Crises--emotional, economic, existential--often spur a good night on the town, and the current global crisis is no different. Then again, since it's an economic crisis, maybe just a glass of wine ...

Beginning in the summer of 2009, I started hosting my own wine tasting parties. At first, they were BYOB affairs where everyone brought the same $12 Malbec to someone's house. Then, I tried going ...