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Aspirin, caffeine, blowfish. What really cures a 2012 hangover (Happy, happy by the way)? We're going with cheap -- but good -- wine.

Sure, 'tis this time of year for New Year's resolution cliches. But as wine journalist Natalie MacLean is well aware, the key is finding those bargain wines that actually are worth a second sip. In her latest book, Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World's Best Bargain Wines, MacLean offers up her personal winery tasting experiences followed by tips for seeking out wine bargains in various regions. You know, the typical practical wine advice set up. Only these wines, and the prose, are good.

And so those Reisling bargains (Dr. Loosens' Dr. L Reisling is her top pick) are revealed after MacLean shares her wine travel tastings to Germany (Chapter two). Each chapter is followed by food pairings (Brie, duck pate, smoked trout and sure, fried chicken with a dry Riesling) and further reading suggestions for each varietal she explores (The Wines of Germany, Riesling Renaissance).

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Kathy A. McDonald

Drink wine from inside the box

'Tis the season for imbibing. However with the economy being what it is, 'tis also the season to look for bargains when it comes to holiday wine drinking. For the budget conscious wine buyer, boxed wines are a bargain alternative. However, many boxed wines kinda suck -- okay for camping trips and for earthquake preparedness (no breakage) but can someone really show up at party with a box of wine and not look cheap?

The folks at Colorado Wine Company say yes indeed. Known for their tongue-in-cheek wine tasting events (home to the annual White Trash Wine tasting), last Thursday, Dec. 8 the shop held Thinking Inside The Box -- a first-ever tasting of several carefully selected wines in alternative, eco-friendly packaging.

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Michael's

California-centric wine lists

There is no shortage of fine California wine, and no way to drink or even taste it all before its time. Los Angeles restaurateurs are at a distinct advantage with winemakers as close as Topanga Canyon and Malibu, and first-rate wineries and fruitful vineyards just up the highway in Santa Barbara and San Louis Obispo counties.

But that doesn't mean it's easy to find California wine that's inexpensive. "These days, few in the wine industry would look to California for what now constitutes 'value-priced' wines," explains Andrew Turner, general manager and sommelier of Michael's in Santa Monica, which since 1979 has been known for highlighting quality California wine producers.

For L.A. wine drinkers in restaurants, a decent California wine by the glass, from a smaller, perhaps boutique winery of a certain vintage, will cost, on average, $8 to $9 a glass. Expect to pay more for single-vineyard, estate-grown wines. Prices per bottle can vary, from $12 for Little Dom's house wine (a partnership with Palmina Winery) on Monday nights to well over $700 per bottle for a cult cabernet from Colgin Cellars at Michael's -- both a great value, although whether they are affordable depends on your budget. Here are some restaurants where California-made wine is spotlighted at a fair price.

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buckzin.com

Bucklin: Same Zinfandel Grapes, Different Price

Ah, the holiday party wine gifting season. That time of year when you'll inevitably spot a bottle of Shafer Hillside Select sporting a shiny red bow among the hostess gifts -- right as you hand over a $19.99 Cabernet you snagged off the Ralph's weekly special list on the way to the boss' house (but it was really $30 full price, right?). When it comes to financial discrepancies, there are few times of year when it's more obvious that your wine budget is nowhere near that of your corporate superiors.

That's why we prefer to do a little upfront research and hand over wines with a great back story. There are plenty of growers who simply sell their top quality grapes to wineries (often used in high-end vineyard-designate wines, not blends). Many of them also happen to be winemakers on the side -- not for another winery, but for themselves. In other words, these are the wines they really wanted to make with their grapes if they weren't handing them over for the boss' pet project. (Sound familiar?)

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Kathy A. McDonald

Learn more about wine this month at a wine tasting seminar

These days, every foodstuff or drink gets a day in its honor. Did you know there's a National Pecan Cookie day (September 21)? One guess on how to observe either National Guacamole Day (September 16) or National Beer Day (April 7th). Joining these food holidays, in September, California wine will have an entire month of celebrations and activities.

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Jgarbee

Tim Guest Serving Guests At Wine Expo

It's been nearly 10 months since Wine Expo opened a tasting bar/retail food shop next to its flagship Santa Monica wine store. In other words, plenty of time for manager Roberto Rogness to work out the inevitable kinks of suddenly jumping into the wine bar scene. (He's always happy to talk about the regulatory roadblocks of opening a wine bar in Santa Monica, should you care to get him started.)

The wine bar's regular Happy Hour from 5 to 7 p.m. six nights a week (every night but Thursday) is a great deal, with half off a rotating selection of craft beers and Italian-heavy wines that even at full price primarily hover in the pocketbook-friendly $4 to $8 range. But the new Thursday night "20/20" wine tasting, essentially an all-night Happy Hour, is one of the best new wine deals in town.

The Place: Wine Expo, 2933 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 828-4428

The Hours: Thursday, 5 p.m. until closing

The Deals: For $20, you can sample generous tasting pours of the 20 different rotating wines in a broad range of styles that are offered off the bar (there is no table service on Thursdays).

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Flickr/Xipe Totec39

wine glasses

Beer and barbecue are definitely on the Memorial Day Weekend agenda but with three days to fill, make some room for a glass or two of wine. In Santa Barbara, one of the region's most illustrious winemakers Jim Clendenen opens a tasting room after decades in the biz, stocks it with rare finds and throws a party. While downtown's Music Center hosts the Rotary Club's City of Angels Wine Fest, a charitable way to spend Memorial Day afternoon.

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JGarbee

Pairs Well With Those Who Don't Fear Heights

No sooner do we mention the debut of the AstraPouch in California, and a Napa winery releases their wines in the giant CapriSun-like pouches that holds 1.5 L (two bottles) of wine. It's a pretty great idea, and not because it has a one-way valve that purportedly keeps oxygen out so the wine stays "fresh" for several weeks after opening it -- we have yet to go on a leisurely summer picnic and return with a drop of wine. We're more impressed with how many we can wedge between the picnic Tupperware compared to bottles. So much that we're willing to overlook the over-the-top labels/marketing gimmicks. Then again, there's probably no way to make a CapriSun look elegant, either. Which gets us to the latest AstraPounch releases, "The Climber" Chardonnay and Cabernet, from the folks behind the Clif bar, Clif(f), Climber, get it? Yeah, yeah. So how's the wine?

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