Not sure what I think about this combination. They’ve been my favorite past times for over seven years, and I have yet to marry the two. But thanks to Periscope Cellars in Emeryville, maybe I’ll give it a go. Though something about attempting crow pose after a glass of Deep Six does make me feel uneasy.

Here are the details: Instructor Bronwyn Michaelis will lead classes at 6 p.m. Oct 4 and Nov. 15 dedicated to pairing the subtle flavors of Periscope’s wine with deep relaxation and breath work. A longer Ujjayi breath means a more thorough aromatic experience.

Here’s a taste from the Web site: “We will focus on a calm and relaxed mind leading to enhanced awareness as we enjoy the subtle characters of wine. Feel the wine infuse your yoga with warmth and a lightness of spirit as you light up your senses and soften into poses.”

B.Y.O.C (Bring your own cheese).

Classes are $20 and space is limited, so reserve your spot by calling 510-655-7827. Bring your own mat in case you’re prone to party fouls.

I went to a wine tasting party a few weeks ago and forgot to dish about my favorite wine of the night, a 2007 Husch Vineyards La Ribera Chenin Blanc from the Anderson Valley.

Chenin is widely known as a grape for sweet and off-dry wines in its home, France’s Loire Valley. This Mendocino family winery has been crafting Chenin since 1984, and making an off-off dry style that is ever so sweet without sacrificing any of the wine’s vibrant acidity, flavors or food-friendliness.

The 2007 vintage was harvested in the early morning cold, according to Husch’s web site, and crushed and pressed at the winery. They bottled the wine and a long and cold fermentation.  The aromas are both floral and fruity: I got honeysuckle, roses and white peaches and apricots. The aromas translate perfectly to the palate, striking a near-perfect balance of zesty fruit and brisk acidity.

It’s a great alternative to bubbly for sucking down oysters.

If you read my Sept. 24 cover story on Bargain Reds you know I had the pleasure of interviewing wine author Robin Goldstein of the Fearless Critic Series, and the latest incarnation, “The Wine Trials,” where 100 wines under $15 outscored $50 to $150 bottles.  In the book, Goldstein talks about the taste of money, a fashion industry esque shift to behavioral lifestyle marketing and a magazine scoring system that is becoming increasingly iffy and unethical. Here’s what didn’t make it into today’s piece:

Corkheads: I understand the taste of money — that the pleasure of expensive wine is coming from the experience and not necessarily from its own taste. But I still don’t understand why your blind tasters prefered the inexpensive wines. Can you explain?

Goldstein: It was a weak preference. The easiest explanation is that everyday wine drinkers favor wines with slightly higher residual sugars.

Corkheads: What is your observation of the value category $6-$15 and why are there so many options?

Goldstein: If you look the past 100 years of history with the exception of inflation, that’s traditionally been most wine in Europe. Except for the past decade or two. By far most wine produced and sold has been in the $10-$15 range. That’s the natural price point for wine. When you look at the price of production and a reasonable mark up (30 percent or under). When you have the prestige wines where the producers are trying to get 500 percent markup that’s problematic. Burgundy and Bordeaux has acquired a certain cache. They become more valuable and we’ve come to expect a higher markup but what you have now is different. They’re thinking, ‘Let’s just see if we can make a wine and woo the critics and market the wine the right way and hire a wine consultant who’s in bed with the critics. The consumer is the loser in that transaction.

Wine is starting to be marketed in a way that fashion is. A cosmetic and handbag company is starting to buy these producers and apply the technology of behavioral marketing to wine. Consumers in China and Russia are buying up top producers when they don’t even know what they’re drinking, or why.

Corkheads: Explain to me how the “placebo effect” could be guiding magazine critics to consistently overrate expensive wines.

Goldstein: This is about magazine critics tasting wines nonblind. Nobody, including me, is immune to the knowledge of the experience of expensive wines. If someone told me I was about to taste a $5,000 bottle I’d have an impression going in. There’s stuff in the brain that results in fundamental changes based on our expectations. Spectator tastes blind. Enthusiast does not all the time.

Corkheads: Is there any reason for everyday wine drinkers to pay attention to ratings?
Goldstein: Well, taste blind yourself. Take critics opinions and see if you agree with the opinions of any given critic. Stick with that critic. People shouldn’t buy wine to show off to yourself and others but rather you should buy it for its inherent qualities. This system will crash at some point. Ultimately wine drinkers are going to realize what’s happening. They’re going to rise up against the gouging and say, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And we’re going to arrive at a goal of having more reasonable prices and enjoy a good wine at a fair price instead of focusing on the show-off qualtities.

Heard of the term? It’s a practice where stems arrive at the table with a hint of wine already in them. No, Jared Heber, the wine director at Mozza, is not that green, and I’m sure he was tickled by that joke the first 150 times he heard it.

It’s something Mario Batali, the owner of Mozza, picked up in Italy, and Heber is continuing the tradition. He pours one ounce of the wine to be served into the first glass. He gives it a swirl to cover the sides and then pours it into another glass. After rinsing all the glasses that are going to the table, the final and reduced pour ends up in a tasting glass for Heber.

The purpose of this priming is to rid the glasses of off-odors or other impurities, so that all you smell and taste is the wine you ordered. Detergents and rinsing agents can leave residues as well. Also, the process allows him to taste the wine and check for cork taint or other flaws.

Pretty cool. Anyone heard of San Francisco restaurants or wine bars doing this?

Ever wonder what wine pairs with piquillo peppers? Or what the other name for Aragonez is? (It’s Tempranillo!)

I’ve long looked to Kevin Hogan’s newsletter to answer these and other Iberian wine themed questions. Hogan is the wine buyer for The Spanish Table in Berkeley. One of the area’s foremost experts on all things Iberian, Kevin has put his precious weekly newsletters online and added a Spanish Table blog. So now we can bug him all day long. Even better, you can search for previous newsletters that go back a year.

In each newsletter, he offers a delicious often easy mid week recipe and a list of affordable wines from Spain, Argentina, Chile and  Portugal that are all available at The Spanish Table. He may also introduce you to something fabulous that will change your life, like Vinho Verde or Basque apple cider.

Master Distiller Emeritus Evan Cattanach is coming to Jackson’s Wine & Spirits in Lafayette for a tasting of single malt whiskies at 7 p.m. on Oct. 8. If you love whiskey as much as I love wine, this is a not-to-miss event. Jackson’s is pulling no punches on this event, which will feature 25-year Talisker, among other rare whiskies.

A bit about Cattanach: He’s spent more than 40 years managing single malt distilleries, including working in four of Scotland’s six whiskey-producing regions. He’s a world authority on the stuff, and retired in 1993. So now he travels the world spreading the love.

I’m told some amazing single malts will be poured at this event, including Caol IIa Special Edition, Clynelish 14yr, Cragganmore 1992 Distiller’s Edition, John Walker Blue King George Edition and Oban 18 yr. Seating is limited. Cost is $50 and includes food. Call Jackson’s at 925-284-4100 or stop by to get your ticket before they’re gone.

I cracked open this puppy for my boyfriend’s 35th birthday over the weekend. Fortunately for us but unfortunately for the wine,  we dined at Osha Thai in San Francisco. So the heat and spice of the food, mostly curries, made this soft, well-structured and luxuriously smooth wine taste dank and metallic.

I should’ve known better.

Anyhoo, I saved some to enjoy after dinner and vegan ice cream cake, and boy, was it rockin’. The 2004 vintage is sold out and the current 2005 is going for $75 direct to consumer only. I’m glad I saved a few ounces. I got a lot of dusty mineral flavors, which are all too rare in Napa Cabernets, on the finish. The entry was all zesty red fruits, from cranberry to currant. It was so gorgeous, I’m holding on to my 2005 for at least five years.

Yup, the big 4-0.

In closing, this is my pricey wine recommendation of the week. A birthday or anniversary. Job promotion. Whatever it may be, rock it with this beauty. In the deceptive world of prestige wine pricing, this one’s actually worth it.

It’s been four months since the soft launch of the new urban tasting room, Press Club, on Yerba Buena Lane in San Francisco. As of Sept. 10, the public can finally enjoy this taste of wine country. And with the cost of gas and harvest in full swing, I can see how a Bart ride over to Union Square is a little more appealing than a trek down Highway 29.

When I attended the grand opening back in April, I was struck by the elegant warmth of the place. It was like a winery night club. Walnut planks filled the main floor and complemented the cork-colored fabric and concrete framework. There were also a lot of overdressed oenophiles (and wanna-be oenophiles). So that certainly helped the vibe. I found the space a bit dark, but that may have been a mood call.

Like most tasting rooms, you can try before you buy. And there’s some good stuff to try. Namely, eight of California’s top small production wineries where  winery employees who are familiar with the brand help guests navigate between vintages and varietals. That ’s a big plus for me.

The producers are Chateau Montelena, Fritz Winery, Hanna Winery, Landmark Vineyards, Miner Family Vineyards, Mount Eden Vineyards, Pahlmeyer and Saintsbury. Rare library wines are available for purchase in addition to current releases.

Like a winery, guests will also be able to attend release parties and winemaker dinners hosted by the vintners at the Press Club. I’m the first one to admit that it’s much easier to attend these dinners on a “school night” when they’re in SF. How am I supposed to be in St. Helena by 6 p.m. on Tuesday? You’ll also find gourmet food, educational events and — here’s the good stuff — direct shipping. No more third party sneakery.

Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

I really appreciated the San Francisco Chronicle’s brief on debunking myths about sulfites and headaches. Click on the link and scroll down to find the blurb. So many times people swear they can’t drink reds because of the migraines and I try to tell them: it’s not the sulfites, it’s your dang histamines. There are other factors too: high levels of residual sugar and alcohol can give people whopping headaches. I get hot palms, but that’s another story I guess.

So just do me a favor the next time you’re uncorking a red. Pop a non drowsy antihistamine and get back to me. I want to know if you got your migraine. If you did, you might be sworn to whites for life.

If it’s good enough for California winery tasting rooms, it’s good enough for my house, right?

A new glass called GoVino is equipped to go anywhere, from picnics to upscale tasting parties. The stemless, flexible glass is made of thermoplastic polymer resin, or plastic that accurately reflects a wine’s color and does not impart any aromas. So it works like crystal without costing like crystal.

The “glasses” are reusable, dishwasher safe, and completely recyclable. What’s more, they only cost $3 a pop. Check them out here.

It’s such a welcome relief to regular plastic or — shudder — Styrofoam. Now all they have to do is design bowls by varietal.