Here is a very preliminary, incomplete draft of an AFW FAQ. I thought
that I'd solicit comments now on what I've got (mostly culled from posts
to AFW) as well to ask for volunteers to write missing sections. Also,
suggestions of additiona sections are welcome, but be forewarned that
it'll probably mean that you'll be asked to write them, too.

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Alt.food.wine FAQ - Version 0.1

Welcome to the FAQ for alt.food.wine! In this document, we have tried
to compile a list of questions that have frequently been asked on this
newsgroup. Alt.food.wine welcomes all questions relating to wine,
though questions concerning winemaking might get more responses in the
related newsgroup rec.crafts.winemaking.

Table of Contents
1. I have just found a bottle of wine in my parents' cupboard and...
1a. I want to know how much it's worth
1b. I want to know whether it's OK to drink
2. I just had an incredible bottle of wine. Where I find some of it to buy?
3. What wineries should I visit in...
3a. Napa?
3b. Sonoma?
3c. Paso Robles?
3d. Amador County?
3e. Santa Barbara County?
3f. Burgundy?
3g. The Rhone Valley?
3h. Bordeaux?
4. What is the best way to preserve an opened bottle of wine? How long
will it last?
5. Are those expensive Riedel glasses worth the money?
6. What causes red wine headaches? How can I prevent them?
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1. I have just found a bottle of wine in my parents' cupboard and...
1a. I want to know how much it's worth

First of all, an all-important question with any wine that's been
stored for any length of time is what the storage conditions were like.
It is generally agreed that wine prefers to be stored in cool, moist
locations, free of light and significant temperature variation. If you
can't guarantee such storage conditions, you're unlikely to get full
price for your wine. If it was found in a kitchen cupboard or garage,
it probably wouldn't sell for much at all.
It's also important to realize that most wine, maybe 99% of it, is
intended for near-term consumption. If your wine is one of those, it
probably won't be worth much unless it's got some sentimental or
historical value.
With those two caveats out of the way, there are several ways you can
get an idea of how much your wine might be worth. You can look for its
retail value on the website http://www.wine-searcher.com. If it's being
sold today, you can find what they're asking for it. However, don't
expect to get retail value for your wine. The easiest way to sell it is
at auction, where you'd get perhaps 80% of the retail price (in a best
case analysis). To find out what that wine has fetched at auction, you
can use a database search tool provided by the Chicago Wine Company
(http://www.tcwc.com/ham.htm).
If you do want to sell your wine, there are several online auction
sites that you can use:
http://www.winecommune.com (probably the best for single bottles)
http://www.winebid.com

In some countries, you may be able to sell your wine on Ebay.
Additionally, in certain states of the United States, you may be able to
sell your wine on consignment through a retailer. Since each state has
different alcohol laws, you'd have to check with a local retailer to be
sure.

1b. I want to know whether it's OK to drink
The two caveats to the previous section apply equally to this
question. However, no wine will harm you, no matter how poorly it's
been stored nor how old it is. Also, old wine rarely if ever turns to
vinegar. The only real question is whether it'll be enjoyable to drink,
and one of the best ways to answer that is to open the bottle to see.
However, you can do some research on "drinking windows" proposed by
critics and other wine drinkers. Because most of the published
information is only available by subscription, you won't be able to find
Robert Parker's or the Wine Spectator's advice on the Web. However, a
decent resource is the website http://www.cellartracker.com, which is an
online cellar database for wine lovers. There is a search function on
their homepage that'll give you Cellartracker's customers' comments on
the wine in question, usually with a "recommended drinking window"
included. Of course, asking for advice on the newsgroup might get some
good advice, too.
Be aware, however, that any such drinking window is highly subjective
and based on an assumption of ideal storage conditions. Take such
recommendations with a good deal of skepticism, and open the bottle
earlier than recommended if there are questions about storage. If you
have any doubts about its storage, it's a good idea to open it up with a
backup bottle at hand in case the older wine turns out to not be to your
liking.

2. I just had an incredible bottle of wine. Where can I find some of it
to buy?
First of all, make sure that you know exactly what the wine is. That
means knowing the producer, the region it was made in, the vineyard name
(if there was any) and the year. Because there are lots of
similar-sounding names, you want to be sure that you're getting the same
thing you had. If you're not sure of those details and had the wine at
a restaurant, you can call them for a complete description of the wine.
If you had it at some other event, try to track down someone who would
know to ask them. Once you've got all the details, go to
http://www.wine-searcher.com and look up who sells it on the Internet.
Although you won't get all the listings without buying the Professional
version, you'll usually get enough information to help anyway. If you
can't find it for sale using wine-searcher and it's a recent vintage
(i.e., the year on the bottle is no earlier than 2-4 years ago) you
might try the winery's website or call them to see if: a) they'll sell
directly to you or b) they can tell you who distributes their wine in
your area. (You can then get ahold of the distributor to find out who
sells it near to you.

3. What wineries should I visit in...
What follows is a compendium of recommendations made in alt.food.wine
over the past 5 years or so. Since they were made without knowledge of
your tastes, they may or may not be useful to you. If you can define
your tastes, you might get better advice asking the newsgroup after
describing your tastes to us.

3a. Napa?
Napa is known primarily for its Cabernet Sauvignon, but Chardonnay,
Zinfandel and Pinot Noir (in the region known as Carneros) also grow
there. Most wineries will charge a tasting fee, and many of them will
charge extra to taste their more expensive wines. To avoid heavy
crowding, you should avoid weekends, holidays, the Summer and Hwy 29 by
taking the Silverado Trail instead.

Here are the recommended wineries with any special features in
parentheses (asterisks indicate appointment needed):

Robert Mondavi Winery (tour)
Beringer Winery (tour and history)
Milat
Sawyer
Vincent Arroyo
Prager Port Works
Stony Hill*
Storybook Mountain*