No matter how many wines from different grape varieties I taste, there is something about Chardonnay, especially from Burgundy, that reinforces why I love wine so much.

This delicious 2008 Mâcon Chaintré from Domaine Cheveau is certainly a case in point. More

Last week I looked at wine 'color'. A second facet of a wine's appearance is its clarity. Most wine drinkers expect a wine to look clear and bright, not dull or hazy. However, a slight dullness or haze is not necessarily a sign of a major flaw in the wine or even a bad thing. More

Budget Wine: 2009 Flavio Roddolo Dolcetto d'Alba
Region: Piedmont, Italy
Average Price: $19

This 2009 Dolcetto d'Alba from Flavio Raddolo is another delicious wine that I recently picked up at our local wine store... More

I'll admit it: I love wine, but I don't actually know that much about it, nor do I have a very discriminating palate. However, I'm hoping to change that and develop a wine vocabulary, however rudimentary. Thankfully, The Kitchn's resident wine expert, Mary Gorman, has written extensively on wine for the last few years, and her posts are an excellent resource for the wine lover looking to deepen his or her understanding of wine varieties, wine words, and pairings. Welcome to Wine 101. Class is now in session. More

"This is the violet hour, the hour of hush and wonder, when the affections glow and valor is reborn, when the shadows deepen along the edge of the forest and we believe that, if we watch carefully, at any moment we may see the unicorn."
from The Hour by Bernard DeVoto

The violet hour, that time of day roughly starting at 5pm when cocktail hour begins and we start the transition from day into evening, from work to home, from labor to (hopefully) relaxation. Unicorns spotting or not (I'll have what he's having!) it can be a magical time, especially if there is some deliberateness, some sense of ritual in your actions. The violet hour doesn't have to involve alcohol, of course, although it is nice to make an effort and concoct something special to drink. More

Growing up, I would always laugh at my dad after he drank a beer or a glass of wine. He is Thai-Chinese and even one drink makes his face turn bright red. "You're red!" I'd say, pointing and laughing. It never stopped being funny.

Until the first time I drank alcohol. My face turned beet-red and felt feverishly hot. It wasn't funny at all. More

Q: I've been hearing good things about boxed wines lately. My research suggests boxed stays fresher a little longer since there is no air touching the wine as it would in a traditional bottled wine. Can you recommend a good boxed wine to try?

Sent by Whitney More

Budget Wine: 2009 Graf V. Schönborn Silvaner Kabinett Trocken
Region: Franken, Germany
Average Price: $16

This deliciously crisp and refreshing, dry (Trocken), unoaked white wine from Germany is made from the Silvaner grape, and it's juicy and packed with lots of lively fruit.

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If you want to keep an open bottle of wine for more than a couple days, there are a lot of fancy gadgets out there to help you. But our friends at Food52 have a great video tip for keeping leftover wine in the refrigerator for up to a week — using just a canning jar and a kitchen towel. More

There is something about Italian wine that takes you immediately to the table. Images of fun gatherings with family and friends or romantic dinners for two come easily to mind. With that thought, Faith and I decided to put together some easy ideas for an Italian wine inspired spring dinner. Here's a whole menu, beginning to end, of Italian food and wine. You just add the table and the friends, and it's a celebration waiting to happen. More