Chris Macias

A new car smell surrounds Driven Cellars. Actually, make that an old car smell.

Listen up, pilgrim: Thanksgiving's coming, and it's high time to think about appropriate wine pairings.

Not everything is sweet in Placer County's citrus country.

The Thanksgiving table teems with flavors, from sweet and tangy cranberry sauce to savory gravy and hearty meats.

For local beer lovers, the news was a giant buzz kill. Sacramento Brewing Co., a veritable oasis of suds and food, shut down Oct. 18.

Seems like most of the local restaurant news these days covers financial woes or a place simply shutting down.

What wine goes with … meatloaf?

Chicken ranchers Kristy Levings and Brian Douglass want the best for their birds - and their hungry customers.

OK, the kids had their fun last week with our grape juice tasting. But we're back to beverages for grown-ups. Check out these bottles, which can be found around Sacramento for a lucky $13 or so.

1959 wasn't merely a very good year for French wine. It has been dubbed the "vintage of the century."

Fire up a portable grill and sport the green and gold – or an Aggies jersey.

We truly live in a fast-food nation. A recent Bee investigation found that eight out of 10 people in Sacramento County live within two miles of a prominent fast-food chain restaurant.

Let's check in with a guy who has one of the most perceptive palates in town.

This week, Liquid Assets features a ghost of a wine, a bit of the Mediterranean via Lodi - and a white that's one of our favorites on a budget.

Highway 29? Not on this day. As much as we love a quick Napa sojourn, today it's all about Highway 99 and a wine-tasting trek near Lodi.

Last week, we told you about a Sacramento connection to "Top Chef." That would be contestant Jesse Sandlin, a Baltimore native who cut her teeth at such Sacramento restaurants as Esquire Grill, Spataro Restaurant and Lucca Restaurant and Bar.

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, and what better way to say "sayonara" to the season than with beer and a barbecue?

The grape gods have traditionally been good to the growers in Clarksburg, with fruitful harvests and an increasing demand for their wine.

Want a little something to nibble? Go online to get a taste of the updates we offer you each day at www.sacbee.com/appetizers.

And now, a hoist of the glass for Donal Smith.

If a winery could have a "new car smell," this would be it. Walk inside this well air-conditioned, 3,600-square-foot room and the furnishings look flawless.

Liquid Assets has you covered, whether you seek to satiate your sweet tooth, find a local wine or are just looking for a bottle of red that won't break your budget.

Last Thursday, the machinery at Lodi's Woodbridge Winery went silent, and workers paused. Every year for the past 30, early August marks a respite before the wine grape harvest's crush of work. It's time to give thanks.

This week's Food & Wine cover story is all about cocktails, but we've been tasting plenty of wine, too. Here are three picks, whether you're looking for value wine or something to go with that barbecue.

Think of it as "the winery formerly known as Sutter Ridge." That's the name an Amador County winery used for more than two decades before lawyers sent letters threatening legal action.

With the summer heat on full blast, "Liquid Assets" is switching things up to focus on sangria.

Warning: Do not start a fight at 58 Degrees and Holding Co. Play the fool, and you might get thrown into an arm bar by Brandy Rocha, the bar manager and events coordinator.

Didn't originally intend this, but "Liquid Assets" is all about California wines this week. So let's hear it for the Golden State and these relatively affordable bottles.

Liquid Assets sampled a slew of wines last week at Grape & Gourmet, which featured winners from the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

The Grape & Gourmet event in downtown Sacramento brings the best of dining with lovable wines. Here are some samples.

Poor merlot, the grape that's turned into a punch line. Since getting slammed in the movie "Sideways," this varietal just doesn't get much love.

Everybody loves a winner, especially when it comes to wines. And plenty of champion bottles are there for the choosing, with the recent results announced from the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition.

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.