One of my greatest joys in the world is turning people on to good wine. And I love when I can do it in person. It’s the season of giving, and as you know Vinography is the proud sponsor of all the wine prizes for this year’s Menu for Hope charity raffle. I’ve made sure there are a lot of fabulous prizes to win, partly by talking generous folks in the wine industry into donating some really choice things.

But I haven’t yet donated a prize myself this year. So let’s change that, shall we?

My friend and fellow blogger Brett Emerson, he of In Praise of Sardines, is opening a restaurant here in San Francisco. It’s called Contigo, and will be open in January 2009. Brett is a wonderful chef, and especially when it comes to the Spanish and Portuguese influenced food that he’ll be featuring on Contigo’s menu.

Brett’s prize this year is dinner for six at his new restaurant, and my prize this year is to offer wine pairings from my cellar and my services as sommelier for the evening. That’s right, you and five friends get to have a great four-course meal from what will be one of San Francisco’s hottest new restaurants, and taste at least four fantastic wines from my cellar, poured by yours truly.

I’m already thinking about what cool wines I can serve, including some really old white and red Rioja, as well as an absolutely killer rosé, among other things. It will be a great time, and you can win it for as little as $10.

In order to bid on this prize, and to learn more about Contigo, please see the official prize announcement on In Praise of Sardines.

Let me know if you have any questions.