Last night was a girls’ night, full of giggles, wine, and talk of, well, shoes. Perhaps due to my vocation, shoes are a special passion of mine, and I find them coming into even the most unrelated of conversations.

And wine: Well, I have a pretty stressful life….and a nightly glass (or two) of vino makes it a lot better.

Most women have a long list of weaknesses, and what’s included usually varies from person to person. But I am not alone - two items that will be at the top of most any list are shoes and wine.

Making a choice in footwear says a lot about a person and their mood, and the same holds true for wine – a person’s vino selection speaks volumes about their personality … not to mention how much it says about what the evening will hold!

Below, please find a sample list of some wine & shoe pairings from Fashionbliss.com and FoodFashionista.com creator Mika Takeuchi - the authority on both what to eat and what to put on your feet:

• Strappy Stiletto – If this is your choice, go with Luce (www.lucedellavite.it), hands down. It’s your night on the town and you want to shine as much as your wine. The Luce label was inspired by an actual sunburst – and you can’t shine more than that!

• Ballet Flats: If you opt for these, you want to be comfortable, yet functional but still be stylish. To drink a wine that compliments this, try Cakebread Cellar Chardonnay (www.cakebread.com), a choice that will always feel comfortable, taste wonderful - and will never disappoint.

• Black Heels – This choice makes it clear that you’re not in the mood to fool around. You know what you like – Audrey Hepburn-like elegance. To match this, choose the quintessential classic - the Oberon Merlot (www.oberonwines.com).

• Gladiator Sandals – An emerging trend, the darling of the moment. Choosing these often complicated sandals means you want to be ahead of the pack…leading the trend. You’ll undoubtedly want a glass of Penfolds Reserve Riesling (www.penfolds.com).

• Knee high Boots – These keep you warm, while keeping you out of your less-than-glam Uggs. Stylish, warm and functional, you’ll never go wrong with a glass of M Cabernet Sauvignon. Debuting in October ’09 from Michael Mondavi, as the weather gets cold and you pull out your boots, the fashionable bottle has an edgy design with a silk screened label.

What’s your fantasy wine/shoe pairing? Best answer wins a CASE of Lucente, by Luce Wines: It is an elegant yet versatile wine, the perfect companion for both regional and international cuisine. Tell me your pairing idea (bonus points if it involves Lucente, which you can learn more about at the link above) by September 1.

Good luck!!!

A certain best bud of mine (who shall remain nameless) just sent this to me…I fear it may be pretty accurate!

This afternoon, as I whined about the black cloud over my head since morning, a friend of mine suggested that I make the deliberate decision to create a “banquet” out of my day’s less than beautiful bounty.

In response to his wise advice, I decided to “wine” rather than “whine” and try out my brand-new just-received toy - my electric corkscrew!

I’m quite good at drinking wine, but I’m not so great at opening bottles…so, this corkscrew is a dream-come-true.

From Oster, it uncorks my wine in about 10 seconds flat, and does a really cool whirling motion as it does so. But even more awesome - as it lives on its charger, it emits this excellent red beam of light across my apartment. If I turn the lights out, it’s almost like I’m at some sort of light show!

I decided to open a bottle of Seven Daughters White Winemakers Blend for its inaugural use. It’s so perfect for my totally all over the place personality of the day - It’s:

- 24% French Colombard

· 19% Chardonnay

· 17% Riesling

· 17% Symphony

· 11% Orange Muscat

· 6% Gewürztraminer

· 6% Sauvignon Blanc, working out to a really nice, light, sweet blend…and is just the “dessert” my frazzled mind craved!

It now has a spot of honor, right beside my Polka Dot Riesling. (I am a serial wine monogamist.)

I realized, while chatting about wine, I neglected to mention the super-awesome gift I received right after moving. (I believe, eerily enough, the day my bar arrived!)

Bottlenotes.com is a sort of “wine of the month” club, but geared toward specific interests.

I was gifted a shipment of the “Girls Night In” wine selection - not one, but a CASE of wines specifically tailored to my interests. In my starter pack:

TeAwa Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Louis Jadot Château des Jacques Beaujolais Blanc 2004, Beaujolais Villages, France

Sur de los Andes Malbec Gran Reserva 2004, Mendoza, Argentina

Pretty Sally Rose 2006, Victoria, Australia

Kingston Family Vineyards Bayo Oscuro Syrah 2004, Casablanca Valley, Chile

Castello Banfi Direct Rosso di Montalcino 2005, Tuscany, Italy

I love wine. I drink a glass with dinner a few nights a week, and while I absolutely have my favorite varieties, I honestly have no idea what a “note” of something really truly means. Ditto for “varietal” and my knowledge of region is limited to remembering Nash had a vineyard in Napa on One Life to Live. (RIP)

Honestly, I go with what I know. I used to know I liked a few reds…until my dentist told me that was bad for my teeth, and then I knew I loved some other whites. (Except for when I am super-naughty and drink Shiraz with a straw…like…right now.)

For the most part, I pick based on: What the happy hour special is, what the label looks like (see below post), or what happens to appear at my dinner table/door step. A wine tasting I went to with some friends? I was very confused by the whole sniff and swish thing and honestly didn’t see the point in drinking an ounce of anything and moving on. It’s sort of like the three bites and push away South Beach Diet rule. We see how good I was at that!

Anyway, the reason I LOVE BottleNotes is that it makes me feel smarter! Wine clubs for dummies. (OK, that’s not true. Wine clubs for…eager to learn individuals.) And then you can be your own personal sommelier! Or at least look a lot smarter at dinner parties. Bottlenotes.com lets you fill out a free personal profile and then matches your tastes with a personalized wine list from boutique and estate wineries from all over the world. Then, your club shipments are based on that list!

Like a crisp, light white wine? Bottlenotes may recommend a citrusy Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or a tart Pinot Grigio from Italy. In the mood for a big, powerful red wine? A French Cabernet Sauvignon may be right up your alley….Aly. (Hehe.)

For those of you are that are celebarazzis, you can even match up your wine prefs with that of your favorite celeb, and then read the Wine-Encyclopedia to see what it all means…besides that you may have just a tad too much time on your hands. The point of this (and most wine clubs) is that it encourages interaction - each shipment comes with “bottle notes” (get it?!) where you can read up on your wine, discuss its flavors, and share with friends.

It’s a whole new way to look at a label! And appear smarter doing so. Check out it here: www.Bottlenotes.com

My Polka Dot obsession has now reached a whole new dimension.

Recently, several bottles of Polka Dot Riesling appeared on my doorstep.

While I am traditionally more of a Chardonnay girl, this wine is quite yum! The flavor is sweet, and has notes of pear, peach, and a hint of sweet pink grapefruit. I’m finding it works really well with hot, spicy dishes.

OK, I confess. I just love the name and the bottle. But it really is good!

Recent events in my life have made me have a renewed appreciation for a nice glass of vino (sometimes nightly).

The problem is that my habit involves creative bottle storage (not easy in my cramped space), and I was in search of a really cool wine holder - one that serves its purpose, works with the decor, and even better, could be a fun conversational piece when cocktail hour time comes around.

I found what I was looking for at www.wineholder.com. The site tells the story of a career craftsman who retires and, with his wife, creates custom-design pieces, ultimately creating a wine holder that defies gravity.

Creating these pieces require the most intricate cuts and precision; the first Wine Holder was made from an aged piece of walnut, taking the skilled craftsman over 14 hours to finish. The results were awesome though, and now the craftsman and his wife make small batches and sell it to the demanding public.

They were kind enough to offer a few of their varieties to share with you, and I’m excited to pass it on!

One grand prize winner will receive a wine holder trio (a black walnut, cherry, and oak). Three runners up will each receive one of the three varieties.

To have your chance to win, tell me your favorite scary/fun drinking story…where were you, how drunk did you get, and how did the night end up? Deadline for entries is March 24. Good luck!

I swear, every single time I try to talk myself out of my need to have a nightly glass of wine, a wiser being will give me a reason not to.

We already knew that red wine was loaded with antioxidants and thus, heart-friendly. (An important consideration being what we recently learned about women and heart disease.)

Now, though, I also have learned that wine is a natural exfoliator, and in fact, soaking in a bath of one cup of red wine mixed with water will soften your skin.

So, I will live longer AND be hotter. Best excuse ever to vino post-worko.

PS: Discover more great skin facts at SheKnows.com’s MythBusters quiz, featuring the expert information and advice of my friend and beauty-editor-yoda author Nadine Haobsh.

I’ve taken lately to a habitual glass of wine with dinner each night. It helps me unwind after a long day, and when paired with the right dish, makes whatever I’m eating taste just a little bit better. My wine of choice lately has been the Ruffino wines — Lumina Pinto Grigio, an intense and fruity white, and Il Ducale, a deep ruby red with a smooth and lingering finish.

I could go into the explanations of what wines go with what, and why one is tastier than another, but I’m not an exceptional wine expert - just a diva of taste, if you will. I know I like this though.

We all need a little fine wine in our lives, and Ruffino has offered to award one reader a bottle of their fragrant and delicious estate wine, Romitorio di Santadame. Deep ruby red with a violet hue, its strong but velvety finish will teach you why there’s no competition for truly special wine.

To win, be the first person to correctly answer all the questions below!

1. Which of these wines is not made from the Sangiovese grape?

* Brunello
* Barolo
* Chianti Classico
* Cortese di Alto Moferrato

2. True/False. Sangiovese is one of the native grapes of Italy.

3. Sangiovese is never seen blended with:

1. Cabernet Sauvignon
2. Pinot Noir
3. Merlot
4. Chardonnay

4. True/False. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are made from the same grape.
5. Name 3 wines that are Sangiovese based

6. Is Sangiovese a red or white grape?

7. What is one of these is NOT common descriptors of a Sangiovese wines?

1. Blueberry
2. Violets
3. Apple
4. Strawberry

My mom and I, who, dare I say, is cooler than I realized, just got trashed on Yarden Kosher for Passover Chardonnay.

How bad-ass are we?

So much so that I spend my drunken time blogging, it seems.

Consider it another miracle of Passover. Yarden’s (www.yardenwines.com) Chardonnay from the Odem Organic Vineyard is actually quite good and not your typical too-little-acidity-burnt-fruit-tasting Kosher wine. We found it to be full-bodied, with plenty of oak, notes of vanilla, ripe apple and pear. Good with fish, or while emptying out the bottle sans cup.

Not that we did that.

As today is the first truly spring-like day of the season, I present you with a recipe for one of my absolute favorite cocktails.

Margaritas are, alas, a guilty pleasure of mine. The mixture of tequila and sinful sugar, and sweet, sweet, agave gets my insides all aflutter. (In more ways than one.)

When my friends at Partida Tequila told me they had reinvented the margarita by substituting agave nectar for sugar, I was aflutter in an entirely new way. The only thing better than my favorite naughty indulgence is making it a guiltless pleasure.

This new recipe removes all the sugar and replaces it with pure agave nectar.

The Partida Tequila Margarita contains:

o 1 oz. lime juice (app. the juice from one lime)
o ¾ oz. pure, organic agave nectar
o ¾ oz. pure spring water
o 1.5 oz. Partida Tequila Blanco, Reposado or Añejo

The agave nectar used in the cocktail is an organic, natural fructose sweetener extracted from the blue agave plant, which, by the way, my friends, is also considered a natural “hot” plant. Fringe benefit, indeed.

Best excuse ever for being drunk and horny.