In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading to Congac, France, to participate in this year’s International Cognac Summit, hosted by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC). Each summit has a theme, and this year the focus is Women and Cognac.

One of the objectives of the summit, I’m told, is to “gather cocktails that appeal to women, identify key ingredients and possibly develop new cocktails geared towards the female audience.”

Certain cocktails, such as Cosmopolitans and chocolate martinis, would seem to have a stereotypically female following, and I suppose certain drinks tend to appeal to men (like Cognac, apparently). But why? Are our palates so different? Do delicate lady tongues really prefer sweet, frilly drinks? I don’t buy it.

But as a man, I don’t presume to know what women really truly want in their cocktails. So ladies, I’m asking: What do you want? When you’re presented with a cocktail menu, what makes you say, “Yes! That is the drink for me.” If you have a husband or boyfriend, do you think  your palate is different from his in any way?

Many of us use the beginning of the new year to take stock, examining our lives and bodies and, finding faults, we resolve to correct them. For the next month or two, we flail around the gym in sweaty desperation, lay siege to armies of dust soldiers in their well-defended closet fortresses, or simply try to “be more positive.” Worthy pursuits, all.

But surely you deserve a fun (and easy) resolution or two as well. Consider adding one of the following to your list:

1. Drink more sparkling wine. Many people indulge in elegant Champagnes tonight, but for most, it’s the only time of year they break out the bubbly. Cava, Prosecco, Crémant and, yes, Champagne, are wonderful at any time of year, and pair well with all sorts of foods. The pop of a cork makes any gathering feel more festive.

2. Drink some dessert wine. I’ve attended very few parties where one has been served, and I can’t think of the last time a dining companion ordered one in a restaurant. Any dessert wine worth its salt isn’t just candy in a bottle; it will exhibit a delicious balance of sweetness, acid and perhaps even some minerals, wood or other flavors. Ask for a recommendation in your price range at your local wine shop, and I am 100% certain you’ll delight your guests. Or heck, just drink it yourself.

3. Drink some rosé. Sweet, boring White Zinfandel ruined the reputation of rosé in this country, therefore any American winemaker who produces a proper dry rosé probably really puts his or her heart into it. But dry rosés from anywhere can be a delight, particularly in warmer weather. I can think of few finer ways to lunch than sitting outside in the sun, dining on simple picnic fare with friends, a glass of rosé in hand.

4. Get out of your cocktail rut. Type “Classic Cocktails” into a search engine, and you’ll find all sorts of fun, time-tested ideas (or, of course, you can click on one of the spirits listed just to the right). If you’re feeling more adventurous, make your own cocktail recipe. A good rule of thumb is to use a base liquor (like vodka, gin, brandy, etc.), a smaller amount of a liqueur (like triple sec, crème de cassis, maraschino) and a mixer (fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice). If it feels like it’s missing something, add a dash of bitters.

5. Go into your favorite wine shop and ask for something weird. Sometimes for my birthday, I request that party guests do this for my gift. I’ve received everything from root beer schnapps to a wine from Santorini that tasted like stone and sunshine. If the wine store employee looks at you like you’re crazy, resolve to find another wine store.

Happy New Year!

It may surprise some of you (family especially) to learn that when I open up a bottle of wine to taste for this blog, I do not usually finish the entire thing. I love to have a glass or two while cooking and a glass or two with my meal, but I can usually down half a bottle at best. What to do with the rest?

I used to try to save wine by simply putting it in the refrigerator, but after 24 hours (or even 12), the wine oxidizes anyway and becomes unpleasant. Realizing the folly of this technique, for a time I attempted to drink all the leftovers. Waste not want not! But though the wine was not wasted, I certainly was.

Finally, some patron saint of the liver introduced me to inert gas. Of all the ways to preserve wine after it’s been opened, inert gas works the best. With an inexpensive spray can, you can replace most of the air in the bottle with a blanket of argon, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The gas blanket is heavier than air, preventing oxygen from reaching the wine and significantly slowing the process of oxidation.

Even vacuum pumps, which purport to suck all the air out of a bottle, always leave some oxygen knocking around, and there is nothing to prevent it from interacting with the wine. The notes on the back of my Private Preserve canister add that vacuum devices “strip out bouquet (volatile esters),” though I’m not convinced inert gas preserves the bouquet entirely intact, either. Even so, it’s the best choice we’ve got.

Recently, I left a half-filled bottle of Von Stiehl Cabernet Sauvignon on the counter for a week, since I was out of town and unable to finish it. When I finally did pour myself a glass, the wine tasted surprisingly good. It didn’t reach the heights of flavor it hit when I first opened the bottle, but it was perfectly adequate to sip while attempting my first cassoulet.

If you find from time to time that you have some wine left over, don’t leave it alone in the refrigerator without any protection, condemning it to death by oxidation. Lead your wine into a gentle slumber under a comfy blanket of inert gas.

Most wine-related videos on YouTube tend to be pretty uninspiring. There are the “How to Taste Wine” videos, the videos in which people taste wine and talk about it, and the videos that make fun of people tasting wine and talking about it. It’s all fairly predictable stuff.

There are a few delightful oddballs I’ve run across, however, and I would be remiss in my duties as a booze blogger if I didn’t share them with you.

First, as is appropriate for a blog about the unusual and the obscure, here is most definitely the oddest wine tasting I’ve ever seen.

YouTube also has its share of charming old wine commercials. If you like classic television, it’s worth making a quick search for them. My favorite is not actually a commercial itself, but outtakes from the making of a Paul Masson spot. Orson Welles is clearly very dedicated to getting to know the product.

Finally, do not miss this “commercial” for La Crema, a California-based wine company. I am dying to comment, but saying any more would spoil it.

Enjoy!