California Coast Superb for Sake
By Liz Garone

One of the most common misconceptions about Japanese wine, AKA sake, is that it must be served hot, according to Mika Tsuchiiwa, tasting room manager at Takara Sake USA in Berkeley. "Sake can be cold, hot, warm, iced, however you like it," said Tsuchiiwa. "We try to educate people here in the tasting room and museum."

Rose Cottage
By Joe Smith

The gingerbread house sits out on the bluffs, alone, cocked slightly to the southeast so the parlor will catch the precious winter sun. The French doors that dominate this rather fussy room with its flowered wallpaper open onto a deck a few steps above a garden of prize roses. Framed by the small, even panes of the doors, the rose trellises and the boat resting on the horizon ...

Ralph Carney: Collector of Sounds
by Mark Wasserman

The first time I heard Ralph Carney I was sitting in a tiny theater in Phoenix, Arizona watching the worst production I had ever seen. The play, whose title I've long forgotten, managed to be both violent and dull--not an easy feat to pull off. But at some point, one character turned to the other and asked, "Do we have time for a little 'Temptation'?" ...

The Rhone Rangers Strike Back
By Liz Garone

Was that a "Hi-ho, Silver!" I heard? Well, not exactly. But yes, the Ranger is back. Only this time, he's calling himself the Rhone Ranger, and far from combatting crime, his interests run instead, to promoting wine. You can expect him soon at a liquor store or a restaurant near you. Heck, he's probably already there under a variety of names....

Adagio
By Joe Smith

Dennis talks, pacing back and forth in my living room like a caged beast. A freshly captured caged beast, whose eyes.... In this region of the country, well west of the Mason-Dixon Line, all we can do is get our New Yorkers outside somehow, away from our walls, which seem to be closing in on us.