Chardonnay: A wine deserving of your affections.

"I'll have the chardonnay, thanks."

After overhearing this from a nearby diner during a recent restaurant meal, followed immediately by the withering response, "Seriously? A chardonnay?" from said diner's snarky companion, we realized that chardonnay still has a bullshit reputation.

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Languedoc wines: Summer vacation, in a glass.

We are so ready for a vacation.

With five full weeks to go before the official start of summer, the last few days of sunshine (especially after all that rain) have been damn near torturous. You could say that weather like this brings out the hedonist in us -- and as such, brings on a craving for wines that feel as languid and uncomplicated as a day spent lazing on a beach or enjoying a moonlit stroll through quiet city streets. None of this is incredibly surprising, when you really think about it, because wine drinking (just like eating and clothing) is seasonal. You're not likely to be rocking a fleece-lined hoodie on an 80-degree day; why force your so-ready-for-summer palate to endure glass after glass of heavy, hearty wines? If you're as desperate for a vacation as we are, read on to discover why these four tasty bottles -- from a little known French wine region -- are like a perfect virtual (and vinous) passport to summertime:

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Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast.

Marczyk's just received a crop of organic Colorado asparagus -- the first of the season. "It's so fresh and so sweet, and I actually wrapped some of the stalks in prosciutto, which overpowered it," admits Barb, who then remembered that she had a recipe for cream of asparagus soup from a 1987 issue of Gourmet magazine. "I thought maybe the Gourmet recipe, a nice simple one, would do this asparagus justice," she says, adding a warning: "Many people who have commented on this recipe recommend adding garlic, bacon and all sorts of other stuff. Don't do it. Just enjoy the taste of fresh Colorado asparagus."

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Imagine a magical tool that would bring together -- in a single location -- myriad information sources that fuel your passion for wine. An online (or mobile, for that matter) destination that collects on your behalf all manner of insightful information designed to keep you up to date -- on a moment to moment basis -- with everything you never even thought you may have wanted to know about vino. The best part? You could consume as much, or as little, of this wine-soaked content as you wanted; with little more than a flick of your fingertip, you'd be able to browse, delete or bookmark for later perusal at your leisure.

Welcome to Twitter, people.

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It's Drink Local Wine week -- so start drinking local, already!

A little more than nine months ago, we ruffled a lot more than a few feathers by voicing our opinion on the local wine industry. Everyone from the Front Range Winery Association to hobbyist vintners juiced over where we got the balls to speak our minds on such an -- unbeknownst to us -- unbelievably controversial topic.

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California: Still making wines to fall in love with.

There are two kinds of wine drinkers: Some seek out new wines like so many blind dates, eager to make the acquaintance of a lover more intriguing than the last; others are more like serial monogamists -- they form long-standing relationships with specific grapes, regions or winemakers to whom they remain steadfastly loyal...for a while.

Read on for your [re]introduction to four utterly delicious California wines:

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Are you ready for rosé season?

A sun-soaked, 75-plus degree afternoon for the Rockies' home opener. Buds blooming on the trees outside our terrace. Flip-flop adorned feet everywhere we look. Seems it's been an age since Denver enjoyed a springtime as warm and inviting as this one -- and the early onset of balmier temps has brought along with it the sooner-than-normal arrival of another sure-fire sign of spring: the official start of rosé drinking season.

Pink wine addicts like us actually quaff the stuff practically year round, but it's usually May before our recycling tub is littered with empty rosé bottles. Not so in 2012, as we'd already fallen head over heels in love with five truly superb (and unique) pink wines before we'd flipped the calendar page to April. With an even more gorgeous weather forecast ahead, we felt obligated to share this love so that you, too, can get into the rosé wine groove ahead of schedule. Read on for our picks on which killer pinks to pour right now:

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Learn the basics of wine -- without ever leaving the house.

We get it: You love wine. You subscribe to Wine Spectator, the staff at your neighborhood wine shop know you on sight, and you're contemplating an addition to your home to accommodate your burgeoning collection of bottles.

There's more to being a wine lover, though, than simply drinking everything with a score of 90 points or more, or waiting to see what arrives in your wine-of-the-month club. Embracing a wine lifestyle (one which involves an ongoing pursuit of finding and consuming truly great juice) takes time, effort, and most important of all: practice. Just like any other hobby or pursuit you've undertaken -- be it skiing, yoga, or karate -- you wouldn't expect to develop any real skill or ability without getting a little instruction, would you?

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Lambrusco: Don't be scurred; these wines are delicious.

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when we systematically broke down the entirely undeserved bad rap (pun intended) on moscato? That put us in the mindset of another, equally beleaguered wine that we now feel compelled to turn you onto. We already know this one's gonna be a tougher sell, because people are clinging tighter than lint on denim to their stereotypes of this wine: Lambrusco.

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As you may have noticed, spring has been threatening to commence here in Denver for the past several weeks. In spite of the fact that our split-personality-disorder-of-a-weather-pattern may at any moment revert to what we should have been subjected to since February, our seasonal wine drinking habits don't seem to have noticed. Because ever since a spate of succulent, sun-soaked days descended upon us more than a month ago, our cravings for a lighter style of vino have bordered on incessant.

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