Sip This: Bubble Shack Brut Rose

The Bubble Shack Fesstivity Brut Rosé 2014: Fesstivity should be the clue — this sparkling is an effort of Fess Parker family siblings Ashley Parker-Snider (executive vice president) and Eli Parker (currently director of vineyard operations). With more than 600 acres to tap, there’s plenty of vineyard to manage, and luckily some of the best led to this wine, as it’s sourced from pinot noir grown in the Rio Vista Vineyard of the Sta. Rita Hills.

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Outside the Box Drinking for Thanksgiving

Perhaps no holiday can seem as traditional as Thanksgiving. It's easy to feel as if the proscribed menu leaves its deep rings on us just like the ones on the canned cranberry sauce Aunt Emmaline plops out into an heirloom dish each year. So while it's not my place to suggest you shake up your meal, I can certainly offer you a bunch of out-of-the-box options for potent potables. You don't have to fall back on chardonnay as the only white wine to go with a bird (although many certainly do), or pinot noir as the only red (ibid), or worse yet, fall for the marketing scam that is Beaujolais Nouveau.

Want to read more then do so at KCET's Food Blog.