Bars & Spirits

Tampa's Wine Studio a cozy spot to sit and sip

It's interesting how bars with a specific focus have evolved and diverged from one another within American bar culture. Classic cocktail bars generally have a different feel from bars focusing on craft beer, and wine bars often are even more distinct and removed from what we envision when we go to the bar.

Craft beer craze arrives in Brandon area with pubs, home brewing

BRANDON

Ty Mathis just wanted a good beer.

Mathis, a Brandon resident for nearly the past two decades, called one of his buddies to make plans. His friend asked Mathis which pub they should go to.

Cups up! It's a Margarita Festival in Tampa

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer and what better time to kick off lazy days by the pool than a toast to that favorite summer cocktail, the margarita. This combination of a crusty, salted rim and a citrus-studded sweet drink creates an etiquette dilemma. When it comes with a straw are you supposed …

Wine of the Week: 2009 Marqués de Cáceres Crianza

This week we are pleased to call to your attention a splendid Rioja from Spain, the 2009 Marqués de Cáceres Crianza, readily available around Tampa Bay at wine shops, wine-savvy markets and some supermarkets from about $11 to $15.

Three great reasons to toast to the Pier: Columbia, Jonny Reno's and Cha Cha Coconuts

It's time to say goodbye to the Pier.

St. Petersburg's most iconic landmark is closing at the end of this month, so if you haven't been in a while, there's still time to check it out before everyone's favorite inverted pyramid disappears forever.

Alabama, Mississippi enter an era of craft beer enlightenment

At the beginning of this month, brewing beer in your kitchen was as illegal as producing bathtub gin if you happened to live in Alabama. In early March, the same could be said for your neighbors next door in Mississippi.

Wine of the week: 2012 Domaine Bousquet Chardonnay

We spend a lot of time, figuratively speaking, in the foothills of the Andes, where Argentina's high and dry Mendoza region produces some of the world's most reliable wines, many of them value priced. The splendid 2012 Domaine Bousquet Chardonnay (about $12 at wine savvy markets) comes to us unoaked and fermented on the …

Hogan's Beach: Theme-park vibe adds to beach-party atmosphere

As a kid growing up in California in the '80s, it's not surprising that I went through a wrestling phase. I spent many weekends watching VHS rentals of old WWF Wrestlemania events with my friends, and countless more hours playing the Nintendo game of the same name.

Wine of the week: Gnarly Head 2011 Authentic White

Gnarly Head Old Vines Zinfandel long has been one of our favorite everyday reds, coming out for solo sipping in cool weather or to quaff with burgers or pizza. Now we have another favorite from this California winery in its 2011 Authentic White (about $9 to $10 at big box stores), a blend made for sipping in the summer …

Catrina's Cocina y Galeria: Drink in the culture of Mexico

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend, a celebration second only to St. Patrick's Day in domestic popularity and overall ignorance of its origins. I'll cop to this — my typical Cinco de Mayo festivities are made up mostly of tequila, mariachi music and chips and salsa served in a plastic sombrero that plays La …