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.

I’ll be at Premiere in Napa next weekend but I highly recommend this Spring Release party on Feb. 23. Be the first to taste A Donkey & Goat’s latest sustainably-farmed, artisan releases.

They include a 2006 Brosseau Chardonnay (96 cases); 2006 Three Thirteen, almost equal parts Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache (308 cases); 2006 The Recluse, Anderson Valley and El Dorado Syrah with a kiss of Viognier (265 cases); and 2007 Isabel’s Cuvee Grenache Rose (120 cases).

The party includes live music from jazz trio, The Ramp, and word has it that the growers who supply A Donkey & Goat’s kick-ass grapes will also be around, so you can geek out and talk brix levels till you’re purple in the face.

The usual snacks and free souvenir glass round out the festivities, all for $20 at the door. If you print this page and take it with you, you’ll save five buck.

I’m bummed to be missing the event because Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars will be pouring his Rhone-style wines as well — a Syrah, Petite Syrah and Grenache. He sources fruit from Ventana Vineyards in addition to Dry Stack Vineyard, a relatively newcomer nestled in a cool-climate bowl between the Bennett, Taylor and Sonoma Mountains in the Bennett Valley. Taste the wines and let me know what you think.  

The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. at the winery, 2323 B 4th St., Berkeley.  For more information contact tracey@adonkeyandgoat.com or call 510-868-9174.

Ok, I know I’m a little event happy right now, but ’tis the season, eh? The weather’s brisk yet the sun is shining, so we need to take advantage before it starts raining buckets next month.

You already know about Lost Canyon Winery’s Holiday Open House this weekend. Also good to know: Harrington, another maker of fine, single-vineyardPinot Noir, is having its annual holiday sale this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2, from noon to 5 p.m. at the winery, 805 Camelia St., Berkeley.

Harrington will be pouring all five Pinot Noirs from the 2006 vintage. They’ll also be pouring wines from Eno and Edmund St. John. Wow your friends with local, small production wines of exceptional quality.  The press release from Bryan Harrington says to bring friends. So I’m bringing all ya’ll. See ya then.

As you get acquainted with the wineries of the East Bay Vintners in today’s Food & Wine section, be prepared to welcome two more into the mix. They’re both long-time home winemakers who decided to take the plunge. And while they’re both in the early stages of commercial development, I wanted to break what little news I have here.

Two Mile Wine is a group of five guys from different backgrounds of the industry — a business man, a wine bar manager, a PhD scientist and two Mondavi harvest groms — who make about 650 cases of Viognier, Sangiovese and biodynamic Syrah a year. Cool factor: some grapes come from a 40-45 degree slope vineyard at Unti in Healdsburg, Matt Bramwell, one of the Two Mile guys, tells me.

They’ve been at A Donkey and Goat since last year, their first commercial year, but have plans to move into their own space at San Pablo Avenue and Grayson in the near future. It’s a stone’s throw from Seasalt, and if I know that block, I’m confident the restaurant will be carrying the boys’ Viognier to pair with their fish and chips before long. The fruit comes from Tom Bloomfield’s vineyard in Brentwood. Let’s hope they churn out a delicate (read: not too hot) Viognier.

While Two Mile does mostly direct sales to friends and family, expect that to change, as they’ve scaled back on varietals, increased volume and have that fabulous future location.

Second up is Irish Monkey Cellars. Winemaker Bob Lynch along with his wife Loreta have made wine for 10 years, and recently took the commercial plunge. Their production is about double Two Miles’ (1,000 cases in 2006; 1,500 for 2007) and their portfolio is quite broad and impressive:

A Bordeaux meritage is the flagship of the line. The “knights,” as Bob calls them, of the collection are Syrah, SyrBec (a Syrah and Malbec blend), Pinot Noir, Primitivo, Merlot, Cabernet Franc Solo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a limited port-type wine made from the floral Portuguese Touriga Nationale grape.

They make a table red from Sangiovese blended with Merlot, Malbec and a small portion of Syrah. I’m anxious to taste all of these wines, especially the Bordeaux meritage and Syrbec, and will let you know when I get my grubby hands on some. The wine is currently being tested in fine local restaurants, and the Lynches are scouting space in the East Bay to plant their winery.

Curious about the names of the labels? Irish Monkey Cellars is a combo-homage to Bob’s Irish roots and his wife’s Asian flair, as he puts it. Two Mile Wine is a shout out to the two-mile dry zone surrounding the UC Berkeley campus when it was built back in the late 1800s. All five guys live in Berzerkley.

The second winery we hit over the weekend was Adam’s Point Winery. It’s on Fourth Street in Berkeley, between Channing and Dwight, in a sort of converted garage. We thought we were going to Rubbisow-Sargeant, but it turns out they’ve moved the majority of their operations to Napa, even though their signage is still up. Adam’s Point has taken up residency in the spot.

Bill Galarneau, the winemaker, specializes in fruit wines (which is really big in the south and east right now, wherever there are orchards, basically). Jenny and I loved the Mango Papaya, it was dry enough to serve as a chicken or fish wine, maybe with the right fruit salsa or chutney on top of the dish. It was clean and crisp and sort of reminded us of the butterscotch wine from Old Lockeford Winery in Lodi.

Another favorite - we bought two bottles as gifts - was the Chocolate Flavored Dessert Wine. It was like melted Scharffen Berger and red table wine. We’re not port drinkers, but we liked it. My dad will love it, and sip it like sherry. As for the other wines, they were of the dessert variety — mango and persimmon. The alcohol was a sky rocketing 19 percent, like a heating pad on my chest going down. If you’re the type to pour sweet wines on cheescake or fruit salad, you should get your hands on this stuff. Unlike almond and raspberry sparklings that “add flavor,” Galarneau’s wines are made with fresh fruit. I was impressed.