I make glass torchwork beads, and the odd thing is, the red glass ISN'T more expensive than other colors. There is a "gold pink" made with gold, and it's very expensive. So there are ways to make red glass cheaply. I don't know why they don't use that for bottles, maybe it's toxic. Watch out for coated glass; lots of decorative objects are clear glass with a red (or other color) paint that fades, scratches, and peels. I can tell the coated stuff by holding it up to the light, the color is richer and more consistent.

It was fun reading all of this, especially since it goes back to '06. That first post of Lars with the cherry cream soda...yummmy. I only consume coffee if it's ice cream, Kahlua or some other dessert. I like tea, black, green, but not any spiced teas. Really dislike mint too. Mostly I drink flavored unsweetened seltzer, iced tea or lemonade. Occasionally I'll have a fruit soda, but I find them too sweet these days so I mix them with my seltzer. Alcohol? Not really. Don't like wine as a rule. I can deal with a little champagne or Asti. Will drink vodka, that Kahlua making it a Black Russian. Smiles. I can go several years or more without having any alcohol. Last year I turned my current [at the time] vodka into vanilla. This fall an old friend from high school came to visit and brought a bottle of vodka. I had 2 light Cape Cods and when he left I turned the Svedka into vanilla. LOL. In winter in the evening we either have hot tea or hot cocoa often. I do love hot chocolate made with cocoa or even a nice chocolate bar.

After you taste lots of wine you will know the answer. The reason I suggested lighter fruiter wines is because my experience shows that most people prefer those initially. If you want to age the wine, that is an entirely different issue and not something you are going to do without knowing a thing about wine! So to your question - the region is what some people hold to be most important. Others disagree. The French have a word - terroir, that doesn't perfectly translate but it cna be understood as the microclimate - the slope of a hillside, whether the sun reflects from a nearby river, the type of soil, the fact that the trees at the top prevent the cold winds from coming down, etc. That is why some winemakers prefer grapes from one vineyard or one section of a vineyard to another. Throughout the world there are many sites where wine can be made. But in Napa for example, some people like to be high on a mountain, say Howell Mountain, while others are in the valley and others are on slight slopes in Rutherford. The soil types vary, the fog effects vary, the winds vary, etc. In the Mosel in Germany for example, the area is cold but the Rhine river reflects sunlight on to the steep hills and the vineyards are a few degress warmer than they might otherwise be. That really matters. So the gross regions (Napa, Bordeaux, Long Island, Rioja) matter and so do the smaller subregions within those areas. And they matter for more reasons than those I just mentioned. In some countries, the law dictates what grapes can be grown in certain areas. So in Rioja in Spain for example, you will find tempranillo, some garnacha, some manzuelo, and some cabernet sauvignon, although not too much. In Napa on the other hand, you will find almost no tempranillo, very little garnacha, probably no manzuelo, and a whole lot of cabernet sauvignon. These grapes produce very different wines. In Napa they can grow whatever they want, in Rioja, they cannot, at least if they want to sell the wine as a Rioja crianza, reserva, or gran reserva. They would not be allowed, for example, to plant zinfandel. In addition, there are aging and vinification requirements in many areas. Germany for example, might require that certain grapes be picked at a certain time if they are to be made into a Spatlese. In Australia, they pick whenever they want. Spain dictates how long a wine must sit in wood and in bottle before release. Argentina for example, does not. In general, the European countries are more restrictive. They limit the choices to certain grapes in certain areas. How zinfandel would do in Piedmonte, for example, is an existential question because I doubt that it will ever be planted there. As a result, things like the country, the region within the country, the producer, the winemaker (who may be hired by the wine producer), the vintage (year the wine was made), the varietal, and a hoste of other factors really make a difference! So far from not mattering, all of these things matter a whole lot. Back to your choices. You don't like the "bite". I agree with the poster who suggested that you are probably referring to tannins. So go with a wine having fewer tannins. That is why I suggested a cru Beaujolais. Or a young, sometimes called "joven" Spanish wine. Or a wine from the Barossa valley in Australia. Or a wine from Mendoza in Argentina. All of them produce examples for under $20 or even under $15 that should be good choices. If you want to try something aged, you will need to spend a little more. That will be an entirely different experience and you will need to find a store that can source these wines or buy them at auction or from private parties. There are a few places that sell some older wines - Lopez de Heredia, for example, is a Spanish producer that is perhaps one of the most traditional in the world. They have released 1964 and 1973 vintage wines from their winery. They are NOT going to be like the others I recommended. In addition, they will be about $250 or so. Best of luck.

We celebrate both Passover and Easter. Passover is generally just my immediate family (DH and 4 kids) and I admit it can be somewhat harder for me as I have no foundation for it and hubs does not like me messing with his traditions (unless it is something he wants to change, like have lamb). I was also worn out that day so we had brisket (which my 17 year old did in the crockpot), haroseth, salad and a almond-lemon torte with berry sauce. I did enjoy the seder as the 2 youngest ones were able to participate fully and help with the reading. Dh tries to go without leaven the whole Passover week and my 13 year old daughter wants to jump on that bandwagon, so I will do my best in that regard this year and next year will plan things out better to accommodate them. Easter morning, our church holds a potluck breakfast. I made a low carb upside peach coffee cake. It was made with coconut flour and it is a recipe I hope to play with more in the future. The nice thing with a breakfast potluck is it seems more people are willing to bring food that they did not pick up at Wal-Mart so it was quite filling. After church, I was ready for a nap but we went to my sister's house for her Easter dinner. They generally eat differently than we do and we were quite full but still partook. My contribution to that was a chocolate cloud cake from Nigella Lawson. The cake is flourless and there was a large mound of whipped cream on top. I will have to make that again sometime soon, I had forgotten how good it was. We grabbed a couple of rosebushes that were on hold on the nursery since we were in town and when we came home, I was happy to not eat anything else until the following day.