"year in review" news and stories

Even though 2009 was a money-conscious year, most of us did not make a foolish decision to abandon wine. Because who doesn't need a heart-stopping bottle to pair with your favorite cheese or impress dinner-party guests?

Winemakers scrambled to keep their audience of sippers happy by offering value-oriented choices without compromising quality. Drinking wine at home -- instead of the local, hip wine bar -- became just as cool, and cheaper still. And lots of wineries and vineyards adopted green stripes by folding sustainability into their business models.

Here is a recap of the year's hottest wine stories.

With the country knee-deep in its nastiest recession in 70 years, Americans needed stiff drinks more than ever. But instead of drowning their economic sorrows with dirt-cheap Coors Light or Bud, droves of drinkers snagged six-packs, 22-ounce bombers and champagne-corked bottles of craft beer.

According to industry group the Brewers Association, during the first half of 2009, craft brewing grew 5 percent by volume and 9 percent by dollars, numbers made more astounding when you consider that overall beer sales nose-dived 1.3 percent.

Why are microbreweries bucking the economic trend? It's a matter of taste. Increasingly, brew drinkers "are attracted to flavor and variety, new and different products and beers made by small, local and independent companies," says Brewers Association director Paul Gatza.

• In spite of the economic woes the country faced during 2008, the restaurant scene in New York City flourished, with a number of three star restaurants finding their place in the city's scene.
• A list of the top places in NYC to eat well while keeping an eye on the bottom line.
• Diamond Jim Brady is one of histories most famed eaters, known to eat enough food to fuel a small city for his morning repast. However, could he truly have eaten that much? David Kamp looks into his gluttonous ways.
• Salted caramel has gone from elite flavor profile to one of the country's favorite combinations.
• These are not your grandmother's sherries.
• Will steakhouses survive the blue economy? Alex Witchel sits down with Ben Benson to talk about his eponymous steakhouse.
• The Minimalist makes Pizzocheri, a rich, butter-laden buckwheat pasta dish that has the veggies and noodles cooking in the same pot.