I like spinach so much that I sometimes wish I could use it as the heart and centerpiece of a meatless dinner. And hey! Why not?

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Weather, with its influence on grape ripeness and quality, can dramatically change the character of wine from year to year. But vintage isn’t necessarily only about the weather.

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The composition and style of this perennial California favorite may change from year to year, but it’s consistently one of my top wine values of the year.

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Today I am quite pleased to announce that I will be leading two wine seminars at this year’s Aspen Food & Wine Classic in Aspen Colorado. This is, of course, quite exciting on several fronts. The first is obviously the honor of being asked to participate in such a fantastic event, alongside some pretty amazing folks from the wine and food world. Perhaps less obvious, but equally fun, is the fact that Aspen is my home town. I grew up there from the age of 3 until I went away to college. As a teenager, I worked at a catering company (mostly as a dishwasher, busboy, but also occasionally as event staff) and for several summers at that company I worked the Classic, delivering crates of food to cooks, and running around in an apron and white jacket doing the bidding of pretty much everyone who asked for anything. So there’s a little bit of “Local Boy Makes Good” in my return this summer.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Classic, it is America’s premiere food and wine festival and is currently in its 26th year of continuous operation by the folks at Food & Wine Magazine. Typically staffed and attended by the superstars of the food and wine industry, it offers a combination of classes, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs (often accompanied by Hollywood celebrities as sidekicks), wine seminars and tastings, and grand tasting events where attendees can sample food and wine from the many restaurants, chefs, wineries, and food purveyors that attend to showcase their talent. This year it is taking place the weekend of June 13th - 15th, 2008.

I will be leading two wine tasting seminars at the event: The Next Napa Superstars and Sake For Wine Lovers.

The Next Napa Superstars will focus on some of Napa’s newest and most exciting red wine producers. These are wines that may be relatively new productions, or are small enough players to not have crossed the radar of many wine lovers. In either case, attendees will get a chance to learn about and to taste some truly phenomenal new red wines from Napa. I can’t tell you which wines, that’s a surprise that you’ll have to wait for, but I’m really excited about how the list is shaping up.

Sake For Wine Lovers will be an introduction to some of the finest sakes available here in the United States, as well as a brief introduction to sake in general. I’ll cover the sake brewing process as well as the differences between different types and grades of sake, as well as ideas for integrating sake into meals. Attendees will then get a chance to taste some of my favorite brewers and their finest products.

Both events will be offered twice at various points in the three day event. See the full schedule on the event web site for more details.

If attending major wine events like the Classic is your thing, I hope you’ll consider joining me in June. Tickets for the Aspen Food & Wine Classic ‘08 are now on sale, and they almost always sell out, as do the (few) reasonably priced hotels in town, so start making your plans early.

See you in June!

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Veramonte Winery in Chile’s Casablanca Valley was founded in 1990 and built the winery in 1998; the vineyard land previously was either fallow or used for cattle grazing. Veramonte has become the Chilean poster boy for over-achievement, both in terms of offering quality wine and good value.

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Let’s challenge the conventional wisdom that rosé is a wine for summertime, to be sipped chilled to take the steam out of a sultry July afternoon.

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I’ve oft bemoaned the sorry state of bureaucracy that bogs down the French wine industry. The country has a huge albatross on its back that prevents it from both being as competitive as it could be on the world market, as well as simply thriving at home (French wine consumption has plummeted in the last 10 years).

A lot of people like to argue with me that the French laws aren’t that bad, that they really aren’t hampering development of the industry, and that marketing isn’t the problem, etc. This always blows me away considering the powers that be continue to pass laws like this one, a recent statute that will require any article about wine published in any French newspaper to carry the same health warning disclaimer that an actual bottle of wine must carry.

That’s right. The country that brought you the French Paradox is now worried that you might think wine is actually good for you, so the government (kind paternal figure that it is) will be stepping in to set you straight.

This is not just a silly news story that we can all laugh at and say, “Oh, those silly French!” This is a symptom of a serious malaise, that if left unchecked, will gradually turn France into a country that produces a few top wines for the rest of the world and very little else. The French populace will be drinking more beer and spirits than wine, and the producers who grow and sell the lower end wines that make up the majority of France’s wine consumption will have starved to death or will be forced to get out of the business.

Anyone know Sarkozy’s e-mail address? He needs a dope slap for letting this happen.

GOVERNMENT WARNING:  (1) According to the Surgeon General, womenshould not read any text which might encourage them to enjoy a glass of wine during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects.  (2) Consumption of media related to alcoholic beveragesmay encourage consumption of the same, which impair yourability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may causehealth problems.

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For more than a decade I’ve had a particularly warm place in my heart for Mosby Winery’s Italian-style wines made in California. Now they’ve added a real Italian red that’s delicious.

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