With winter still dragging its heels a bit, I thought that it would be nice to open a big box of sunshine. With that in mind I have put together a mixed case of sunny California wine. This mixed case should serve to highlight both the diversity of wine regions within California as well as the multitude different grapes grown. More

Wine of the Week: 2010 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Region & Country: Napa Valley, California, USA
Price: $28

Sometimes I chide myself for not giving enough attention to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. More

At my last desk job, I dedicated an entire drawer to tea and tea-making paraphernalia. In fact, I consider tea an essential office supply, right alongside pens and staplers. Here are five kinds of tea that are helpful to have on hand, from morning and afternoon pick-me-ups to preparing for a meeting, de-stressing, and soothing the stomach after lunch. More

Noble Rot is associated with some of the most famous sweet wines in the world such as Sauternes and Tokaji Aszú. Do you know what Noble Rot is, and how it contributes to the style of these wines? More

As we close off Breakfast Week here on The Kitchn, I couldn't help but share this brilliant setup for all you morning espresso lovers. Elsie (of the blog A Beautiful Mess) has a much-loved espresso machine and a tiny kitchen. But when she could no longer afford to give up precious counter space to her beloved machine, she came up with pretty swell solution. Move over, cocktail carts. She just stole your idea and made it better! More

At my house we have a sleek little Nespresso machine and an older, heavy Italian model that belongs to my boyfriend, Sam. Both have prime real estate on the counter: Sam uses his almost exclusively; I use mine almost exclusively. He calls my espresso "faux'spresso," insisting it doesn't taste as good and lamenting the fact that the pods are so wasteful. In a way, I agree. And yet, I wouldn't have it any other way. More

Lucky for me some of my oldest and dearest friends live very close by. Yet for some reason we still can't seem to get together as often as we'd like. Recently, I was thrilled to pop out for a quick dinner with two of my best high school girlfriends, especially when one presented me with my name in lights. It was a bottle of vodka flashing brightly with, "Happy Birthday Maureen" scrolling across the bottle, and the inspiration for this week's 10-minute happy hour. More

Jazz and beer, who can ask for anything more? Brewed in partnership with the Brother Thelonious Institute of Jazz (a donation is made to the institute with every bottle sold), this smooth and nutty-sweet Belgian-style abbey ale just thing for riding out these last snowy days of winter.

Wine of the Week: 2010 Viña Godeval Godello
Region & Country: Valdeorras, Spain
Price: $18

Every time I taste a Godello wine I am reminded why I am so in love with this Spanish white grape variety. More

Parker Points is a wine term that you hear bandied about quite a lot and often discussed critically. The term Parker Points refers to a score awarded to a wine by Robert M. Parker Jr., the most influential wine critic of the past 20-30 years. More