Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

There’s a category of wine-producing countries you could call the one-hit wonders. For instance, New Zealand - the place makes some great Pinot Noirs, and more than a few terrific Syrahs - but if you punch a random sommelier on the shoulder and yell, “New Zealand wine!” odds are they’ll yell back, “Sauvignon Blanc!” (And then probably punch you, too, but whatever.)
 
Germany’s the same way: all Riesling, all the time, except when you consider that in fact Germany is the third-largest Pinot Noir producing country in the world, after France and the US. Of course, 99 percent of German Pinot stays in Germany, but still.
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg, known in New York City for his tough regulations on everything from large sodas to smoking in Central Park, proposed a new target during his final State of the City speech Thursday: plastic foam containers.

"Styrofoam increases the cost of recycling by as much as $20 per ton because it has to be removed," the mayor said. "Something we know is environmentally destructive, that is costing taxpayers money, and that is easily replaceable, I think, is something we can do without."
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Goody, goody! February 15 is National Gumdrop Day.

If your Valentine’s Day wasn’t sweet enough, today might be able to make up for that. Gumdrops are small, chewy, sugar-coated candies typically made with gelatin (that's where they get their wiggle from). They’re often used to decorate gingerbread houses and even have a mountain, albeit fictitious, named after them.
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