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If any of you are vacationing in the northern California wine country this summer, you're probably just as much interested in where to dine as where the multitude of tasting rooms are located. I've had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time, particularly in Napa, over the past two decades and I'm always excited to taste through a cornucopia of wines and to sample some of the best food in the world.

I'm not going to recommend a list of wineries and tasting rooms for your visit since there are literally hundreds available in Napa and Sonoma alone, plus you may have some favorites you'd like to explore. No, today, you're wandering wino will provided some dining and lodging recommendations if you're planning a trip to the wine country in the not-too-distant future. But first, let's define what comprises the ever-growing landscape of California wine.

"California wine country" mistakenly gives the impression that there is one region in that vast state where grapes are grown and wine is produced. Actually, there are several major wine-producing regions in California, and more than 100 specific American Viticultural Appellations (AVA's) within these larger geographic areas. In addition to Napa, the other major wine regions include Sonoma, Mendocino, Amador andLake Counties - all north of San Francisco- and Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara - south of San Francisco. The largest growing area is the San Joaquin Valley (or Central Valley) just south of Sacramento.

Now that you're familiar with the geography, you're ready for your excursion to begin. As you make your way north from San Francisco, you'll see a sign along the way for the town of Sonoma, and I suggest you stop there for a walk around this historic and quaint little village. Sonoma has excellent restaurants, a French bakery and a cheese factory in addition to the Buena Vista and Sebastiani wineries that are within the town limits.

Sonoma County has five distinct wine-producing regions: Sonoma Valley, Valley of the Moon, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley and the Alexander Valley. Some of the best sparkling wine and Pinot Noir are produced in the Russian River Valley while great Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc are made in the Dry Creek Valley. The Alexander Valley is known for its superb Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay while the other areas produce everything from the above-mentioned wines to Gewurztraminer and Semillon.

There are also very good restaurants and lodging facilities in Sonoma. Try the historic Sonoma Hotel in the town of Sonoma (800-996-7014) or the elegant and expensive Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa (800-257-7544 - photo at right). For lunch wander just north of town to Café Citti (707- 833-2690), featuring inexpensive but wonderful Italian Trattoria-style food. For dinner, I recommend The Girl and The Fig (707.938.3634) or Ristorante Piatti (707-996-2351).

Napa, in the summer, is kind of like Myrtle Beach in the summer, so be prepared for crowds, especially on weekends. There are only two (two-lane) north-south highways running the length of the valley and they get very congested. Once in Napa, try not to schedule more than one winery tour. The tours are very informative, but they take at least one hour and once you've done it, you won't learn a whole lot more by repeating the process. Anyway, most wineries have tasting rooms - some of which charge a nominal fee - so you can sip their wares and purchase their products on the premises.

One helpful hint: if you're planning a full day of tasting room visits, you might consider sipping, but not swallowing the wine, early in the day and saving the actual wine consumption for later. Spitting the wine into cups or spittoons provided in the tasting room is actually viewed as appropriate behavior. (However, it's not a good idea to demonstrate your expectoration skills with an impromptu spitting accuracy exhibition - even though we West Virginians are genetically superior at this activity). Also, it is prudent to have a designated driver, or to hire a car service to take you from winery to winery.

In addition to hundreds of wineries, Napa has some of the best restaurants you'll find anywhere. Here are my favorites: The French Laundry (707-944-2380- Yountville ) - which is one of the most heralded restaurants in the US, but very difficult to get a reservation; Bistro Jeaunty (707-944-0103 - Yountville, photo at right) - French country style establishment; Mustards Grill (707-944-2424- Yountville) - features quintessential California cuisine and an extensive wine list; Tra Vigne (707-963-4444 - St. Helena) - a lovely northern Italian place with al fresco dining; Wappo Bar and Grill ((707) 942-4712 - Calistoga) - wonderfully inventive menu with hard to find wines at reasonable prices; Auberge Du Soleil (707-963-1211- Rutherford) - a great place to have a glass of sparkling wine with wonderful views of the Napa Valley.

If you are a bit more adventuresome, you might consider trying the mud baths in Calistoga, or take a hot air balloon ride over the valley. There are also a great number of lodging facilities, most of which are small B&B's or i nns. Two of my favorites are the Vintage Inn (707-944-1112) which is an elegant B&B and the Napa Valley Lodge (888-455-2468) which is a neat, small hotel located right next to a vineyard.

For those of you who need a respite from sipping and supping, a two-hour trip just north of Napa and Sonoma will get you to Mendocino County. Here you'll wind your way along the rugged Pacific Coast Highway and be rewarded with some of the most spectacular views anywhere. Mendocino County is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the wine country. There are wonderful little B&B's which sit perched on bluffs above the Pacific Ocean where you can relax while gazing at the crashing waves battering the rocky coast. Visiting the Mendocino Coast is a terrific way to end your visit to California's premier wine country. Have a good trip!

Show 7 of WineBoy, the informative, off-the-wall wine appreciation show of The Charleston Gazette is now online, featuring new show sponsor Blues BBQ Restaurant, right across from the Clay Center. Host John Brown takes on the question of the day: Why is it a good thing to air our your red wine?

As the New Year dawns, and as my weary palate rests for a few days, I want to share with you some of my favorite wines (in no particular order) of the past year. Most of these little lovelies are still available in state wine shops or on the Internet. As is my practice, I’ll also recommend a menu item to go with these special wines.So here’s wishing you a happy, prosperous and wine-stained New Year!

2005 Melville Estate Pinot Noir ($30): Melville is a small producer in the Santa Rita Hills area in the cool Pacific Ocean-influenced Santa Ynez Valley. You may recall this area from the movie “Sideways” or from your own personal experience with the delicious Pinot Noirs produced here. The bright red color of the ’05 Melville may mislead those expecting a lighter-styled version of Pinot Noir. However, once you put the Pinot Noir in your mouth, you realize this is a much more complex wine that features layers of flavor. The nose is a combination of cinnamon spice with nuances of caramel and the flavors are of black cherries, spice and just a hint of earth. This wine begs for roasted pork tenderloin in a slightly sweet sauce made from dried cherries or cranberries.

2005 Tomassi Pinot Grigio Le Rosse ($14): From Northeastern Italy, this straw-colored beauty may surprise you with its supple and round flavors of ripe pear and melon. The Le Rosse single vineyard wine is produced in the normally red wine area of Valpolicella -- which may account for why its flavors are so much more intense. Unlike the majority of Pinot Grigio produced in northern Italy, this wine is a spicier, rounder version with more depth of flavor and yet still well balanced. This would be a wonderful accompaniment to linguine and mussels in a garlic and white wine sauce (use about 2 ounces of the Le Rosse).

2004 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir ($50): What a delicious mouthful of wine! This Pinot Noir is a symphony of flavors and aromas with a nose of dark fruit, spice, vanilla and tobacco, and tastes of black cherries, blueberries, cinnamon and earth. If you wish to consume the wine now, you should definitely decant it into a carafe for at least one hour prior to drinking to allow the flavors to open up. And while the wine is approachable now, you will be rewarded if you wait a few more years before drinking it. Drink this wine with roasted filet of salmon that has been dusted with Kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, brown sugar and cayenne pepper.

2005 Altos de Luzon ($15): Until the last few years, the only Spanish wines any of us knew about were the Tempranilo-based reds of Rioja , the Cava’s (Sparkling wines) from the Penedes region and, of course, the fortified wine known as Sherry. More recently, some very good wines from previously unknown wine appellations have been making their way to our shores. The 2005 Luzon is produced in a region of southeastern Spain called Jumilla and is a blend of 50 % Monastrell (Mourvedre) and 25% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranilo. This full-bodied and rich wine has dark fruit flavors with just a hint of black pepper spice. Round and ripe, the wine also has excellent balance and would be a great match to barbecue dishes like baby back pork ribs dry-rubbed with black pepper, garlic, cumin and kosher salt.

2006 Ballantine Chenin Blanc ($17): This remarkable estate-grown Napa Valley Chenin Blanc, produced from 25-year-old vines, is a myth-breaker. Why? Well, most Chenin Blanc, especially from the famous Loire Valley region of Vouvray, is finished slightly sweet and is a lovely brunch or aperitif quaff. The ’06 Ballantine is an elegant, dry wine with citrus and mineral notes, a hint of toasty vanilla and a full-mouth feel. It is also crisp, balanced and would be a great match to sauteed cod seasoned with minced garlic, salt and black pepper and rolled in panko crumbs.

2005 Hedges CMS Red ($14): This Washington State meritage blend of almost equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with about 6% Syrah is a delicious, balanced and complex wine that is an absolute bargain. Washington wines, particularly Cabernet and Merlot, can be the equal to and, in some vintages, even exceed the wines of California and Bordeaux. The 2005 vintage was excellent and this wine reflects that quality. With a rich, mouth-coating cola and black currant flavor, this well-balanced wine is drinkable now, but will benefit from a few more years in the bottle. Serve it with roasted fillet of beef in a Bordelaise sauce. 2003 Don Tiburcio ($16): From Argentina, this wine (comprised of 50% Malbec and the balance equal parts Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Merlot), is a rich and complex mouthful of wine with dark fruit flavors and aromas of vanilla and raisins. This baby is begging for marinated and grilled (boned and butter flied) leg of lamb.

2001 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino ($75): This is a delicious, rich, chewy wine which can be enjoyed now if it is decanted into a carafe and allowed to sit for about three hours. I tasted it a month ago and was blown away by the minty, chocolate aromas, the earthy dark fruit flavors and the silky tannins. The wine will also benefit from several years of cellaring. A great accompaniment to this Brunello would be a grilled veal chop seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, a sprig of rosemary, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2005 Cakebread Chardonnay ($40): This Napa Valley Chardonnay is the essence of power and finesse in a grape that can sometimes be abused in the winemaking process by producers who err on the side of too much oak, alcohol and richness. The 2005 Cakebread is a very balanced wine with a yeasty, creamy aroma and bold, ripe apple flavors with just a hint of vanilla from new oak. This is a wine that would shine with a dish like chicken cordon bleu or Chilean Sea Bass pan sautéed in a little butter.

2004 Earthquake Zin ($28) This Lodi District appellation Zinfandel is produced from very low-yielding old vines. Right out of the bottle, the first thing that is apparent is a sweet new oak aroma masking just about everything else. Once the oak aromas blow off, the blackberry and dark fruit flavors are surprisingly soft and approachable. This is a serious mouthful of wine and at 15.9 percent alcohol this baby needs some serious food. I’d try this with roasted Italian sausage with sweet red peppers and onions over a marinara sauced -pasta dish.

"The nose is quite developed, the tannins are still hard, but the fruit seems overripe and flabby, and the finish is a bit short."

Huh?

While conducting a wine tasting recently, it was pointed out to me that I had begun to sound a little too 'winesy-cutsey. ' It was a polite reminder I was using wine jargon instead of English to explain attributes of the wine. While I deplore wine snobs and other bores, I must admit to falling into the occasional habit of using "winespeak" to describe the sensory aspects of wine. I guess it comes from reading a great deal from other wine writers or experts who liberally sprinkle around such terms as "tannin, acid, flabby, robust, " even "orgasmic" when describing their tasting experience.

Below, I have listed several terms regularly used in describing wine qualities (but not orgasmic). There are obviously many more, but we'll start with these:

Tannin(s) – A naturally-occurring chemical substance present in wine (particularly red wine) which can allow the wine to age. It manifests itself in the mouth as that sensation which makes you want to pucker.

Acid – Refers to the sharpness in the taste of wine. Good acid is balanced by alcohol or sweetness or both.

Rich – Wine is rich when it is mouth–filling, smooth and luscious.

Mellow – An absence of harshness or tannin or smoothness characterizes a mellow wine.

Robust – Describes a full-bodied or possibly heavy wine.

Crisp – Refers to the acidity in the wine, as in a "crisp white wine."

Short Finish – When a wine leaves little or no aftertaste. Conversely, a "long finish" describes a wine that has a pleasant aftertaste and feel.

Nose – A general term which describes the aroma and bouquet of the wine.

Balance – A wine is balanced when the sugar or alcohol and the acid are in harmony with no one element overwhelming the other.

Fruity – Wines which exhibit fruitiness either in the nose or in the taste. Wine is sometimes even described as tasting like a specific fruit such as "this wine has green apple flavors."

Flabby – This term not only describes a wine which has too little acidity, too much alcohol and is out of balance, it also describes your wine writer.

Today's Wine Suggestion: Try the 2004 Graham Beck Cabernet Sauvignon. Gamekeeper's Reserve ($15). This lovely, soft and approachable South African Cabernet is ready to drink with that grilled steak or roasted pork tenderloin flavored with garlic and rosemary.

As I've almost evangelistically proclaimed over the years: "Brothers and Sisters, you got to drink that wine with victuals. Say hallelujah!" Both the wine and the food are enhanced and your sensory pleasure is doubled. One of the best websites I've found to get up-to-date information on matching food and wine is: www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher.

Natalie MacLean, awawrd-winning author of the website, is also author of "Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass." The link above is not just a place to find special occasion food and wine matches. MacLean's says her matching tool pairs wines with everyday meals, as well as challenging fare, such as vegetarian cuisine, egg-based sauces, cheese, TV dinners, and even dessert, including Jell-O and fudge (for those who like to layer their vices).

Check it out.