With the weekend almost here, chances are you’ll be near a Costco at some point, if you’re like most of us. Maybe it’s the Cirque equivalent of the shopping “big top.” The only high wire act here though ...

Think New Zealand. Marlborough. Wine. Likely, images of Kim Crawford come to mind, and their ever popular, fruit forward Sauvignon Blanc.

However, that’s changing. More New Zealand wines are making their way into the hands of eager North American ...

A few months back I wrote about the ‘07 Artesa Chardonnay (91 pts, $20) which is a nice white, great bang for the buck. At the time, while enjoying a tasting flight in Artesa’s scenic, glassy ...

I’m really liking the “unoaked” Chardonnay trend. There is almost nothing worse than a buttery, almost oily, creamy Chard, especially served too warm. The main reason is another of the wine words: structure. Less oak, to me at ...

Here’s a good value wine you can most likely buy right now at your local Costco for about $10. But it delivers at least twice that in laid back flavor. This Chilean wine from Santa Ema, as the ...

This Chardonnay is one of my two favorites Artesa wines. The other is their Pinot, just the regular non-reserve one (classic tier). At a recent tasting Loni and I both agreed that these were the standouts, especially at ...

Cherry. Bargain.

That’s the two word summary for this Merlot. I’d score higher if it weren’t for just a tad too much cherry. It eases off after about an hour or two of breathing. And you know, maybe it’s ...

Bordeaux Supérieur? Probablement pas. But, for $7.99, a good try nevertheless.

This is a Trader Joe’s selection, and all things considered is not half bad, especially for the price. Just don’t expect it to live up to its claim ...

Chile is all about hidden value. While Argentina, Portugal and others are getting recent glory and headlines, look to Chile for some wine deals.

Case in point: this ...

I was pleasantly surprised to: (a) find this wine sitting on a Safeway store shelf in San Jose, and (b) get it on sale for about $12. St. Francis Winery & Vineyards is a top tier Sonoma producer ...

Another decent Riesling, this time from Santa Barbara County, Central Coast California. Available at Trader Joe’s for only $6.99, it is priced the same as my perennial favorite value Riesling from Chateau Ste. Michelle. It is drier though, ...

Angels & Demons opens on Friday, May 15, but for a few lucky people around the US a special preview screening was held tonight, May 14 to accompany the release of Quintessa’s 2008 Illumination and 2006 Faust.

The preview ...

Slightly off the beaten path in Sonoma County, Benziger is a scenic, wooded winery worth the visit. We visited a few years back and came back with plenty of good memories, not the least of which was the ...