     Each year, Turrentine Brokerage issues a report on the California harvest, skewed to the business side of the ledger. Here are excerpts from the company's report on the 2009 harvest...  

     * Chardonnay, the most widely planted white wine variety, was up a substantial 28% statewide in 2009 compared to 2008, which is an...

Hey, Everybody, Let's Talk About Dust!

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    Getting together with people to talk about dust sounds almost as exciting as watching paint dry.

     But in this case, we're not talking about just any dust. This is special dust.

     This is Rutherford dust, the special soil in a certain sector of the Napa Valley that helps vintners produce some of the most distinctive wines to be found anywhere.

     So special is this dust that it has its own society. And last month, more than 50 members of the Rutherford Dust Society gathered at the elegant Auberge du Soleil resort for...

How to Make a Memorable (in a Good Way) Toast

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     It won't be long until wedding and reunion season arrives. And that means you may be called upon to raise a glass and propose a toast.

     If the thought of bombing in front of a bunch of friends (or perfect strangers) takes the fun out of the occasion, you need to follow the Boy Scouts' motto: Be prepared.

     Here are a few tips to help you formulate a toast that everyone in attendance will remember...

How to Be the Perfect Host... at a Restaurant

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    Let's be honest: Some of the rituals that people go through when a restaurant server brings a bottle of wine to the table can be downright hilarious.

     In particular, the practice of sniffing the just-dislodged cork sends a clear signal that the sniffer THINKS he knows a lot about wine.

     But, hey, if his guests are impressed, no harm done.

     However, there are a few things that the host of...

Burgers With... Sauvignon Blanc?!?

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     Wine dinners provide wonderful opportunities to learn more about pairing wine with food.

     In most cases, a restaurant's chef will work directly with the featured winery's owner or a winery rep in developing the menu and selecting the pairings.

     The matchmaking can work in either direction. Sometimes the winery will want to showcase specific bottlings, and then it's up to the chef to...

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