Opinion

Cheers to South County wineries for bringing home the gold - and the silver, bronze and in one case a double gold - from the San Francisco Wine Competition, recognized as the largest competition of American wines in the world.

On a recent tour in Central America and the Caribbean, I was struck by each of the tour guide's pride in their country's high literacy rates and quality of their country's schools. Observing classes and viewing schools supported their claims. Each guide spoke of their nation's support of the educational system and reinforced the high standards, rigorous curriculum and importance of educating their country's youth. Students were learning five different languages in elementary school and spending all but six weeks in the classroom. Teachers were well compensated for their work and were highly regarded in the community.

For the next 12 months, I'll be inviting you to my table. Sharing stories, anecdotes, lessons from the kitchen and, of course, recipes from my new cookbook, "Molto Batali" (ecco, 2011). And it's all about family meals.

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," directed by Tomas Alfredson, looks and feels like a movie out of a different era. It is a thoughtful spy thriller with a much slower pace that relies on a musical score to build the momentum rather than bombs or explosions. If the "Mission Impossible" series is at one end of the spy caper spectrum, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is at the other end.

The sun shines 300 days a year. The climate is tropical without the humidity. Descendants of another century were known as "stone-slingers" and cultured black pearls are indigenous to these tropical islands.

In 1977, the South Valley was a much different place: a smaller, less diverse population meant fewer Jews living in Hollister, Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Stuart Blumberg, a Gilroy resident at the time, reflects back on "how alone South County Jews felt, transplanted from elsewhere and seeking spiritual support."

Q: I'm attending group classes to help me stop smoking. We all know that second-hand smoke is harmful to our health. The instructor insists that it also is very unhealthy for pets. Is this true?

The new year is ushering in the good, the bad and the ugly of wine trends. Some of the following will no doubt fall into more than one category.

Medical insurance used to be so simple. Expensive, but simple. We paid bucketloads in monthly premium dollars, and for that I got to go see the doctor where I deposited the "co-pay." How easy was that?