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Last month I got as close to heaven as any oenophile has ever been. I’m not much of a camper, but when Matt Levy, public relations and marketing manager, invited me to attend Camp Schramsberg, a three-day sparkling wine seminar at Schramsberg Vineyards in Calistoga, I jumped at the chance. Schramsberg Vineyards has been producing sparkling wine since 1965 when they became the first U.S. producer to use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes in the méthode champenoise (where a secondary fermentation occurs while the wine is in the bottle - thus producing bubbles). These sparkling wines are so good that in 1972, the Blanc de Blancs was served at the historic “Toast to Peace” in Beijing, between President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai. To this day, Schramsberg’s wines are still being served in the White House.

It rained steadily in Morgan Hill on the morning of Feb. 6. As a

Last December in this column, I laid down the Clouds Rest Challenge. I invited readers to join me on a tough 13.2-mile hike from Tenaya Lake (8,150 feet) to the top of Clouds Rest (9,926 feet), an iconic Yosemite peak. Back then, the July 13, 2013 date of the Challenge was a long way off. Not anymore.

The world premiere of

Even before Halloween, local merchants were featuring elaborate

My previous column described how the city's sewer and water

Grab the kids and get to the Disney on Ice presentation of “Passport To Adventure.” It is delightful, educational and full of clever choreography, glorious costumes, exhilarating music and special effects. It has all the favorite Disney characters you can bundle in one evening without going into overdrive.

Do you know how life sometimes gives you little tests? And

Luis Bravo, the creator and director of