The Wine Knows

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates announced last week that it will be the exclusive U.S. distributor of Nicolas Feuillatte, France's No. 1-selling Champagne brand (and No. 3 internationally).

The Woodinville, Wash., wine company already is the exclusive U.S. distributor for Antinori of Italy (as well as co-owners of Col Solare).

For the next 30 days or so, we will all be partaking in a variety of holiday meals, beginning with Thanksgiving on Thursday and running through Christmas (and possibly New Year's Day) dinner. Between dinner invites and holiday parties, you may be expected to provide some wines.

Traditionally, the third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau day, when the new wines of Beaujolais are released.

My friend and colleague Ken Robertson is a pretty smart guy, but I don't know that he realized this when he left seven bottles of the 2008 Domaine Perdue on my desk yesterday.

Rachael Ray has turned to two hemispheres for food-pairing wine picks in August.

Domaine Ste. Michelle's NV Blanc de Noirs and the Greg Norman Estates sparkling Pinot Noir/Chardonnay were The Omnipresent One's selections for bubbly.

Happy Fourth of July. Celebrate your independence by drinking whatever you want.

Here's the "I've Gotta Have That" wine glass of the week - and it isn't even from Riedel.

My wife found this in the Museum of Modern Art catalogue: It's an inside-out sparkling wine glass.

I came across this blog item from a blog on Washington and Oregon wines called Beyond the Bottle. The author wants to know why wine writers complain about alcohol levels, then do not include them in reviews.

Great question.

Sparkling wine is one of the most versatile food-pairing wines out there. It goes with seafood, shellfish, chicken, appetizers, desserts and more. But one of the finest pairings with sparkling wine also is one of the most unusual.

So what vintage is that "nonvintage" bottle of Domaine Ste. Michelle sparkling wine cooling in your fridge for Monday night? That depends, but if you purchased it recently, it's probably from the 2004 or 2005 vintages. Here's how that works out, according to Rick Casqueiro, who is head winemaker for the Northwest's largest bubbly maker.

Ever wonder why many sparkling wines are marked as "NV" or "nonvintage" instead of by vintage? It all starts in Champagne, France, where the world's most famous sparkling wines are made.