With another round of barrel tasting this weekend, I thought I’d check in with head poobah Beth Costa to see if there were any surprises at last weekend’s event — or any headaches — behind the scenes. But before we chat it up with Costa, check out the Wine Road’s video. While it’s clearly a promotional tool, it captures the event. http://bit.ly/aV0kwo

The Wine Road Barrel Tasting resumes this Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I thought I’d check in to see in with head poobah Beth Costa to see if there were any surprises at last weekend’s event — or any headaches. But before we chat it up with Costa, check out the Wine Road’s video. While it’s clearly a promotional tool, it captures the event. http://bit.ly/aV0kwo

Sonoma Valley wines are in the limelight and they have a savvy stage.

Here are my Top 10 Best of the Wine Road Barrel Tasting, some snapshots from yesterday’s trek through the Dry Creek, Russian River and Alexander valleys. You may find yourself in the copy, so check it out.

Barrel tasting? What’s your route? The Wine Road Barrel Tasting this weekend is a Spring rite of passage that appeals to the procrastinator as well as the planner.

Van Williamson, the winemaker of Edmeades, has a feast in his freezer that would shock most of the civilized world. In he has a stash of food that comes from tireless hunting and gathering: pheasant, geese, ducks, abalone, sardines, albacore, halibut, salmon and venison.

If you’re driving along Hwy 12 in Kenwood today, keep your eyes open for roaming sheep — 69 of them to be precise — in the vines at Landmark Vineyards.

“Prohibition, The Speakeasy Wine Club” will open its doors in March and this clever 30-seat wine bar will feature a clandestine entrance – through a telephone booth, no less — and offer Sonoma County’s most sought-after wines and boot-leg-style beer. It will take you back to the roaring 20s and tight-lipped 30s.

The offspring of the baby boomers, ranging in age from 21 to 31, are the target market for a new food and wine pilot called “Wine Uncomplicated.” Scott MacLeod, a producer with Meritage Entertainment, will begin shooting the 22-minute episode in Sonoma April 7 through 10th.

I had a sneak preview of some Alsace varietals that will be poured this Saturday and Sunday at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville. If you’re planning to go, here’s a quick hit list of some of the most striking: