Holy Corkscrews! Can you get carpal tunnel from opening wine bottles? Am starting to wonder as I "Monday Morning Quarterback" a busy weekend of pouring and talking about wine. CHEERS to all of those that I had the pleasure of speaking with (and not spilling on!) at the numerous fund raising events that included a bit of the grape. Highlights below. And yes, ALL bottles available at local wine and grocery stores.

*Ronald McDonald House "Taste of Tuscany"-www.rmh-indiana.org

This was the 6th wine, food, art, music, dance, auction event focused on a world wine region. Previous years we've explored Italy, Argentina, Chile, California and Spain. This year we circled back around to the Tuscany region of Italy. Among the favorites:

Berlucchi Franciacorta Brut-An Italian sparkler made in the Champagne method. Crisp, dry and elegant with teeny tiny bubbles. Bravissimo!

Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino-A Baby Brunello made from 100% Sangiovese. The favorite by far and why not? This easy drinking rustic red bursts with aromas and flavors of ripe black cherry and smoky plum with just enough tart tannins to finish. A "bring back" bottle for Thanksgiving.

Ca'Marcanda "Promis"-This inky succulent red blend of Merlot and Syrah with a smidge of Sangiovese made for a lot of tooth staining fun.

Poggio al Tesoro Sondrai Toscana-Big, bold, decadent red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and enough Cabernet Franc to set it apart from the rest of the pack.

Ballerinas, musicians and singers created an atmosphere of elegance and class. The wines served extended the homage to the arts by creating poetry in the glass.

Villa Pozzi Moscato-lively, semi sweet white added a festive note to the night.

Aveleda Vinho Verde-For many it was the first but not the last time to enjoy this dry Portugese white in their glass.

Sombres Cabernet Sauvignon-This ultra smooth rich dry red from Chile wowed guests with its ability to perform alone in the glass and along side a plate of savory served appetizers.

Septima Malbec-Nobody does Malbec better than Mendoza. The night introduced even more red wine drinkers to the big bold grape from this thriving wine region of Argentina.

Bier Brewery-Craft beer fans quaffed fresh wheat and Belgium blonde ale from these local brewers.

With the unique array of auction items, exquisite food buffet from DUOS, interactive "heads or tails" raffle AND the Dumpster Drummers, it might have been easy to miss the wines. But the hundreds gathered to raise money and awareness for a sustainable Indiana, did not. Bottles from one of Napa's most established and celebrated wineries-Louis Martini-were happily consumed-and of course recycled.