FOOD & LIFE

Wine Matters: Flash cards for wine grapes, plus a roundup of October wine events, wine dinners and the latest from Gary Vaynerchuk

Handy cards let you learn your grapes

All those years ago, flash cards helped us learn our important facts in school: ABCs, basic math, J.R.R. Tolkien characters. As adults, we can benefit from the set of cards starring famous wine grapes of the world from California's Ghigo Press. Quick! What foods pair well with pinot noir? Game, boeuf bourguignon , wild salmon and chocolate, according to the 21/2-inch-by-6-inch card, which carries a picture of the grape on the front and a brief history, country of origin and food pairings on the back. The $15.95 set contains 45 cards, with familiar grapes such as chardonnay ("buttery, with notes and aroma of fruit, or dry and acidic") and cabernet sauvignon ("often blended with merlot and cabernet franc to produce the signature wines of Bordeaux") and less familiar types such as primitivo ("DNA testing has recently found that primitivo is the same grape as zinfandel"). Available from Amazon.com and the company's Web site, www.thecurious feast.com. The company makes similar sets featuring coffee and spices.

- Mike Sutter

Wine your way across texas all month long

October is wine month, which means even more merlot-soaked events going on around the state. Here are a few of them:

• The Texas Wine & Food Foundation's Tour de Vin fundraiser at Whole Foods Market downtown on Thursday . winefoodfoundation.org.

• Gruene Music and Wine Festival on Friday and Saturday . gruenemusicandwinefest.org.

• Austin Museum of Art's La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival at Laguna Gloria on Oct. 15. amoa.org.

• Taste of Georgetown on Oct. 17. dgagtx.org.

• Waco Wine & Food Festival on Oct. 17. wacohumanesociety.com/events/wine-and-food-festival.

• State Fair of Texas Wine Garden in Dallas, now through Oct. 18. bigtex.com.

• Go Texan Texas Two-Sip Tasting at the culinary center at Whole Foods Market downtown Austin on Oct. 21. wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar-culinarycenter.

• Fredericksburg Food & Wine Festival on Oct. 24. fbgfoodandwinefest.com.

• Ballet Austin Guild's Vive Le Vin fundraiser at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center on Oct. 29. balletaustinguild.org.

- Addie Broyles

Wine dinners

• Ruth's Chris Steak House (107 W. Sixth St.) will serve a four-course dinner with Silver Oak wine pairings at 7 p.m. Monday . $89. Reservations at 477-7884.

• Crú: A Wine Bar (238 W. Second St., 472-9463; 11410 Century Oaks Terrace at the Domain, 339-9463) will serve a four-course dinner with Spanish wine pairings at 6:30 p.m. Monday to celebrate Columbus Day. $45. Call either location for reservations.

• Shoreline Grill (98 San Jacinto Blvd. 477-3300) will serve a three-course meal with wine pairings through dinner hours Wednesday. $45, $35 without wine.

Guru Gary Vaynerchuk brings his brand here

Maybe it was the million-dollar, 10-book deal that wine and marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk made with Harper Studio. Or perhaps the high-profile story by Eric Asimov in The New York Times last month. Or maybe that he's recorded more than 700 videos for Wine Library TV (winelibrary.tv ), the video blog that spurred millions of fans to think differently about wine. But it seems the in-your-face wine renegade is finally hitting the mainstream. His new book, "Crush It," which focuses not on wine but on his style of social media marketing and personal branding, comes out this weekend. He'll be in Central Texas on Oct. 21 for three book signings and talks: noon at Cost Plus World Market (5601 Brodie Lane), 3:30 p.m. at Texas State University at San Marcos and 7 p.m. at BookPeople (603 N. Lamar Blvd.).

- A.B.

Head north for lesson in starting a vineyard

If you've ever felt the urge to jump feet-first into the world of winemaking, get a crash course from professionals at a prospective wine-grape grower workshop on Monday at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville, 1229 N. U.S. 281. The day-long workshop will feature viticulture advisers from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service explaining what it takes to start or expand a commercial vineyard, including risk factors, what you need to get started and how to pick a good location. Cost is $125 per person or $200 per couple and includes educational materials and lunch. Register online by Friday at agri lifevents.tamu.edu.

- A.B.