LindaJ

I am in the family way and due round about October 15th. One of the things being pounded into my head is to cook and freeze ahead of the stork's delivery. Most of the meals I've seen for freezing are very, shall we say, frozen dinner like. I'm reminded of the 60s when my Dad would throw some Swanson's foil thing in the oven for a few hours. Any ideas for healthy, appetizing meals that will freeze well? Links to recipes would be super duper. Thanks so much.

I'm not an industry insider or anything, but these struck me as being pretty obvious statements, not "seismic changes." Probably cause I read eGullet every day? We talk about this kind of stuff all the time here. The internet has obviously changed everything and darn near every statement he makes reflects that directly or indirectly. Buyers have better information about wines and better ways of buying them. Maybe I've been sipping too much Pinot Noir, but my feeling is that we are already the mainstream and Parker is a little behind the times.

Congratulations. And it sounds just yummy.

I had a glass of white zin the other day because that's what my friend likes and it's her house. When she's at my house, she gets the snootier wines I'll try anything once and this Sparkling Shiraz certainly is going on my list of things to quaff.

I went to Julia's alma mater, Smith College, and met her at reunion once. My friends and I crashed a private party at the Art Museum and crept up on her just to meet her during an obviously private conversation with her old school chums. We said hello and she was extremely gracious to a bunch of star-struck 20-somethings. She had the reputation in the Dining Services department of being just the best to work with - funny, poised, and generous to all. And damn, was she TALL Those old French Chef shows where she would use her "impeccably clean" towel will live forever as will the legacy of 50+ years of teaching us to eat and live well.

If one was to purchase a decanter, what would be the recommendation? I'm normally a "gimme a bottle and a straw" type of person, but I figure I should get a little classier with the types of wines I'm now buying

I like the way that Mike Steinberger guy writes. I always enjoy his articles at Slate. Anyone know him who can bribe him into coming here and posting?

A wedding with bad wine is a bad wedding. This coming from someone who planned her wedding a year ago. It makes a ton of difference - well, except to my husband's grandfather who only drinks Yeungling. Go Katie!

Again, another awesome article. And about my fave varietal!!

I'm currently 7 months pregnant and have cut my wine consumption from 3 glasses a night to 1 glass every month (none during the first trimester). The first thing I will drink when I can is Schramsberg. It may be in the friggin labor and delivery room with me. Maybe I can convince the nursing staff that the jacuzzi should be used as a really big champagne bucket. I do have an Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee hidden somewhere too.

Wow. That's the most blatantly marketing oriented winery site I've ever seen. And the sexism? It's actually kind of refreshing to see people be so up front about being total weenies. These guys seem to be following a Harvard Business School case study on doing a winery start up. Maybe they'll have bikini clad standees in retail stores as displays. I'm, like, stunned.

I must say, I'm really enjoying all your recent tasting notes on Pinot Noirs. They are adding to my list of bottles to track down and assimilate!

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law keep trying to push some generic rose on me that's been sitting around for years. I keep declining graciously or intentionally forgetting it. The only positive thing about the bottle is that the glass can be recycled. Thank you for the "I'll think of you..." statement. It's going to come in handy.

I find the pricing to be helpful and basically agree with what DoverCanyon said. If something looks like a screaming deal, I'll go out of my way to look it up or find a retailer.

Well the Sutter Home and the Wild Vines will not age. Actually, the majority of wine is made to be drunk upon release. I have acquired bottles like that from friends who know I like wine. They are good hearted people, but don't understand that this really doesn't count as wine in my book. I redistribute these bottles to other people who enjoy this stuff, but the idea of finding a (legal age) college student is not too far off the mark This place is a terrific place to learn about wine by the way. You'll read about lots of wine for great prices that will encourage you to free up space in those racks for the good stuff.

I have friends who swear by this place and go there for birthdays. Never been myself.

I've read Napa a few times and have heard the same about insiders disliking it. However, I think it's an interesting somewhat gossipy viewpoint on the region and a damn good bedtime read.

Actually at a deli I used to frequent, one of my fave sandwiches was apple, cheddar, and a spicy horseradish based mustard all on a crusty roll. I'm not sure I understand this combo hot, but I guarantee it can be yummy.

So much helpful information, but where's the pH? huh?

I'm always interested to find this information and any other tib bits (harvest date, etc.). But it is very very rarely on the label. I've found it on websites, but often hidden in the "trade only" section, often password protected. I dunno why wineries DON'T post it on their web sites in a section that is available to consumers. I do the majority of my wine research on the 'net and more information is better. I know wineries have a lot going on, but making your web site easy-to-navigate and packed full of info should be at least as important as other marketing activities. Ack, I'm ranting

Is this it? http://www.lasala.it/

Since no one has responded My heart always leaps with joy when I see Iron Horse, Wedding Cuvée, Brut, Green Valley, Sonoma 1999 60 or Schramsberg, Blanc de Noirs, California 1999 64 on a wine list. Those are both California sparkling wines. Schramsberg sparkling wines have always put me into a state of nirvana.

At the house we just bought in December, we have a pergola in the back that is covered with grapes (what variety I have no idea). We're in the Mid-Atlantic so I'm not expecting vinifera, but golly this thread is really interesting from an amateur gardener point of view. Can you explain a little bit more about the sucoring process? Maybe I'm ahead of myself, but it will be really educational.

Intelligent, emotional writing about wine is always appreciated. I look forward to much more!

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I attended some event like this, there would be a bunch of boring people all dressed up. I am not sure that a fine wine can be appreciated while wearing high heels because you're concentrating on how much your feet hurt. My birthday is in 1962 but I'm more than willing to drink good wine a year early while wearing a druid robe. WAY more fun and much less stuffy.