Italian Made

Wine Find: Cecchi Natio Chianti 2007, Italy ($16)

Find it: This wine is nationally distributed. Call your wine store to see if they have it or

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I’ve had this wine! Rate it 1-5 stars and hit the comments with your notes.

Hot Dish: Homemade Lasagna

In honor of National Pasta Month.... A friend of ours makes the best lasagna, and the kicker: it's super easy. Here's my version of her recipe with a couple of tweaks. I assemble it in the morning, stick it in the fridge, and add an extra 15 minutes to the cooking time.

1 pound hamburger
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1 16-ounce carton whole milk ricotta
12 flat no-boil lasagna noodles (such as Barilla)

1. In large frying pan, brown hamburger, onion, and garlic until hamburger is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain oil. Add tomatoes, wine, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer 10-15 minutes.

2. Pour about 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Layer four noodles. Spread about 2/3 cup ricotta cheese onto noodles and top with 1/3 of the mozzarella and then about 1/3 of the remaining sauce.

3. Repeat layers of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce.

4. On the final layer, reverse the mozzarella and sauce so the order is noodles, ricotta, sauce, and mozzarella.

5. Cover tightly with foil (the liquid in the sauce will help steam the noodles) and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. Serve with a green salad and Chianti.

I tried this dish! Rate it in the comments section or share your favorite lasagna secrets.

Vinoculture: Made for TV

I'm not much of a reality TV fan--you won't catch me watching American Idol or The Biggest Loser--but a new wine show airing on PBS this month, The Winemakers, has me hooked. (Err, the previews have me hooked. The actual show won't air on my local station, unfortunately. But maybe yours has it. Check it out.) The show is about 12 ordinary people who compete in the vineyard and winery for the chance to launch their own wine brand. They face challenges from picking grapes for 48 hours straight to designing a wine label.

What do you think? Reality hit or flop?

Go Vino: La Dolce Vita Wine Tours

http://www.dolcetours.com/

A couple of years ago I met some people at a downtown Manhattan wine bar for drinks before a writer's conference, including Pat Thompson, who happens to be a writer who runs a wine-touring company in Italy with her Italian husband. (Seriously, how cool is that?) Pat and Claudio have several upcoming trips to Tuscany, home of Chianti, including Tuscan Wine Treasures and Xtreme Tuscany, the tour for wine freaks.

Been traveling through Tuscany? Dish in the comments!

Freebie Friday: When the Rivers Ran Red

That's pretty much how California's grape farmers and winemakers felt when Prohibition was passed in 1919 and their life's work went (literally) down the drain. In When the Rivers Ran Red: An Amazing Story of Courage and Triumph in America's Wine Country, former San Francisco Chronicle editor and Sonoma local Vivienne Sosnowski chronicles the painful effects of Prohibition on those who made a living from the fruit of the vine.

Enter to win When the Rivers Ran Red--just leave a comment on the site with your job title.

Read the contest rules (short version: one entry per person, must be 21 or older and have a U.S. mailing address, enter by midnight Eastern time the following Thursday).

Congratulations to Chrystal of Capitola, CA, Susan of Quincy, FL, and Joanne of Woodbury, MN, winners of the ME Natural Beverages.
Congratulations to Claire of Double Oak, TX, winner of the BottleWise wine travel bag.

Web find of the week: Recycled Wine Bottle Torch from Craftzine.

PSA: Please drink responsibly, and never drink and drive.