Rick Kushman

They are civilized, socially acceptable and safe. What wine gatherings and gathering places aren't are places for women to meet a lot of guys.

It's maybe the most common question from anyone who drinks wine, whether they're collectors or just folks who have a glass with dinner: What wine should I drink?

It's a picturesque morning on a softly rolling hill a couple of ridges away from the south fork of the American River. The world here in the low Sierra foothills feels calm and perfect.

There's an odd joy to watching shows like "Top Chef" and "Iron Chef," beyond the eats they whip up. For foodies, it's also the magic of seeing someone great in action.

The first graduates at Sacramento's Health Professions High School are ready to go out and make a difference.

Finally, someone's going to follow Darrell Corti with a camera when he visits another exotic spot on a food-and-wine mission.

This time they really mean it. TV goes all-digital in 11 days and there will be no take-backs, no changies and, if you aren't prepared, no TV.

SAN FRANCISCO – Claude didn't seem to feel the thrill, but my mom sure did, and I couldn't blame either of them, considering their perspectives.

With all this warm-to-hot weather around, and with the backyard furniture in use and the barbecues firing up, it's time for that bracing glass of cold white wine, no?

There are loads of reasons not to be depressed in Calistoga, even if you're just visiting. The stores, restaurants and streets are filled with not-depressed people.

It's time again for our spring public service message of dos, don'ts and no-one-could-be-that-dumbs of the American River Parkway.

We've got some small-but-fun stuff today on the restaurant scene, and it revolves, just as most good meals do, around fresh ingredients and places to find them.

From a turnout in the road just above Salmon Falls Bridge, you can see where the new trail will end after it traipses along some of the most beautiful river canyons in Northern California.

Chill or not, the tasting bar in one corner at Cooper Vineyards was a bastion of warmth and cheer, as much for the energy being shared by the tasters and pourers as for the quality wine list.

Lots of people asked for more about what restaurants consider good service. The short answer is, everything. Lighting, A/C, sound levels, timing the food, being nice, you name it.

In the world of neighborhood bars, Bonn Lair is the holy grail – a genuinely welcoming, low-key but energetic, Cheers-like pub in real life.

Spring doesn't always come easy. The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento opened its celebrated courtyard for lunch Friday, so, of course, it rained into early afternoon.

First the aesthetic point. Don't you hate the word staycation?

It's one of the many quandaries of these times. You're disheartened about jobs or your bank account, or maybe you just could use a nice evening out.

I've got a couple of changes to tell you about today, because isn't everything changing right now?

It was a semi-stormy weekend, with gray, flat light and not much texture to the sky. A friend and I were wandering through the Shenandoah Valley and Amador County wine country – a fine choice on a semi-stormy day – when we were dazzled by brightness.

There was a small, happy little sight in my neighborhood the other day: A new cafe just opened.

The pick this week is the engaging and uplifting adaptation of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" Sunday on HBO. But first a warning about some schedule shifts this week – thank you, Mr. President.

That shout you'll hear sometime today, that long whooo-hoooo bouncing off the walls in bars and offices, in dorms and living rooms, will mean our national moment of escapism is here.

We won't spend too much time on "American Idol," but there are a couple quick things, and none is the new Judges Magic Save rule, though I will gripe that it forces viewers to re-watch the song they already hated most from performance night.

See, this is why you have to love reality TV, as long as you don't take the terms "reality" or "TV" too seriously. Think of it more as slapstick.

In ABC's new, cheeky hour tonight called "Castle," a roguish, life-is-good crime novelist gets teamed with a reluctant, life-is-hard cop. Does anyone not expect sparks?

These may be grim economic times, particularly for media companies and your friendly neighborhood TV networks, but they are not bad times for TV viewers.

YOUNTVILLE – There is a handful of places in America that are clearly the big leagues for food and wine, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Napa Valley.

Very late tonight – technically, it'll be Tuesday – one of those rare TV switches, usually followed by cranky criticism, will go down.

We've hit the season when news from Hollywood about possible new fall shows gets the TV world all kaflubbered and jumping to overstatement by declaring trends.

You'd think this would be a pretty simple deal. Conan O'Brien leaves the "Late Night" chair Friday after 16 years. So where's the celebration? Where's the buzz?

A couple of times a month, Paul Robins and his wife, Bridget, have friends over for dinner. More accurately, they engage them in meals, try things, play with recipes, get everyone involved. In short, they go all foodie on the dinners.

If you needed any reminder that "American Idol" is, first and most, a television show with a singing contest, rather than just the contest, the round of 36 semifinalists starting Tuesday should do it for you.

It's not easy making a call on Fox's "Dollhouse," one of the early big-buzz shows for this season. It's a series loaded with both potential and potential problems.

Now that the digital transition is going to be delayed until June 12, you can drop the electrical engineering classes and get back to watching TV for a while.

When you look at Sacramento's vibrant nightlife, its energy, clubs, restaurants, bars and its wine and foodie enthusiasm, it's almost hard to remember this region before the boom.

Lots of people have been asking, so let's get right to the headline: Yes, the Amgen Tour of California will be televised, and the coverage will be extensive.

SAN FRANCISCO – First there's that horrible sound: the crash and clinking of breaking glass.

There's been a lot of confusion lately, to add to the heap of other confusion, about the change of television to an all-digital signal.

CALISTOGA – The reaction is the same for almost every first-timer.

NAPA VALLEY – The stone deck of Silverado Vineyards is a couple hundred feet above the Napa Valley floor, and on a recent Sunday afternoon it was close to heaven.

There is good news and bad news about being a Super Bowl advertiser. The good part: People actually watch your ad. And the bad? People watch the ad.

This is a big weekend, a huge weekend, a super weekend, if you will, for our little friend the zinfandel grape.

Now this is how you make a TV show. Get two charismatic stars, make sure they have chemistry, give them a solid but not overdone script, let them make you a winner.

We're starting right off with good news. Matthew Weiner, creator and driving force behind AMC's Emmywinning "Mad Men," has signed a deal to continue writing and producing the stellar show.

When Barack Obama steps forward Tuesday to become the 44th president of the United States, it will be a momentous event for bunches of reasons, and one is that it will be the most-watched presidential inauguration in American history.

It's been nine seasons, and a lot of people have gotten to know the guy. Now he's leaving, and it had better be for love.

Finally, we've hit a big, big week in TV. Unless you're watching NBC. No, wait, even that network – in fourth place and dropping – starts something great this week: "Friday Night Lights."