Welcome to the “the Yummy letter,” and to Sip, a column dedicated to bringing you the hottest wine deals, news, reviews, and events, as well as the occasional column on spirits, cocktails and mixology. We’ll have regular Sommelier chats as well, along with recommendations of where to go for great pairings at great prices. I am Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, a.k.a. grape goddess®, founder and president of Planet Grape LLC, a San Francisco-based wine consulting firm.

I come from very humble beginnings and only discovered wine while backpacking in Europe and living on $5 a day. Kool-Aid, mac ’n cheese, Pringles potato chips, and Ho Hos had been the highlights of my culinary experience until then. To stretch my funds, I took overnight train rides, sleeping on the luggage racks above the seats. Bread and cheese, and, to my delight, wine, were dietary staples for even those of modest means. For the first time, I saw wine as an integral component of the meal, rather than as a cocktail. From that moment, I recognized my life’s calling.

When I returned to New York, I pursued Kevin Zraly for a job at Windows on the World and, after a year and several wine courses, was successful. Kevin’s approach was down to earth like I had experienced in Europe, but once I left I encountered endless snobs, boring books, and snooty Sommeliers. Because I am so passionate about the subject matter, I have dedicated my career to bringing the pleasures of wine into the realm of everyday people.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Yummy letter. Yummy is such a snob-busting word. I use it all the time in my presentations and seminars to reassure folks that much of the wine language out there is over the top and condescending. Another word I like is “smiley-face.” I don’t know if I ever “pranced through a meadow after a light summer rain” or “raced through a forest on a thoroughbred whose sweaty saddle mingled with aromas of freshly turned dirt,” but I can tell you the last time a wine made me smile gave me goose bumps, or made the food I was eating taste better.

Catherine Fallis is the fifth woman in the world to have earned the title of Master Sommelier, and is also a Certified Wine Professional. To read more of her writings on wine, please visit

www.planetgrape.com.

grape goddess®
By Catherine Fallis

Welcome to the first issue of “the Yummy letter,” and to Sip, a column dedicated to bringing you the hottest wine deals, news, reviews, and events, as well as the occasional column on spirits, cocktails and mixology. We’ll have regular Sommelier chats as well, along with recommendations of where to go for great pairings at great prices. I am Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, a.k.a. grape goddess®, founder and president of Planet Grape LLC, a San Francisco-based wine consulting firm.

I come from very humble beginnings and only discovered wine while backpacking in Europe and living on $5 a day. Kool-Aid, mac ’n cheese, Pringles potato chips, and Ho Hos had been the highlights of my culinary experience until then. To stretch my funds, I took overnight train rides, sleeping on the luggage racks above the seats. Bread and cheese, and, to my delight, wine, were dietary staples for even those of modest means. For the first time, I saw wine as an integral component of the meal, rather than as a cocktail. From that moment, I recognized my life’s calling.

When I returned to New York, I pursued Kevin Zraly for a job at Windows on the World and, after a year and several wine courses, was successful. Kevin’s approach was down to earth like I had experienced in Europe, but once I left I encountered endless snobs, boring books, and snooty Sommeliers. Because I am so passionate about the subject matter, I have dedicated my career to bringing the pleasures of wine into the realm of everyday people.

Here are a few thoughts:

1.) Wine, like food, is a pleasure for the senses, a sensual pleasure. We use our eyes, our noses and our palates every time we eat. Enjoying a glass of wine requires the exact same tools – nothing more, nothing less.

2.) Wine is a simple agricultural product – fermented grape juice. Wine has for centuries fed, nourished, pleasured, and healed humanity, and has graced the tables of all but the tee-totaling cultures.

3.) We all have the gift, if we are lucky, of sight to enjoy a wine’s beauty, of smell to enjoy its perfume, and of palate to taste and feel a wine. Our individual tastes are as distinct, unique and varied as the hundreds of thousands of vineyards around the world. Read all you want about the top-scoring wines and listen to others brag about their latest acquisitions of cult Cabernets, but in the end, use your senses and make up your own mind.

I am thrilled to be a part of the Yummy letter. Yummy is such a snob-busting word. I use it all the time in my presentations and seminars to reassure folks that much of the wine language out there is over the top and condescending. Another word I like is “smiley-face.” I don’t know if I ever “pranced through a meadow after a light summer rain” or “raced through a forest on a thoroughbred whose sweaty saddle mingled with aromas of freshly turned dirt,” but I can tell you the last time a wine made me smile gave me goose bumps, or made the food I was eating taste better. Here is my first Yummy pick of the week:

grape goddess® recommends:

2006 Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend Petite Sirah California, $10

Another great wine from ZinMaster Joel Peterson, this one is easy on the palate as well as the wallet. Beautiful berry notes – boysenberry, ollalieberry, strawberry – along with black pepper, earth and a slight bit of vanilla, blend seamlessly together in this medium-bodied, mellow wine. The finish is bright and refreshing. $9.99 at Bay area Beverages and More stores.

Catherine Fallis is the fifth woman in the world to have earned the title of Master Sommelier, and is also a Certified Wine Professional. To read more of her writings on wine, please visit

www.planetgrape.com.