Starting November 1, a group will debut a white and a red under the label Kind Vines , exclusively at Bashas’, a grocery store. Brought in from California in bulk, the wines will be bottled locally where the bottles will also be cleaned and refilled. You want that wine on the shelf in Flagstaff, AZ? MORE >>

Next we were off to Mendocino County, California with the multi-vineyard Tous Ensemble 2007 from Copain (about $20). poured the next wine blind for the group, asking them to determine if it was an old world wine or a new world one. The Carlei , Heathcote Shiraz, Green Vineyards 2003 from Victoria opened our tasting. alcohol. MORE >>

It all started with a video last fall of a drunken Frenchman and a group of his thirsty friends, which had tens of thousands of views on Youtube before being removed for some reason. banged the bottles against the tree with Crocs, Keens, dress shoes, cycling shoes, dish towels and, finally, straight-up, bottle against tree. Not a millimeter. MORE >>

More tasting notes from the Snooth California Cabernet Sauvignon Blind Tasting earlier this month. The grower group responsible for this wine has consistently scored in the mid 90s and with 2007 being one of the best years that Napa has seen, making this wine truly exceptional Made from 90% Cabernet, 6% Tempranillo, 4% Syrah. MORE >>

Rather risky, don’t you think, to put a California sparkling wine up for comparison among some of the best houses in Champagne? Yet that’s what Hugh Davies did in NYC recently when presenting his sparkling wines to a very select group of journalists. “Of course, I can detect a California sparkler!&# MORE >>