Click to watch 'WineBoy' Webcast Ever get in a wine-drinking rut, sipping the same old, same old same old - chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc? Join 'WineBoy' John Brown for some tips on three alternative whites that will reinvigorate your palate and provide a nice change-up to the wines you usually select. Then WineBoy's cowboy pal - Spud Dumplin' - makes a guest appearance to show his displeasure over the abrupt departure of a certain football coach. Watch as Spud serves up some chuckwagon wisdom by sharing his poem: "Owed (Ode) to Coach Rod. "

Fall is upon us and with the cooler weather the number of indoor activities naturally increases. Consequently, there are a greater number of wine tastings, gourmet-wine dinners and other gastronomic events around our beautiful state. Whether you decide to stay close to home or travel, there are some nice events on the horizon for wine and food lovers in West Virginia. Check these out.

Bridgeport
Oct. 22: Provence Market's October Wine TastingIf you’re in the north-central WV area next week, you might stop by Provence Market Cafe for a tasting of some good Mountain State wine as Elaine and Alan Wolfe present their Jones Cabin Run Vineyards "Award Winning" selections on Monday, October 22. The tasting begins at 6 p.m.and costs $20 per person.

In case you didn’t know, Provence Market Café is an excellent restaurant with a Wine Spectator award winning wine list. You also might want to check out their annual Holiday Tasting which is scheduled for Monday, December 3rd. For further information on tastings or for dinner reservations call 304-848- 0911
Charleston
OCT. 22: Chefs with Golden Spoons DinnerIf you want to experience the best West Virginia’s culinary wizards have to offer, then consider attending the annual March of Dimes dinner and auction at Berry Hills Country Club on Monday Oct. 22, at 6:30 p.m. The dinner event will feature dishes donated by chefs from around the state, including those from Canaan Valley Resort, The Chop House, Edgewood and Berry Hills Country Clubs, Olgebay Resort, The Blossom, Snowshoe and several others. Attendees may bid for dinner packages in the chef’s restaurants, jewelry and weekend getaways. Tickets are $75 in advance and $100 at the door. Call 720-2229 for reservations. All proceeds from the event go to the March of Dimes.

NOV. 1: Science of Wine & Art of Food fundraiser
The 11th annual Science of Wine & Art of Food fundraiser by the Friends of the Clay Center takes place 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Clay Center, featuring a five-course menu paired with wines of New Zealand and Australia. The menu will be prepared by the Clay Center's in-house caterer, Embassy Suites Hotel-Charleston and will feature assorted canapés of vegetables and gourmet cheeses; mussels a la mariniere; Autumn salad of mixed greens and poached pears; a mixed grill duo of lamb and venison; and almond tuile filled with vanilla mint mascarpone.

Silent and live auctions take place throughout the evening including trip to Sonoma, California; Alberta, Canada; and Hawaii, as well as such silent auctions for wine, gourmet food baskets, theater and sporting event tickets and more. Reservations are required by Friday, Oct. 26. Tickets cost $100 per person. Registration is available online at www.theclaycenter.org. Science of Wine & Art of Food is sponsored by Spilman, Thomas & Battle, PLLC, with additional support from BrickStreet Insurance, Commercial Insurance Services, Embassy Suites Hotel-Charleston and Warner Law Offices, PLLC.

NOV. 5: Capitol Market Wine and Cheese Shop
The Shop will hold its annual wine dinner on Monday, Nov. 5 at the Blossom Deli at the Capitol Market in Charleston. Chef Michael Rice has planned an Italian-themed menu to pair with wines selected by Vin Divino, an importer of fine Italian and Austrian wines. This will be five-course meal paired with six wines from Austria and Italy. The cost of the event is $75 per person and space is very limited, so call the Wine Shop at 343-9463 to reserve your spot.

NOV. 15: Blues BBQ Restaurant
The fine folks at Blues, across from the Clay Center at Lee Street and Leon Sullivan Way, will be holding a holiday-themed wine and food dinner on Nov. 15, beginning at 7 p.m. The menu is being constructed around traditional holiday foods matched with an international array of wines. Call Blues at 720-7873 for more information and to make a reservation.

Canaan Valley
NOV. 9-11: Canaan ValleyJoin me for a "Gourmet Wine Weekend In the Mountains - With WineBoy," the weekend of Nov. 9-11 at Canaan Valley Resort for an entertaining and educational food and wine extravaganza. I’ll select wines from around the world that will be paired with a cornucopia of culinary delicacies.

I’ll team up with Canaan Valley Resort’s executive chef Nemat Odeh to lead you on a tasteful wine and food adventure. Incidentally, Chef Odeh did his culinary training in Europe and is a really talented guy. Here’s the schedule: Friday, guests will kick-off the weekend with a "taste-around reception" where wines from the world's most prestigious regions can be sampled with matching culinary treats, including crab cakes, beef tenderloin, smoked salmon, pasta, a raw bar and other treats.

An educational wine tasting and seminar conducted by your own WineBoy will begin Saturday's activities followed by a delicious luncheon with specially selected wines. Chef Odeh will then conduct a Q & A and culinary demonstration after which guests can enjoy an afternoon of activities or relaxation in the Canaan Valley. The evening's activities begin with a Champagne reception followed by a six-course gourmet meal with matching wines. A Sunday brunch will conclude the weekend’s activities.

Cost of the entire weekend, including taxes and gratuities, is $450 a couple or $269 individual. Cost of the package without lodging is $350 a couple or $175 individual. For additional information or reservations, call 800-622-4121.

With Halloween just a week away, I thought it would be good to share some ghoulishly delicious information with you on things related to blood and wine. Over the years, I have reported on the French Paradox -- a research study that demonstrated a link between wine consumption (particularly red wine) and a reduced risk of coronary artery disease. The subjects of the study (French men and women who consumed large amounts of fatty foods such as butter and cheese), had a low incidence of cardiac disease which was attributed to their daily consumption of red wine.

Another study of red wine consumption back then added an interesting culinary twist to the equation. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison released findings of a study demonstrating that red wine, in conjunction with the consumption of garlic, is even more effective in helping reduce the risk of heart disease.

Now we've all read reports of garlic's healing powers. From heart disease to hypertension, garlic is touted far and wide as a panacea for just about everything, including some supernatural afflictions like vampirism. In addition to its alleged power in repelling vampires, garlic will also repel most human beings who must be in close proximity to those of us who ingest the stuff. The study does not suggest how red wine and garlic should be consumed in order to achieve the desired result. However, I would assume that garlic cloves would be used to flavor vegetables or meat and not just popped in a glass of red wine like olives in a martini.

The scientists at Wisconsin-Madison found that: • Red wine is two times more effective than white wine or beer in protecting against heart disease. • Red wine and garlic in combination work better than either does alone. • Compounds in wine known as flavonoids or polyphenols, rather than alcohol, are what produce the beneficial results. • Wine reduces the risk of heart disease by reducing blood-clotting. This study substantiates the growing body of scientific evidence linking moderate wine consumption (defined as two to four 4-ounce glasses with meals each day) to good cardiovascular health.

The research is also good news to many of us who view culinary Nirvana as a place where sturdy red wine is matched with garlic-flavored dishes each and every day. It just so happens I have had the pleasure of sipping a couple of very good red wines recently that should, when combined with the requisite garlic-enhanced dish, result in a deliciously healthy repast:

2005 Ermitage Pic St. Loup Rouge ($17) – This southern French blend of mourvedre, grenache and syrah is a full-bodied wine with loads of black pepper spice and dark fruit flavors. Try it with a pork sirloin roast which you have rubbed with a mixture of three tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper, a quarter-cup of minced garlic and two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

2003 Red Diamond Merlot ($$11) – I’ve always been a fan of Washington state merlot and this baby more than meets the quality standard. It is a rich and round wine with nice balancing acidity that will marry nicely with grilled chicken that has been marinated with lemon, garlic, olive oil and black pepper.

Change is good. That's all the more reason to check out the latest five-minute Webcast of "WineBoy," where host John Brown recommends tasty alternatives to the same old red wines you've been sipping for, like, ever. Says Brown: "These purple lovelies will reinvigorate your palate and clue you in to the fact that there's more to wine than pinot noir, cabernet and merlot."

ED. NOTE: We've got a blogfecta (blog + trifecata) of posts on the dining/drinking experience. After reading this one, check out Rich Ireland's "Beers To You" post on how restaurants routinely ruin good beers. And food blogger Brooke Brown weighs in with a plaintive cry about servers manhandling the glassware. Over the years, I’ve sipped wine from a variety of vessels, some of which, I must admit, were not exactly made of fine crystal. In fact, in my younger days, I occasionally drank the stuff from coffee cups, beer mugs, plastic containers, water glasses, wine skins, canteens and even (I’m reluctant to admit) from the jug...er bottle.

Like many males of my generation, I also spent a considerable amount of time back then in a ' 57 Chevy, a fraternity house and a foxhole. Consequently, many of the finer elements of wine appreciation, such as selecting the appropriate stemware, were subordinated to more mundane, yet practical considerations such as finding a couple of dollars to buy a jug of Lake Country Red.

Even today, I'll take a sip from a paper cup if I forget to bring my glassware to the picnic or tailgate. But there really is no substitute for using clear glass stemware (preferably crystal) to showcase and enjoy your wine Why? Well, first of all, there is the aesthetically pleasing quality of using fine stemware. One of the elements of wine appreciation which is often overlooked is the visual aspect. Remember that the first “S” of wine appreciation is sight? Being able to assess the true color of wine, its shades and hues, can only be critically observed and enjoyed when the liquid is displayed in clear glassware.

There are many shapes and sizes of clear stemware that are appropriate for wine display and sipping. Generally, white wine is poured into a more narrow, sometimes tulip-shaped glass while the red wine glass is larger and rounder. Champagne glasses are called flutes and are long and narrow tube-like vessels about eight inches from the stem to the top. These differ greatly from the round and shallow vessels that most people erroneously assume are the traditional Champagne or sparkling wine glasses. Both red, white and Champagne glasses should have at least three to four inch stems so you can hold the glass (by the stem) without getting smudges on the bowl that obscure the wine. Another important reason for not holding the glass by the bowl is that your hand will transfer body heat to the wine.

There are actually glasses produced specifically for wine tasting and appreciation. One of my favorites is something called the INAO wine tasting glass developed by the French to help tasters evaluate wine. The bowl of this glass is egg-shaped and the top is tapered to direct and concentrate the aroma of the wine. The glass is approximately six inches tall with a relatively short stem. I found a Web site (“Artisans on the Web” 888-216-6399) where the INAO glasses are priced at $30 for a set of six. You may find better pricing by doing a more comprehensive Web search. My favorite purveyor of fine hand blown crystal is located in Jane Lew, W.Va. Masterpiece Crystal (http://www.masterpiececrystal.com/ or 800-624-3114) produces hand-blown and excellent non-lead stemware at very reasonable prices. They also produce a line of wine tasting glasses similar in size and shape to those produced by INAO. I love the glasses produced by Masterpiece and use them as my everyday stemware. You might also check online for the best prices on world-famous stemware producers such as Reidel or Spiegelau. They make both hand-blown (extremely expensive) and machine-made products. While I’ve occasionally sipped wine from lesser vessels, there is no better way to enjoy that liquid elixir we all love than from clear, crystal stemware. It even makes my homemade wine look good. Still, I hope they’ll develop a glass that will do something about the taste.