Our annual Guide to Drinking was published as part of the September issue of Sauce. Since I’m thinking liquids all month long, here are three more favorites glasses I can’t get enough of.
{What do you do when you can’t decide between beer and wine? You get close to both by opening a bottle of Proximity, a wheat ale brewed with the juice of sauvignon blanc grapes. Part of Blue Moon Brewing Co.’s Vintage Ale Collection, this beer-wine hybrid is light, citrusy and floral, and it proved to prissy me that I am quite capable of polishing off a magnum.}
{At Pastaria R&D, the unique three-course dinners offered Monday nights at Niche, great pasta tastes even better when you order wine pairings. You’ll get a sip of some unique wines you might not ever get to try. A few weeks ago, I was in heaven with a glass of R. López de Heredia Viña Todonia Viura 1991 Malvasia Gran Reserva Rioja, a white Rioja that sells for $179 on the bottle list. Thank you, Niche beverage director Michael Murphy!}
{On a recent visit to Hiro Asian Kitchen, I spotted owner Bernie Lee on the front patio working on his laptop – but sipping something pretty. Turns out it was Hiro’s house-made sangria. I learned two lessons that day. One: Sake tastes terrific in sangria, lending flavor while keeping things light and refreshing. Two: Order what the boss drinks. He usually knows what he’s doing.}
This article appears in September 2013.