In here, it's always cocktail hour! Learn all about red wine, white wine, even champagne and rose! We've got the basics on barware, tips for hosting a wine-tasting party, and find delicious wines under $15.

Your choice in beer says more about you than you think, according to recent study by Mark Media -- a research company who conducted 2,600 online interviews to find out what personalities are attracted to different brew brands. What they found: Your go-to beer could give just as much insight to your soul (no, we're not joking) as the clothes you wear or the car you drive (oh, you know your Honda screams "practical"). So here's what that six-pack in your fridge really means. Read More

If you drink Budweiser...
...you're practical.

If you drink Bud Light...
...you take risks, but respect authority.

If you drink Michelob Ultra...
...you think you're pretty great (brush your shoulder off!).

If you drink Corona...
...you're the life of the party.

If you drink Heineken...
...you're a bit of a poser and like all eyes on you.

If you drink Blue Moon...
...you're liberal and are sometimes sarcastic (stop rolling your eyes now, thanks).

So what do you think -- do these beer "personalities" live up to the hype? What's your favorite brew?

A well-stocked bar is a valuable tool for entertaining guests, decorating the house, or dealing with visiting in-laws. So here's everything you need to create the ideal party tool/room accent/blessed sanctuary.

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Liquor

The Basics
Liquor: You won't go wrong with 750 ml bottles of moderately priced brands (no more than about $20, sometimes much cheaper) that have name recognition -- Jose Cuervo, Jack Daniel's, Absolut, etc.
[ ] Gin
[ ] Vodka
[ ] Rum
[ ] Bourbon
[ ] Scotch
[ ] Tequila
[ ] Sweet vermouth
[ ] Dry vermouth
[ ] Cointreau

Wine: Have fun sampling several different kinds under $10 -- not all in one night -- then pick your two favorites and serve them as your house wines.
[ ] White wine
[ ] Red wine

Advanced Touch
Sippin' Whiskey: This spirit has always been a hit with professional drinkers, but after years of being eclipsed by vodka, it's coming back into vogue. Single-malt scotches and small-batch bourbons (both are types of whiskey) are particularly desirable.
[ ] Single-malt scotch (e.g., The Glenlivet 12 Year Old)
[ ] Irish whiskey (e.g., Black Bush)
[ ] Bourbon (e.g., Wild Turkey Rare Breed)

Mixers & Garnishes

The Basics
Juice: See? Drinking is healthy.
[ ] Cranberry
[ ] Orange
[ ] Tomato

Soda: Doubles as tasty drink accent and refreshment for designated drivers.
[ ] Cola
[ ] Lemon-lime
[ ] Ginger ale
[ ] Tonic
[ ] Seltzer

Maraschino Cherries: Get 'em with stems, since they're easier to pluck out of a glass. Plus, tying knots in them with your tongue is still one of the all-time great bar tricks.
[ ] Maraschino cherries

Olives: No martini is complete without them (unless it's a Gibson, in which case you'll need a pearl onion).
[ ] Green pitted olives

Lemons and Limes: Slice them up beforehand to save time when company arrives.
[ ] Lemons
[ ] Limes

Advanced Touch
Exotic additions: Feeling tropical? Feeling crazy? Then you probably have malaria. Still, you can't ignore your guests, who may be in the mood for a fruity island treat or an oddball drink that requires an unusual ingredient. Luckily, the ones here can be found in any supermarket or liquor store. Some ingredients should be fresh -- impress guests by pulling mint straight off a plant -- while others can be bought well in advance.
[ ] Cream
[ ] Coconut milk
[ ] Grenadine
[ ] Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce
[ ] Angostura bitters
[ ] Coarse salt and granulated sugar
[ ] Pineapple juice
[ ] Mint
[ ] Sour mix

Accessories

The Basics
Recipe Book: The Craft of the Cocktail by master mixologist Dale DeGroff provides 500 illustrated recipes as well as cocktail lore that, unlike a great martini, is never dry.
[ ] The Craft of the Cocktail

Ice Bucket and Tongs: A bucket with a lid and a liner keeps ice colder longer, and tongs keep grubby mitts where they belong.
[ ] Ice bucket
[ ] Tongs

Cocktail Shaker: Buy a Boston shaker -- a glass tumbler paired with a metal tumbler -- along with a Hawthorne strainer (the one with the coiled edge) instead of the more popular all-metal shaker. The setup is more versatile, gets colder faster, and makes you instantly look like a pro.
[ ] Boston cocktail shaker
[ ] Hawthorne strainer

Glasses: Remember, people who drink tend to drop things, so there's no need to spend a lot of money.
[ ] Highball
[ ] Lowball
[ ] Martini
[ ] White wine
[ ] Shot

Napkins: You don't want to find rings on your coffee table or olive pits in your plants.
[ ] Cocktail napkins

Advanced Touch
Bar Tools: Find a good-looking set that contains everything you need. Then display it for people to look at in slack-jawed awe.
[ ] Jiggers
[ ] Multipurpose opener
[ ] Corkscrew
[ ] Bar spoons
[ ] Wood muddler (for crushing herbs, sugar, etc. -- mojito, anyone?)

Warning: Your friends might call you a wine snob after you've read this, because you're going to know everything you could possibly want to know about white wine.

How cold should white wine be?
Whites should be chilled, but there isn’t one right temperature. Dry, crisp, and acidic whites (like Sauvignon Blanc) taste great when chilled to as cool as 42 degrees. But a big, fruity white (like Chardonnay) would benefit from warmer temperatures -- up to 55 degrees.

What are the most prestigious and pricey whites?
White wines that are classified as Premier Cru (first growth) and Grand Cru (great growth) vineyards within the Burgundy region of France are the most sought after among wine aficionados and generally the most expensive whites in the world. The Cote d'Or region and the village of Chablis produce some of the most famous whites.

Is drinking white wine as a spritzer or a Kir bad form?
If you like your whites on ice or doctored with a little sparkling water, go for it -- just don’t give that sort of treatment to a Premier Cru Burgundy. The Kir, an aperitif of white wine laced with creme de cassis (or, more recently, Chambord) was invented in mid-twentieth-century France to mask the acidic taste of cheap wine, a trick that still works and is acceptable today.

What’s a good white wine on its own for cocktails or happy hour?
Think low-alcohol wines that aren’t too rich or sweet, like a dry Riesling or a crisp Pinot Grigio. The purpose of an aperitif is to awaken your appetite, and a heavy, high-alcohol wine will leave you full and tipsy before dinner.

What are the different types of whites?
Pretty much everywhere but Europe, wines go by their varietal, the type of grape used to make the wine (like Chardonnay). In Europe, wines go by their appellation, aka region, or the area in which the grapes are grown. There are 50 or so grapes. Here are some of the most common ones:

• Chenin Blanc Used in Vouvray and other whites that come from the Loire Valley.
• Pinot Grigio Aka pinot gris, everywhere but Italy.
• Muscat Often used to make sweet wines like sparkling Moscato d’Asti (Italy) and Moscatel de Valencia (Spain).
• Chardonnay Used to make white burgundy wines.
• Sauvignon Blanc Used in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumewines.
• Viognier Originally from the Northern Rhone, these grapes are difficult to grow and make expensive wines. Pronounced “vee-ohn-yay.â€�
• Riesling Called the king of white grapes and just recently gaining popularity; known for being sweet, but Rieslings can also be dry.
• Vernaccia A crisp, dry white produced near the town of San Grimignano; it’s been produced since the thirteenth century.

Tip: To quickly chill a bottle of wine, place it in a bath of half water, half ice for 20 minutes. It’s faster than the freezer.

To breathe or not to breathe...our red wine guide answers that and more.

How do I identify a great red wine?
What separates a high-quality red from a so-so one is balance. When all of the following elements are present but none is overpowering, it’s a sign of a superior bottle.

• Tannins They're the chemicals found in the skins of red grapes that give the wine astringency and make your lips pucker a bit. The right amount of tannin gives a satisfying bite to the flavor of a wine, but too much can make it taste bitter.
• Acid There should be enough tartness to enhance the flavor of the grapes, but not so much that you can’t taste them at all.
• Fruit There should always be perceptible fruit flavors in a wine (with reds, these are most often berry- or cherry-like).
• Flavor High-end reds have hints of more complex flavors like spice, tobacco, and leather that persist on your palate.

What’s the sign of a bad red?

• It’s bland Bad red wines lack a crucial balance of the four elements or are thin in flavor. This can happen when a winemaker cares about volume more than quality and grows too many grapes per acre of land.
• It lacks color A very pale or translucent shade of red is usually a sign that a wine will fall short in the flavor department.

Is it necessary to “let a wine breathe�?
Yes. Exposing red wine to air helps open it up and enhances its flavors. (Note: A bottle will keep about three days after it’s opened if you recork and refrigerate it.) If a wine is overly tannic upon first taste, it’s a safe bet that it could benefit from some aeration.

• Step 1: Pour the wine into a decanter designed to expose a larger surface area of the wine to air -- a simple pitcher or carafe will work just as well.
• Step 2: Let it breathe for a few minutes. Just pouring it out of the bottle and into another vessel will provide enough aeration to bring out the flavors and soften the tannins. If you take a sip, aerate the wine, and taste it again a few minutes later, you’ll probably feel like you’re drinking an entirely different bottle -- that’s the difference air can make.

How do I tell if a red wine is corked?
A wine is “corked� when a chemical called trichloroanisole (aka TCA) is present in the cork, giving the wine a tainted taste and a musty odor. To tell, take a second whiff of the wine -- a corked wine’s smell won’t change with exposure to air, whereas the bouquet of an uncorked wine should develop after a few minutes in the glass. Also, if it lacks the rich, fruity flavors you’re accustomed to, your bottle could be corked. When ordering wine at a restaurant, don’t ever be afraid to send a corked bottle back.

When it comes to the world of food, wine often takes the spotlight away from beer. Move over pinot grigio, beer is back and we've got refreshing, tantalizing brewskies that would make any German proud. We've rounded up the hottest domestic microbrews from Oregon to New York that will quench your thirst and satisfy your palate. Here are our picks for your next pint or six-pack, perfect for the spring and summer, plus great food and recipe pairings.