Dinner guests arrived last night bearing two bottles of Lillet, the French apreritifs from Bordeaux. The white Lillet is golden in color with a floral nose, and best served chilled (not over ice) garnished with an orange slice. The red Lillet is ruby in color and very aromatic. Also should be served chilled. We had a glass of each and I found them to be a delightful change from my usual summer cocktail of gin and tonic.

In Japan, a sake sommelier is called a “Kikizakeshi.” Some U.S. restaurants with a strong sake program will have a licensed “kikizakeshi” on staff and at San Francisco’s top sake shop, True Sake, they have Miwa, who has successfully completed her Kikisakeshi training in Japan.

Non-alcoholic beverages are making the menus at many fine restaurants and bars across the country. Pretending to booze-it-up when you’re really not is not only okay, it’s actually gaining ground. Elixirs, zero-proofs, mocktails, whatever name you give the drinks, are fun to order and as much fun make at home. Better still, even kids can get in on the act.

Making a great mocktail means relying on top notch ingredients - the best quality juices, teas, fruits and syrups. Sonoma Syrup Co., a small family-owned business based in California offers infused, all-natural syrups in luscious flavors like Tangerine, Vanilla bean, Pomegranate and an Eureka lemon. Try a blend of cold, strong, honey-sweetened green tea with a splash of orange juice, and 1/2 ounce of Tangerine syrup. www.sonomasyrupco.com

You may want to make plans now to be in New Orleans August 18-20 for The Tales of the Cocktail tour, featuring culinary demonstrations, walking tours, booksignings, lecture and more geared around New Orleans’ cocktail history. For more info: www.talesofthecocktail.com

I’m usually not one to drink white wine instead of a cocktail, but I’ve been enjoying Pinot Grigio lately. After the sun sets and it doesn’t feel like an oven outdoors, I sit quietly on my patio surrounded by banana trees, palms and other subtropicals, watch the hummingbirds flit about and sip on very well chilled Pinot Grigio and I’m happy as a lark! Try it, you might like it as well.

If a trip to Paris is part of this summer’s plan, then clearly eating and drinking must also be on the agenda. But what about the intimidation factor? What if your French is limited to “voulez-vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?” Not to worry and stop that annoying whining! Quaff beautiful French wines while soaking up some unpretentious wine education with classes from O Chateau (www.o-chateau.com).

O Chateau’s mission is to demystify wine in a fun, relaxing and informative way. Spend time learning that “French wine does not have to be expensive to be good” as instructors introduce students to great little-known French wines and all without making anyone feel like a know-nothing chump.

A votre sante.

Motley Crue singer Vince Neil is planning to launch his own brand of wine. The project, called Vince Vineyards, kicks off with two kinds of wine: 2003 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and 2003 Sonoma Chardonnay. The wine by the heavy metal singer will be available in Las Vegas, NY, LA, and Nashville for about $20 per bottle. Neil will not be personally crsuhing the grapes; he’s leaving the winemaking up to Harry Parducci at Adler Fels Winery in Santa Rosa.

Neil is the latest in a growing group of musicians trying their hand at the wine business. In the past two years, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood and the Doobie Brothers have taken the plunge. Boz Scaggs plans to jump in this fall.

A friend brought me a bottle of her homemade blackberry wine last night and we make ourselves a wine cooler by combining two parts wine with one part club soda with a bit of crushed ice. It was indeed cooling after a very hot day.

Yes my fellow drinkers, today in National Pina Colada Day. Raise a glass to your friends and Rupert Holmes who wrote “The Pina Colada Song.” You know it, the one that goes, “Yes, I like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. I’m not much into health food, I am into champagne.”

Grenadine is the red syrup that is an essential part of a good bar keeper’s repertoire. It goes into cocktails such as that New Orleans favorite—an Hurricane—as well as a tequila sunrise, a Bahama mama, a Jamaican rum punch, and many others. But did you know that the red-colored syrup is made from pomegranate juice? And you might want to try it splashed on fresh grapefruit, added to sorbets, and used in a dressing for fruit salad! Wonderful flavor!