When did you first become interested in wine? (When was your first taste? How was the experience?)
My very first illicit taste of wine was when I was about 7 and I was standing too close as a cousin wrestled to open a bottle of Cold Duck. It was actually quite thrilling when the plastic cork came out with a pop and I was showered in sweet, fizzy red wine! I became more interested when working at restaurants and catering around Chicago during college. But I didn't start studying in earnest until I became a restaurant critic and food writer at the San Diego Union–Tribune. I needed to assess wine lists and I wanted to know what I was talking about so I started taking wine education classes in San Diego from Eddie Osterland who was the first Master Sommelier in the U.S. and also at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.

What brought you into the wine business?
Writing articles about wine led to more classes and discussions with great figures in the wine business and more travel. I noticed the way sparkling wines especially were enjoyed more frequently in Europe and on less–formal occasions. And then many sommeliers told me that champagne and sparkling wines were great for pairing with foods. I decided to start doing research on a book that would help people here appreciate sparkling wines more fully. The result is: The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, August 2009). Besides the many delicious drink recipes, it also offers a guide to enjoying sparkling wines from every major region in the world.

Do you have a favorite variety or region?
I adore pinot noirs from lots of places; pino–driven wines from Champagne are tops, but I also love them from Gevrey–Chambertin in the Cotes de Nuit, New Zealand and enjoy the pinots from California – the Russian River and Anderson Valleys. My favorite ones are elegant, sensual and complex.

If you don't order wine at a restaurant or bar, which beverage do you choose?
I love creative, culinary–driven cocktails, especially if they're made with an interesting gin or some ingredient the bartender has crafted in–house.

What's your least favorite drink?
Pinot grigio; most of it – unless it's from Friuli – tastes like water to me. It's become the new white zinfandel.

What's your best wine–drinking memory? What was the occasion?
I have many pleasant memories of occasions that were enhanced by wine, but a lot of them are kind of personal! It was really a thrill sipping Krug's Grande Cuvée at 10,000 feet over the desert near Phoenix. It's a really unique style of champagne that has this amazing depth and complexity while still being balanced and crisp. Krug created a custom hot air balloon and we spent a couple days floating around and drinking champagne and fine wines with every luxurious food you can imagine.

In your opinion, which country, other than the U.S., makes the best wine? Why?
I don't think of wines in those terms. “Best” is a tricky word because enjoying the flavors in a wine is very subjective, a matter of someone's individual palate and personal preference. It's like saying a rose is better than an orchid; they're both gorgeous flowers, they're just different. When it comes to sparkling wines, Italy offers such an interesting variety of styles – more than any other country. They range from lighter styles such as prosecco to sweet and fruity moscato, raboso and brachetto d'Acqui to spicy sparkling malvasia to franciacorta from lombardia, which is made in the same way as champagne. These wines are great with foods and are often priced very attractively.

What are your thoughts on recent trends within the industry?
I'm glad to see that people are starting to buy sparkling wines and champagnes throughout the year instead of just from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day. And I think it's interesting that sparkling wine sales are increasing and starting to erode some of the market dominance that champagne has enjoyed for years. Right now, many consumers are looking for more affordable ways to enjoy bubbly.

What is the first thing someone learning about wine should know?
The most important thing is to taste different wines and find something you like. It's not about drinking highly rated wines that you force yourself to like because some wine critic or writer says they're good. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Then once you're comfortable, be brave and try something different. Before you know it, you'll have a whole palette of wines that you like and can order when you go out.

What are some of your favorite food and wine pairings?
I adore brut champagne and sparkling wine with oysters, cracked crab, French fries and potato chips; lamb with pinot noir; my dad's barbecue pork ribs with brut rosé, blue cheese with port, prosecco with prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano, moscato drizzled over ripe peaches.

Do you think any rules should be adhered to when pairing?
Most wine professionals try not to intimidate people by talking about rules. It's more modern to talk about guidelines for people to keep in mind. The whole idea of pairing food with wine is to find a complementary balance between the flavors, texture of the food and that of the wine. You don't want either the food or the wine to be overwhelmed. Fried food like potato chips, French fries and tempura are brilliant with dry sparkling wines and high–acid white wines because of the way the bubbles and acid counteract the oiliness in the food. A salty creamy blue cheese is complemented by a sweet, high-acid wine like ice wine, sauternes or port. A great grilled rib–eye steak is delicious with a big, lush red wine or a bolder style of champagne because both can stand up to the meat's rich flavors. The only “rule” comes in when pairing wines with desserts – the wine needs to be sweeter than the food otherwise the wine will taste sour.

What are some of the benefits of drinking wine?
Red wine offers resveratrol, a plant phytochemical that is said to help combat the effect of aging, strengthen the immune system and keep our cardio–vascular system healthy by preventing the formation of blood clots, according to a study. Pinot noir has the most resveratrol of any red vitis vinifera grape variety – especially the ones grown in cool, wet places such as Oregon's Willamette Valley or the Finger Lakes region of New York State.

What wines should no home be without?
A cold bottle of champagne for when there's a moment you want to make more special or you need a pick me up; and food–friendly white wines, such as albariño or sauvignon blanc, and a bottle of pinot noir to eat with everything from lamb to mushrooms to pork. I also like having something sweeter like a moscato d'Asti, German riesling or vouvray around for when I want a taste of something sweet that's not dessert.

Do you have any favorite wine gadgets? Are there any new ones on the market? If so, what are they and where can people get them?
I'm not much of a gadget person. I do have several champagne stoppers, which have a plug and two metal arms that fit snugly around the neck of the bottle. Get a few because not all sparkling wine bottles are designed the same way. They can be found at wineries that make sparkling wine and online.

What inspirations do you look toward when making your unique sparking cocktails?
I really took a culinary approach to the cocktails, the same way a chef creates a dish. First I thought about all the fresh fruits I love eating in different seasons: strawberries in spring, apricots and cherries in summer, crisp apples and pomegranates in autumn and grapefruits, tangerines and Meyer lemons in winter. Then I thought about what flavors worked well with those fruits and how to create cocktails that balance the flavor of the wine and alcohol with sugar and acid. I like thyme with citrus; that wound up in a cocktail called Tangerine Dream that includes tangerine juice, vanilla infused soju and thyme syrup. I love the flavor and scent of violet and thought it would work well with the botanicals in gin and a bit of citrus for balance; The Violet Fizz is like sipping a perfumed cloud. Cherries and brandy are another classic combination; they work beautifully with rosé and maraschino in the autumnal cocktail called The Sour Cherry.

Did you use your journalism degree while writing your Bubbly Bar book?
Definitely. Some of the skills I learned at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University include getting interviews, doing research and distilling complex information into an understandable form. Those skills went into preparing the Appendix in the back of The Bubbly Bar that includes information on how sparkling wines are made and enjoying wine by country and by price point.