Chris Macias

We've spent a chunk of time lately in Clarksburg, not so much for wine tasting but to report on a fairly epic story.

If the Grateful Dead has its "Deadheads," then you call this group of local wine lovers the "Forheads." They gathered Thursday night to celebrate their fondness for a particular California wine: Forman cabernet sauvignon.

So much for the days when dressing up mac 'n' cheese meant adding hot dog slices. Sniff around Sacramento and you'll find versions practically elevated to haute cuisine.

Though many of us already have a head start, the outdoor cooking and dining season officially kicks in over Memorial Day weekend. Consider these wines for your cookout or for just getting lazy during the three-day weekend:

The eight bottles of pinot noir were concealed in brown paper bags and wrapped in aluminum foil for even more anonymity. All the while, Josh Nelson wondered which bottle was the one he helped craft – and how it might fare against these other wines in the $45-$55 range.

Sacramento could use a spot like the Dancing Fox Winery & Bakery. Think of a place that mixes urban winemaking á la Revolution Wines, with the pub charm of the Fox & Goose and Old Soul Co.'s baked goodies.

They'll be going mano a mano with their meals and facing off with food.

Mexican cuisine is some of the food we love most, whether we're chomping on carnitas or carne asada tacos. But how do we know if we're feasting on authentic Mexican cuisine, or just some gringo-ized grub?

Heading down East Jahant Road, the facility in the distance looks more like a miniature version of the Campbell's Soup factory than a family-owned winery.

The beer industry is a battleground where multinational conglomerates duke it out for shelf space while squeezing out small brewers.

Tough economic times are mandating a "change or die" attitude on the local wine scene. But not everyone is feeling sour grapes.

Mike Mraz started making beer like many home brewers: in the kitchen and on a budget. The setup included a turkey fryer borrowed from Mraz's mom. Just a few months later, he won a home-brewing award for his Belgian Blonde Ale.

It's the scholarship of a lifetime for Daniel Person. Right now he's a 26-year-old graduate student of viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis.

The road to Lodi is slick and soggy on a recent Sunday afternoon, but hydroplaning be darned, we're going to make it to the Lucas Winery.

I'm back from a week in Napa with plenty of purple-stained notes and a renewed sense of purpose. I had won a fellowship to the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, where I was ensconced with fellow scribes at Meadowood resort in St. Helena.

By night, you'll find Maynard James Keenan rocking a sports arena near you, singing and screaming for the headbanging masses. Offstage, Keenan thrives for a mellower time spent in his vineyards, surveying rows of tempranillo and grenache grapes and tasting wine that'll soon be ready for bottling.

Americans are increasingly embracing the idea that wine - unlike other alcoholic beverages - can be a part of everyday life and culture. For many people, just about every night at dinnertime a bottle of value-friendly wine is within reach.

In the land of Lodi, where the Mokelumne River might as well flow with zinfandel, these are wines that could best be paired with lederhosen.

Downtown Sacramento turned into the hub of the wine industry last week with the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.

The city of Davis is awash in wine, but mostly in an academic setting.

Super Bowl Sunday is just a few yards away, and Gabriel Glasier of the Redbud Cafe is preparing to score with some appetizers and a football feast.

Sacramento's master of motivation knows that most folks are feeling kind of gloomy, given the slumping housing market and the latest unemployment figures.

Autumn Sky is one of the rising artists on the local singer-songwriter scene, armed with an acoustic guitar and some bittersweet yet lovely songs.

Sacramento's underground rappers have sold millions of CDs and you probably know little, maybe nothing, about them. Bee pop music critic Chris Macias and photographer José Luis Villegas spent five months exploring the south Sacramento hip-hop scene that is known across the country for its extreme lyrics, gangsta images and big beats.