It turns out the girls, born last month, were given a taste of wine the day after labor. And while they didn’t rate it, they appeared to like it … and no, it didn’t upset their digestion.

With local charities depending on auction dollars, a recession-proof strategy is ingenious.

This Memorial Day weekend all eyes are fixed on the sky. (Of course the high tech wine drinkers are tuned into the weather posts on the Net.) Either way, when it comes to our palate this weekend, it’s clear that Mother Nature is calling the shots.

Move over Fred Franzia. Matt Cornfoot, who worked for Franzia for 17 years , has developed a brand called Rare Red that’s turning heads because it can be found for five bucks Five Buck Matt?

When we lost Mike Lee this week, we lost a true innovator, a smart risk-taker, a brilliant entrepreneur who made millions by betting on quality.

Jess Jackson, the self-made vintner who died at 81, will be remembered for his enterprise. The key to Jackson’s success was his realization that America’s soda-pop palate was poised for a sweeter-styled chardonnay.

What!?! Wine Country inspired a backyard vineyard in Minnesota? I was recently at a wedding in Washington D.C., when my cousin Jodi told me her news: She has a backyard vineyard. Yep. Eight sturdy vines. That wouldn’t have been so shocking on the face of it, but my cousin happens to live in Rochester, Minnesota.

Will Barrel Tasting be a frat party? As you recall, in years past there was some generational sniping between baby boomers and the Millennials. In fact, some people in their 40s complained LOUDLY about the unabashed party-inclined younger set, ages 21 to 31, who enthusiastically paired wine with beer and martinis.

If the Oscar winners were sparkling wines ... Then Colin Firth, who won best actor for The King’s Speech, would be Le Reve, a blanc de blanc, that’s austere and elegant. And Natalie Portman, who won best actress for “Black Swan,” would be J Schram, a rich, complex brut with a big personality.

On Presidents Day the former White House executive chef, Walter Scheib, was on hand during the induction ceremony to the Vintners Hall of Fame at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. When asked earlier about last year’s State Dinner debacle, Scheib said it never would have happened during Hillary Rodham Clinton’s reign as First Lady. Why? Read on.