The era of French-inspired sparkling wine in California technically began in 1973 with the establishment of Domaine Chandon. However, it wasn't until Domaine Carneros came along in 1987 that we got an estate that truly resembled a French Champagne house. The Taittinger family had many things going for them in California, and one of their foremost advantages was Eileen Crane, who came over from Gloria Ferrer to build the winery. She's still there 31 years later, and we had the opportunity to chat with her recently. We also reviewed Le Reve, the ultra-premium sparkling wine from Domaine Carneros.

The conventional wisdom today is that restaurants are booming and bookstores are struggling. Neither generalization is true across the board, but Barnes & Noble is clearly struggling. In an effort to boost sales and customer count, they're opening a series of gastropubs in their bookstores. Will it work? We examine the pros and cons.

Here are the recent posts:

A Conversation with Eileen Crane

Domaine Carneros: The Dream

Beer, Wine, Food and Books