Mavericks are NBA Champions so let's celebrate with... Texas Riesling!

Mavericks just won NBA Title and their undisputed super-star (and NBA Finals MVP) is German native Dirk Nowitzki. So what's the best way to celebrate? For a wine snob like me it's Texas grown Riesling - most popular varietal in Germany!

Popular choices:

• Becker Vineyards Riesling 2010
• Bell Mountain Vineyards, 2007 Late Harvest Riesling
• Messina Hof Winery, Merrill’s Vineyard Riesling, Texas, 2009

I will have tasting notes after celebration! Go Mavs!

750ml

750ml bottle and just two of you. How many times this was a show stopper preventing you from opening new bottle? If you pour 6 ounces glass you still end up with over half left. But we all heard of healthy French practice drinking wine everyday, right? So what options do we have to save unfinished bottle?

Option 1: do not have one - buy half bottle (375ml). This is also great way to try new wines. The problem: there are not too many half bottles around. And this becomes rather pricey as you pay almost (not quite but close) to full bottle price. But if you find wine you'd like to try or for good price it's the way to go. Stores usually have special section allocated for small format bottles. Buy only 375ml bottles - smaller formats are usually not quality products.

Option 2: have guests over. This is my preferred option but the problem is it's not always available (for many reasons ;-)

Option 3: close the bottle with cork and refrigerate. The chances are it will taste dull and unimpressive very next day. Yes, lower temperature slows down oxidation but not enough.

Option 4: decant to half bottle and refrigerate. I never do this so it’s up to you to judge.

Option 5: use vacuum wine saver. It's inexpensive, easy to use and it works. I use one by Metrokane - Houdini Wine Preserver - and it seems to work better than other models I tried. Few tips - wet the stopper before using it and wash it off after using; try to finish this bottle the next day anyway.