Wines and Makers

I hope all of you had a friend like my friend Andrea when you were coming of age. She is my most fabulous friend, the person who taught me about the advantages of being a grown-up, the person who showed me that it was better to smoke and drink less so you could go for Sapphire Gin and Nat Sherman's rather than Monarch and Old Gold's. I was 20 when we shared a house together and I never caught her schlepping around in sweatpants--she wore vintage silk kimonos and red lipstick for that. And she knew how to make crepes. Crepes!

Now I realize that she was a budding MFK Fisher, who also had a thing for lipstick and good food. It makes sense that Andrea would find her way to the California wine country where MFK lived and that her home would become everybody's favorite place to be. Andrea is the best host I've ever known--there's always a glass of wine in your hand within the first 2 minutes of entering her house and she'll cook you and 6 other friends an elaborate, candle-lit dinner and then come outside afterward to work on your car in a velvet dress. Yeah, she knows about cars too!

I would turn to my Dolce Vita friend for wine advice before anyone else and now you can turn to her too. She and her husband Kevin have recently launched a terrific online store based in Healdsburg California called Wines and Makers. There are lovingly chosen recipes to pair with the wines, exclusive videos and interviews with winemakers, a very fun blog, and wine clubs where you can get some great deals and leave the choosing in the hands of the experts.

This just came to my door in space-age packaging, and was quickly enjoyed. Yum!

Folk Machine 2007 Pinot Noir.