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I am often asked to share my knowledge in the procurement of fine wines. If you learn the ten tips in this series of posts, you will never need to bother me for advice about buying wine again.

1. Where is the best place to buy wine?
   If you are asking this question you need to change the word “best” with the word “closest.” Where is the closest place to buy wine? Anyone who lives near an ALDI store will be happy to know that wine is just down the street. The wines you’ll find at ALDI—and even some gas stations, if you are lucky—are so exclusive that you’ll never see them on the wine list at upscale restaurants. These type of no-frills retailers don’t employ educated wine snobs, so the savings really add up. Plus, you won’t be overwhelmed by hundreds of different labels. You’ll be able to choose from the Winking Owl Cabernet, the Winking Owl Merlot, or the Winking Owl Shiraz. And why is the owl winking? Stay tuned for that, and much more, in part 2.

2008 will always be a year of significance. It was the year I waved goodbye to Ohio and ended my stint as an IT “resource” in the lingerie retail industry. Somehow, I made a smooth transition to a cozy position in the trucking industry, where I have an alarming level of responsibility and get to work with bona fide geniuses.

I miss Columbus. I see it as the perfect big town, with a nice mix of Midwestern sensibility and joie de vivre. Both Columbus and Saint Louis are more Main Street than Wall Street, a favorable attribute in this post-2008 world. Saint Louis is my new home… Fur traders. Beer. Baseball. Toasted ravioli. Now you are familiar with the basics of Saint Louis history. I am still settling in here, looking forward to the possibilities a new year brings.

I was just checking the 7-day weather forecast from our friends at the National Weather Service. Their description for Tuesday’s weather in Columbus contains an impressive level of detail, including all the ingredients for a Wintry mix:

Tuesday: Periods of snow and sleet before 10am, then periods of sleet between 10am and 11am, then periods of freezing rain between 11am and 1pm, then periods of rain or freezing rain between 1pm and 2pm, then periods of rain after 2pm. High near 38. East wind 9 to 14 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night: Rain likely, mainly before 8pm, then a chance of snow, mainly between 11pm and 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 22. Northwest wind between 11 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tomorrow is my two year anniversary in Columbus. It seems like yesterday that I was moving to a completely random city in the middle of winter for a six month long job.

I’ll wrap up my year with two trips. This weekend I’ll see New York City for the first time. Then I’ll be back in the St. Louis area for Twelve Days of Christmas (and New Year’s). I don’t know which is more promising… a flight into Newark airport during rush hour or driving Highway 70 through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois during holiday traffic and winter weather.

What else have I been up to? Several beverage-themed trips kept me busy in the fall. In September, I flew back to St. Louis for the Schlafly Hop in the City event. Then I hosted Derek and his uncle Pat for the German Village Oktoberfest here in Columbus. In early October I was back in Missouri for the annual winery weekend in Hermann with the usual crowd.

And then later in October I had a great time in San Francisco and Napa Valley visiting Emily.

I went to my first Ohio State University football game here in Columbus in November. And Illinois won! My trip home for Thanksgiving went well. The airline industry hasn’t disappointed me the past two Thanksgivings.

This month I helped Nick and Katie tear apart their living room. Somehow I did not help them rebuild it.

I also went to a holiday party for the CYP at the Wexner Center. And then went back on Saturday with Leslie and Zach to get a closer look at the funny William Wegman exhibit.

2007 has been a year for taking advantage of travel deals and racking up frequent flier miles, allowing me to see new cities and meet up with old friends in Seattle, Portland, St. Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, and soon New York City.

Sunday’s edition of The New York Times included an article featuring the Drexel movie theater in Columbus.

Also in Sunday’s paper, T Magazine described “Columbus Cool” in this article. I agree that Marcella’s is cool… their wine list is exclusively Italian, and every wine is available by the bottle, 1/2 bottle, and glass.

This observation about Columbus made me laugh (because I moved here to work at Limited Brands):

“…in the last few years, Columbus has undergone a transformation. By luring young professionals to its homegrown empires like the Limited and Abercrombie & Fitch, the city has seen a flurry of downtown development — and gained an unexpected new profile as a Midwestern style capital.”

I made a trip back to St. Louis last weekend, and my photos from the Schlafly Hop in the City are online in the gallery.

A major goal of mine was accomplished today. I finally broke out my wobbly lobster pen during an otherwise serious meeting at work. For a few minutes nobody noticed the absurd jiggling motion of the writing device shaped like a crustacean, and then the chuckles started. It was just a little reminder that even in the most important meetings, you should never take yourself too seriously.

This morning I met Leslie for breakfast at Northstar Cafe, my new favorite a.m. spot in Columbus. They have a small menu of perfect brunch food, served in the gourmet hipster format. From their patio you can gaze across the street at White Castle and regret every meal you ever had there.

I braved the crowds of around half a million people last night to see Columbus’s Red, White & Boom from the 26th floor of the Vern Riffe Center, where my friend Katie works. (The tall building on the left in the photo above from the Columbus Dispatch.) The fireworks were top-notch, which I would expect for a city that spends somewhere around $75,000 on them.

Some of the newer web technology inspired me to migrate to a Web 2.0 format here. So far I’m happy with the new tools, especially WordPress. All the historic posts came from two blogs that had previously been hidden away on other sites.

Limited Brands is in the news after announcing plans to cut 10% of its corporate workforce and buyback $1 billion in stock. As a shareholder, I welcome the news. As an employee, I would rather not deal with everything that comes along with this announcement.