An annual purchase for wine drinkers should be the tried and true Hugh Johnson's pocket guide... and don't be shy about referring to it when looking at a wine list.

And if you are a wine novice another tried and true (yeah, I'm old school) guide is the Alexis Bespaloff book he wrote for (drumroll) Time Life. Don't scoff, it is packed with with very useful information and sound advice to the novice.

My suggestion for wine novices is read the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course for the nuts and bolts of wine and Adventures on the Wine Route for the heart and soul of wine.

As for the suggestions I don't see them helping the individual diner. One of the joys of dining out is getting to enjoy different wines with each course. I am not going to buy five bottles and drink a glass out of each one and lug the rest home. As for avoiding popular wines you have to consider that Riesling and Chardonnay don't go wtih the same foods. The same with Chianti and Pinot Noir. Some of the other suggestions are pretty obvious. "Look for half price nights." Duh. And while BYOB saves money there are problems. I went to a BYOB place tonight with a Muscadet to enjoy with the skate. Guess what they were out of? I then wished I had brought along a red. Or you open the wine and find it corked. Now what? I guess if you consider wine just something wash down food and give you a buzz the suggestions are good. However, if you really enjoy matching food and wine for a great dining experience the tips aren't worth much.

From my perspective, the BYOB thing gives me the opportunity to indulge without feeling guilty about overspending. The other night, I drank a bottle of wine (an Amarone) that I would be hard pressed to order off the wine list (if it's even available) at an Italian BYOB restaurant (which was recently reviewed here). The wine turned a pleasurable meal into a memorable one. Personally, the only time I would order wine by the glass is when I'm pretty sure I'm only going to have one. My expectation for the quality of the wine would be pretty low. It is more for the social aspect and the little buzz that comes with it.

Thanks for the link, EL and Dan D -- one of the first actually useful "how to save money in this economy" articles I've seen recently.

Does it strike anyone else in this economy that in this economy the media has jumped immediately to exploitation and marketing of the recession/market crash/housing market crash and skipped empathy and reporting. Or maybe it's just a layer that is automatically added to any situation now.

It's like the media is short-selling our lives [short selling being a technique in the stock market where you bet that a stock will decrease in value and profit when it does]. It's as if the media is skipping through the poppy fields of "in this economy" euphemisms spinning opium dream fantasies of magical wine specials. There is something very manufactured and false about the information climate this time around. Is it that we have lost of souls? That we have finally become so superficial that platitudes, diversions and euphemisms are now the primary milieu of our public self?

Anybody else feel this? I'm not criticizing Elizabeth or restaurants for publicizing specials. Far from it. I empathize with all the businesses employing people and the anxiety that rightfully permeates society. Restaurants are extra sensitive to genuine and perceived changes in the economic mood. This isn't even an appropriate place to air these views, but, well, here I am.

It just feels as if ego-centered activities are forefront and dominant, compared to previous periods of hardship. It doesn't help that this crisis was caused by a massive orgy of greed by millions of individuals

The manufactured faux-populist rage of recent weeks feels less about the populace and more about creating symbolic objects of misdirection by self-serving politicians.

We are in a new era. I'm just not sure that it's a good one. Everything feels like instant self-parody.

Now what to have for lunch?

Does it strike anyone else in this economy that in this economy the media has jumped immediately to exploitation and marketing of the recession/market crash/housing market crash and skipped empathy and reporting.

Yes. After watching Detroit slide backwards for the past 8 years as the rest of the country ignored it and had their little real estate boom, I have a hard time taking the media seriously. Folks, this has been happening for a long time. MD is nervous about a 6.2% unemployment rate? Why, that is nearly full employment! Real wages are down since 1970, adjusted for inflation, for the bottom 90% of earners.

A few people got very, very rich. Now they are getting stung slightly, and the media is all over it. I guess it is only news if you own the papers.

Bird, to move your question closer to home, last August over on the Consumer blog, the title was, How to Save Money on Food. Number 1 was "Grow Your Own....homegrown tomatoes taste to much better, blah blah blah....nothing so wonderful as the taste of homegrown cherries....

There are so many ways that trying to call this real "help" is wrong, beginning with "grow your own" has to start before August!! Or the $ amount of the initial outlay. How about the cost of a fruit tree? Or the cost of the spray involved?

My point is that the Sun "Consumer" writers are as vacuous as my cat and writing to rack up "hits" and sell advertising.

Any cherry tree you could reasonably plant probably won't bear fruit for a few years. Then the birds and squirrels will get to them first. One tree, even if nothing else kills/eats the fruit, will not give that many cherries. And some types of cherry trees must have a different cherry tree around to pollinate them (not self-pollinating). In all, a fun venture, but not likely to "bear fruit" insofar as saving money.

OMG it depends on which media you are consuming. CNN has been remarkably empathetic and seemingly helpful lately, with lots of stories detailing real people's daily struggles, and a focus on reporting where the jobs are now and likely to be in the future, plus providing money management adivce at all levels.

Theirs is a more global focus on personal finance, though. With food/dining media, there are only so many money-saving tips. BYOB. Grow your own. Coupons, specials and small plates. Or don't go out to eat. What more do you expect from such media, whose target audience was probably never those who are the very worst off now?