When I first started getting into wine, all I drank were big, round, buttery-oaky California chardonnays.  Shortly thereafter, all I drank were big, oaky, Napa Cabernets. Remember how tasty those 1994 Napa Cabs were?
   

Then the enablers at The Wine Club introduced me to the Bordeaux blends like Opus One and Quintessa.  When Napa wine prices really started going through the roof, the very helpful and never-condescending wine professionals at The Wine Club slowly led me around to actual Bordeaux.  Starting with the soft and supple 1995 Château Monbousquet (St. Emilion), I got sucked into Bordeaux big time, including lining up to get futures of the Big Five:  Haut Brion, Lafite, Margaux, Latour, and Mouton.  While I save those for my retirement (either to drink or to sell in order to support myself because I have spent all my retirement savings on wine), I came across the rich and earth-packed wines of the Rhône Valley – Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Crozes Hermitage, Côte Rôtie, and the mother of all Rhônes, Hermitage.  I still stare at the couple bottles of 2001 Beaucastel and Pegau I have in my garage cellar, wondering what occasion would be special enough to break into one of those beauties.
   

Remember when Restaurant Michael Mina opened in the Westin St. Francis?  (My favorite San Francisco designer, Dean Hutchinson, told me about the opening.  As soon as I learned that he had designed the staff uniforms, I realized that meant the restaurant was sparing no expense to procure the best of the best.)  At that point, the menu was focused mainly on fish, reminiscent of Chef Mina’s style back at Aqua.  None of the Big Reds I was so fond of would have worked very well with the light seafood fare and delicate sauce variations.  Wouldn’t you know it?  Restaurant Michael Mina has one of the most amazing Burgundy selections as part of its thick, illustrious wine tome.  That’s how I got sucked into Burgundy.  Those sultry, diaphanous wines were nothing like the cloying, cough syrupy thing I had previously known as “Pinot Noir.”  I subsequently tracked down every Burgundy tasting event that I could find at The Wine Club and at K&L, even risking the bridge and toll to get to Kermit Lynch.  If I can steal away a few hours on a business trip to New York, I’m on a buying spree at Rosenthal Wine Merchant on the Upper East Side.
   

Flash back to Justin Rutherford and Jeff Daniels, my Burgundy gurus at The Wine Club.  Well, they said, if you like red Burgundies, try these fabulous white Burgundies.  While the Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Meursault, Chablis, among others, are nothing like the woody clunkers I started with, I seem to be back to my Chardonnay addiction.
   

I’ll save the story of how I got sucked into German Riesling and Daiginjo Sake for another day.  In the meantime, get sucked into your own wine adventures with the following wine events in March:

Vintners’ Club, 415-381-4467, www.vintnersclub.org:
•    Acquerello, 1722 Sacramento St. (at Polk); six-course dinner including 1992-1997 vintages of Château Lafite-Rothschild, 1996 Dom Perignon, and 1995 Monnier Meursault-Charmes 1er Cru; Sunday, March 2, 5 p.m.; $735/person ($595/person for members)

6th Annual Pinot Noir Summit, 707-874-1975, www.affairsofthewine.com:
•    Pinot Noir Shootout; Fort Mason Golden Gate Room, Marina Blvd. (at Buchanan); featuring 40 Pinot Noirs, hors d’oeuvres, workshops, and silent auction; Sunday March 2, 12-7 p.m.; $135/person (portion of proceeds to benefit ALS division of Muscular Dystrophy Association)
•    Pinot Noir Summit Reception; Fort Mason Golden Gate Room, Marina Blvd. (at Buchanan); Sunday, March 2, 5-7 p.m., $75/person

Legends of Wine III, Afternoon With Cooks, Vino, and Books, 707-963-9463, www.jamesbeard.org/legendsofwine:
•    Reception and Book Signing featuring Chefs Rick Tramonto of Tru (Chicago), Josiah Citrin from Mélisse (Santa Monica), Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern (New York), and Emily Luchetti of Farallon; Harvest Inn, 1 Main St. (at Sulphur Springs), St. Helena; Sunday, March 2, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Cyrus, 29 North (at Healdsburg Ave.), Healdsburg, 707-433-3311, www.cyrusrestaurant.com:
•    Peay Vineyards Winemaker Dinner, pouring library wines and new releases, www.peayvineyards.com, Monday, March 3

Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, Ferry Building (Embarcadero at Market), 415-391-9400, www.fpwm.com:
•    Wine Tasting Technique Deconstructed with Jeff Prather; Tuesday, March 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; $50/person
•    Napa reds from Tor Wines; Wednesday, March 5, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
•    Green Valley Pinot Noirs; Wednesday, March 19, 4:30-7:30 p.m.

La Folie, 2316 Polk St. (at Green), 510-632-5500, www.jjbuckley.com:
•    Winemaker Dinner and Tasting with Stéphane Derenoncourt of Chateau La Mondotte, Canon-La-Gaffeliere, Pavie Macquin, and Larcis-Ducasse; Wednesday, March 5, 6 p.m.; $265/person

Wine Bar & Shop, 2 Embarcadero (at Sacramento), 415-391-0758, www.winebarsf.com:
•    Winemaker Tasting with Doug Hackett, Dogwood Cellars & Three Families; Wednesday, March 5, 4-7 p.m.; $10/person

K&L Wine Merchant, 638 4th St. (at Brannan), 415-896-1734, www.klwines.com:
•    Elio Grasso of Italy; Thursday, March 6, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
•    Krupp Brothers Wines; Thursday, March 20, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
•    Forth Vineyards; Thursday, March 20, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Two, 22 Hawthorne (at Howard), 415-946-1300, www.vinfolio.com:
•    Scarecrow Winemaker Dinner with Celia Masyczek, three-course dinner and Champagne reception; Monday, March 10, 6:30-10 p.m.; $185/person

Vino Italiano, www.uncorkedevents.com:
•    Apartment 24 Night Club, 440 Broadway (at Montgomery); Wednesday, March 12, 6:30-9 p.m.; $45/person

Ottimista Enoteca-Café, 1838 Union (at Octavia), 415-674-8400, www.ottimistasf.com:
•    Handley Winemaker Dinner; Thursday, March 13, 6:30 p.m.; $85/person

Nightlife Napa Valley, 415-829-8068, www.sparksf.org:
•    San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl. (at Grove); tasting of 50 member wineries of the Napa Valley Vintners, plus 2006 Best of the Bay DJ Label spinning; Thursday, March 13, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; $50/person (advance only; proceeds benefit Spark)

Viognier, 222 East 4th Ave. (at B St.) San Mateo, 650-685-3727, www.viognierrestaurant.com:
•    Heitz Cellars five-course wine dinner; Friday, March 14, 6:30 p.m.; $145/person

Rhone Rangers, 415-345-7575, www.rhonerangers.org:
•    Library Tasting, Live Auction and Winemaker Dinner; Presidio Log Cabin, 1299 Storey (at Ralston); Friday, March 15, 6-10 p.m.; $125/person
•    Beyond Viognier, an Exploration of White Rhones Seminar & Tasting; Fort Mason Golden Gate Room, Marina Blvd. (at Buchanan); Saturday, March 16, 11 a.m.-noon (seminar attendees invited to press and trade Grand Tasting at noon); $120/person
•    Grand Tasting featuring over 120 Rhone Ranger member wineries and artisan food producers; Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, Marina Blvd. (at Buchanan); Saturday, March 16, 2-5 p.m.; $60/person

Masa’s, 648 Bush St. (at Stockton), 415-989-7154, www.masasrestaurant.com:
•    Château Margaux Dinner with Paul Pontellier, managing director, featuring 1983, 1989, 1998, 2004 vintages in addition to Pavillon Blanc and Pavillon Rouge; Sunday, March 16, 6 p.m.; $550/person (tickets available at www.klwines.com)

Bacar, 448 Brannan St. (at 3rd St.), 415-904-4100, www.bacarsf.com:
•    Sommelier Supper with Mickey Clevenger, wine director, featuring tastes of approximately
two-dozen wines; Sunday, March 
16, 7 p.m.; $65/person

Cellar360, 900 North Point St. (at Larkin), 415-440-0772, www.cellar360.com:
•    March Madness 90+ Point Wines; Tuesday, March 18, 5:30-7 p.m.; $10/person

Art & Wine Social, 925-945-8340, www.winesocials.com:
•    Pasquale Ianetti Art Gallery, 565 Sutter St. (at Mason); Saturday, March 22, 7-9 p.m.; $20/person in advance, $30/person at the door

Wildflowers & Wine, 408-306-2848, www.californiawinehikes.com:
•    Golden Gate National Recreation Area; Sunday, March 23, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; $95/person

WineEnthusiast Toast of the Town, 800-847-5949, www.toastofthetown.com:
•    War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. (at Grove); tasting of over 500 wines and spirits, plus culinary creations from 30 restaurants; Thursday, March 27; VIP Tasting 5 p.m., $185/person; Grand Tasting 7-10 p.m., $95/person

Cetrella, 845 Main St., Half Moon Bay, 650-726-4060, www.cetrella.com:
•    Riesling & Crab Feast Wine Lovers’ Dinner, four-course dinner by Chef Robert Holt featuring wines of Dr. Loosen; Friday, March 28, 6:30 p.m.; $90/person

Santi, 21047 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707-857-1790, www.tavernasanti.com:
•    Sunday Supper Club Wine Dinner, four-course dinner by Chef Dino Bugica featuring cuisine and wine from Florence; Sunday, March 30, 5-9 p.m.; $45/person

Vivande, 2125 Fillmore St. (at California); 415-346-4430, www.vivande.com:
•    Piemonte Wine Dinner; Monday, March 31, 6:30 p.m.; $145/person (including tax and service)

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