Critter-labeled wines are on the rise, quickly gaining share in the table wine category. The sales generated by new brands featuring a critter outperform other new table wines by more than two to one.

While placing a critter on a label doesn't guarantee success, it is important that wine makers realize that there is a segment of consumers who don't want to have to take wine too seriously. Not only are they willing to have fun with wine, they may just feel 'good' about an animal label presentation.

It's been dry so it's made some wonderful wine. Of course most of our wines are done with fruit. The same thing happens there. If it's a sweeter fruit it makes a little bit better wine. So it's been a good year for making wine.

More business entertainment is going on. Our bottled wine sales are up. Multi-course dining is up. Everyone sort of got back to business.

There are many great wine producers from all over the world making fantastic wines. Italian wines especially are making an enormous comeback after sometimes being labeled as inexpensive jug wines.

To those of us who believe that all of life is sacred every crumb of bread and sip of wine is a Eucharist, a remembrance, a call to awareness of holiness right where we are.

I want all of the holiness of the Eucharist to spill out beyond church walls, out of the hands of priests and into the regular streets and sidewalks, into the hands of regular, grubby people like you and me, onto our tables, in our kitchens and dining rooms and backyards.