Resolution #1
To drink a favorite white wine with red meat

“If Chardonnay is the flavor you like, the story that a magical transformation will take place if you drink a heavier wine with your red meat isn't going to happen. But if you love steak and you love Chardonnay, the combination will be delightful,” declares Master of Wine Tim Hanni. The creator of Winequest Solutions, a company working to help boost staff confidence and, subsequently wine sales, for such major beverage retailers as P.F. Chang restaurants and Ritz Carlton hotels, Hanni has dedicated much of his career to examining the traditional notions of food and wine pairing within the context of food science. I am a great fan of Hanni, a bit of a rogue in this very traditional business. From him I've learned the true secret to food and wine pairing: with a balance of salt and acidity, nearly every flavor combination makes a match.

Asking Hanni for his New Year's message, the answer came without a breath of hesitation. Perhaps the only Master of Wine in the world to encourage wine lovers to select their drink independent of the menu, Hanni's call to action in the New Year is to make it your goal to always drink the wines you love no matter the contents of your plate, even if your favorites are Chardonnay and a thick, aged prime cut.

Chardonnay to delight:
2001 Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyard, California $48
2001 Pierro, Australia $40
2001 Keller Sonoma Coast La Cruz Vineyard, California $28
2001 Neil Ellis Elgin, South Africa $19

Resolution #2
To relish Rosé

Across the U.S., blush-hued wine is sadly misunderstood. Dry Rosé is a world apart from the White Zinfandel most Americans assume fill all bottles glowing from a rosy pink tinge; it can be a bright, fresh, full-bodied and even sophisticated style. Like White Zinfandel, Rosés are generally made from a red grape, the juice removed from skin contact immediately after pressing but unlike White Zin, these wines are fermented to a thirst quenching, bone-dry state.

In Mediterranean cultures, whose cuisines are so admired in modern, American gastronomy, Rosé wines are as much a part of life as lingering lunch hours, fresh-caught seafood and sun-kissed picnics on dry summer days. In the Cotes du Rhone, Navarra and Catalonia, Rosé wines are made with the same care any great Bordeaux chateaux would pay to its Cabernet. Comments Master Sommelier Ken Fredrickson, whose Nevada Wine Agents is noted for importing several elegant Rosés, “Dry Rosé has great versatility. It's a style typically more full bodied than whites without being heavy and tannic. Rosé can be as easily enjoyed at an afternoon picnic as a formal Holiday dinner.”
In recent years, a bold handful of unabashed American vintners, whose tastes clearly run toward European tradition, have begun producing delightful domestic blushes and, with their efforts, Rosé has become slightly easier to spot. “At Unti, we live vicariously in Provence through our Rosé,” comments Mick Unti who produces a Rosé in California's Dry Creek Valley. But despite the efforts of Unti and his American counterparts, Rosé is not yet regarded with a reputation as the commonplace, quaffable treat that it deserves. The next time you dine in with a Mediterranean menu, try sipping Rosé. Don't shy away from taking a bottle as a host gift when you dine with friends. Inexpensive, ready to drink early and neither heavy nor light, it is a style I have found time and again to surprise and delight every guest at my table.

Refreshing Rosés:
2001 Domaines Ott Bandol, France $28
2002 Unti Grenache Rosé, California $12
2002 Scherrer Vin Gris, California $15
2002 Domaine de la Mordoree Tavel, France $17

Resolution #3
To drink Champagne with dinner

Why is champagne reserved in this country strictly for holidays and celebrations? It is a question I often pose in gatherings of wine lovers who share my craving for delicately effervescent drinks. My favorite response may have been that of Gabriele Bambini, whose Sunday Brunch Champagne and Mimosa Bar at the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas helps to make sparkling wine commonplace at the Sunday morning buffet. Twisting his generous mouth into the sort of pout only Southern Europeans can produce, he simply purred with his Italian vowels the most famous of Champagne industry anecdotes, “When Madame Lily Bollinger, (the proprietess responsible for the prosperity of the legendary Champagne house of Bollinger), was asked when to drink champagne, she replied that she drank it when she's sad…and happy. She drank it to pick herself up when she was tired and opened a bottle with friends when she wanted to celebrate. But other than that, she never really touched it - except when she was thirsty.”

When you're happy…or sad:
NV Taittinger La Francaise $30
NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose $50
1990 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill $150
NV Henri Billiot Brut Champagne Reserve $37

Resolution #4
To drink without guilt

The consensus on wine, its health benefits and drawbacks, changes every day. For those of us bogged down by mixed messages, Dr. Murray Susser of Los Angeles' Longevity Medical Center a noted leader in the fight against aging offers this advice, “I don't think its good to have anything every night, except maybe sex. There are definite benefits and drawbacks to wine, but the amount you drink - whether its half a bottle a day or two glasses per week - is dependent on your individual response.”

According to Dr. Justin Ardill, cardiologist and proprietor of Reilly's wines in Australia's famed Clare Valley, wine is proven to slow down, and, optimally prevent heart disease. Red wines, particularly Pinot Noirs, offer additional antioxidant benefits from prolonged contact with the grape skins and seeds. But a glass of red grape juice will not replicate the benefits. It is, according to Dr. Ardill, the antiplatelet effect of wine that makes an impact on heart heath. “Alcohol has also been credited with increasing the good cholesterol in the blood,” adds Ardill. But whether or not you decide the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, when you do choose to drink, don't do it with even a trace of guilt. If you only make one resolution, let it be to always uncork something special and savor every drop.

Pinot Noirs to toast good health:
2001 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley, California $28
2001 Sineann Reed & Reynolds Vineyard, Oregon $30
2001 Pipers Brook The Lyre, Australia $50
2000 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin, France $95