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Last week, I inadvertently accepted an invitation to a preview of an outdoor weekend "wine fest" here in Houston. I won't go into the details but by the time I realized what kind of wines were being poured, it was too late to decline politely.

The centerpiece wine in the tasting was a California red blend by a legacy Napa grape grower and winemaker and a celebrity tattoo artist.

Curious about the wine, I looked it up on the winemaker's site. Here's how the tasting notes and technical info read:

Last week's post "Can a sommelier be trusted?" turned out to be more polarizing that I imagined.

It was retweeted and shared on Facebook by numerous wine professionals, many of whom thanked me for writing it.

At the same time, a number of readers commented (on various social media platforms) that my notes on Sullivan's article were "ill tempered" (as one Twitter user wrote).

I'm just going to cut to the chase here.

Paul Sullivan's ridiculous "Wealth Matters" column ("Reading Restaurant Wine Lists, for Blockbusters and Values") for the New York Times this week really pissed me off.

In it he observes and asks: "At the end of the day, though, the sommelier is a salesman. Can he be trusted?"

Sweet Sauternes and rich foie gras. Oxidative Muscadet and briny raw oysters. Barnyard-scented Pinot Noir and fatty roast duck breast. Jammy Zinfandel and a juicy burger and crisp French fries. Plump Sangiovese with a bloody steak. Bone-dry Riesling and smoked salmon. Racy Champagne and oily fish roe.

The above are some of the world’s greatest and most famous wine pairings. But do they make you horny?

Last week here on the blog, we talked about different approaches to wine shopping, including budgeting and getting the best pricing whenever and wherever you shop. And most importantly, we talked about how your wine salesperson is your best bet for getting the most out of your wine shopping experience.

But once you've purchased your wine, it's also important to be mindful of how you transport and store the wine once you leave the store.

Wine shopping can be a daunting experience for a lot of people. Especially for folks who don't regularly drink wine, the thought of walking into a wine store and picking out a bottle — from literally hundreds on the shelf — can be overwhelming.

In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that there are still a handful of independently owned wine stores scattered around the U.S.

Between the “big box” outfits and major retail chains that dominate the wine sales world, mom-and-pop operations are a sadly endangered species.

But the good news is that after thirty five years in business, the Boulder Wine Merchant is still going strong and enjoys a fiercely loyal following among its clientele in Colorado and beyond.

It's already mid-January and the new year is about to get into full swing.

And so it seemed like a good time to get back to basics and brush up on the fundaments of wine tasting.

During the Boulder Burgundy Festival, when I sat down with Robert Bohr, one of the most dynamic wine professionals working in U.S. today, he reminded me that "wine tasting is like a muscle" and being a top taster is "like being an athlete."