You meet the one. He gives you butterflies. He makes you laugh. He makes you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. One special day, he asks you to be his wife.

And then the planning begins. It’s supposed to be the most romantic, the most magical, the most perfect day of your life. Maybe it’s a day you’ve planned since you were a little girl.

But sometimes the dreams of childhood don’t match up with the finances of adulthood. Between booking the venue, the entertainment, the catering, buying the dress, ordering the invitations and flowers, wedding expenses can add up fast.

Luckily not everything has to cost a small fortune. Sure, we all want to toast to our new lives together with The Dom, but who can really afford Pérignon these days?

The SGs recently got together to sample a few inexpensive bottles of bubbly. Here are our picks to help keep your wedding budget on track. — (Dry) Gwen Read the full story

On July 14 each year, the French gather in celebration of the storming of the Bastille in 1789, a symbol of the people’s uprising against the monarchy and the French Revolution. Similar to our Independence Day, the holiday is commemorated with parades, fireworks and parties.

While Bastille Day isn’t usually celebrated this side of the Atlantic, the SG’s think any excuse to drink French wine is a good one. So we’ll raise our glasses to Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité and to the French as well: May they (and we) enjoy many more years of outstanding wine.

Here are some of our favorite French wines from the last year: Read the full story

I love Spanish wine, and I think tapas are one of the best inventions ever. So imagine my delight to hear about the opening of La Bodega Tapas y Tintos in Boca Raton. The small Spanish eatery is something between a retail wine store and a restaurant, with a large inexpensive wines by the glass list and a menu of small hot and cold appetizer-sized delicacies.

Located in Royal Palm Place just south of Mizner Park, La Bodega is a great place to stop in for an after-work drink or to bring a wine-loving date. The bright yellow walls are lined with wooden wine racks and glass-topped barrels serve as tables. There are a few sidewalk tables with large umbrellas for those who want to toast the hot Florida summer with a chilled white wine.

I stopped in last week with a few friends for a Spanish wine tasting event co-hosted by LivingFLA.com. The small shop was practically bursting with the energy of an international crowd of beautiful wine-loving people. The tasting featured eight different Spanish wines for $10 if purchased ahead, or $20 at the door. Read the full story

Growing up in Nebraska, I always considered summer to be the one season of unabashed pleasure and easy living. Winter was brutal, fall was revered but unpredictable, and spring was fleeting. But summer? Summer meant long, lazy evenings spent chasing fireflies; lips stained red from just-picked strawberries that were en route to becoming sticky sweet jam; root beer floats — but only after my mother finished the hot work of mowing the grass. Summer was a stolen season of easy indulgence.

Here, summertime is an intense landscape for serious fun: boating, swimming, rafting, beaching, barbecuing, resting. It’s the time of year to gather up your closest friends, spend a minimal amount of time fussing in the kitchen and head out to the pool.

We did just that on a recent Saturday as the temps climbed steeply into the 90s. In Swirl Girl summer style, we uncorked a few fabulous bottles and whipped up some easy food pairings. We feasted on fruit gazpacho, orzo salad, summer tomatoes, shrimp cocktail and tropical fruit salsa and chips.

Favorite friends, easy food, cool wine — what more could you ask for?

Perhaps a slight breeze … Read the full story

The 8th Annual Boca Bacchanal food and wine celebration offered a seminar called “Therapy of Aromas,” and I was just too intrigued to pass up a chance to concentrate on my sense of smell.

Charlie Arturaola, an international renowned wine educator and Sommelier in Residence at Lynn University, led the one-hour seminar on Sunday. And he sure knew how to make education fun!

Instead of describing the character of all seven wines offered in class, I’ll share with you some of Arturaola’s tips and quips that went a long way to enhancing our appreciation of the wines. Read the full story

From left: J Cuvee 20 Brut (this won two Swirl Girl hearts!), Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, Mumm Napa Cuvee M and Biltmore Estate Brut. They are reasonably priced and all passed the taste test.

Pop. Fizz. Its sound is inescapable. That delicious prelude to bubbly good times, laughter and quite often New Year’s Eve. Champagne and sparklers hold a special place in the world of wine. It’s mostly a celebratory bottle, a marking of an occasion with friends and toasts, and the promise of good times.

To get you ready for the big night, the Swirl Girls are putting together a list of champagne and sparkling wines we’ve recently tried. Let us guide you to a sparkler that’s right for you.

TRIED AND TRUE

Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut – Washington ($9.99-$12.99)
This is the famed sparkler that beat out $150 Dom Perignon two-thirds of the time. It’s dry, light, crisp and appley. And your guests will never know just how reasonable this wine is. This one is available at Total Wine and some Publix stores.

Piper Heidsieck Rosé Brut Sauvage – Champagne, France ($49.95)
Dry tried this rosé at Crown’s Best of the Best tasting and was impressed with its burst of sweet strawberry and clean, dry finish.
Read the full story

Although I’ve been back many a time since I first wrote about La Dolce Vita in Lake Worth over six months ago when we launched Swirl Girls (see previous story), it’s time to share another tasting from my favorite neighborhood hangout.

In celebration of the holidays, co-owner Asher White presented a varied selection, from the bubbly to the fortified. And although tasting new wines in such an intimate atmosphere as that at La Dolce Vita is part of the reason to race there from work on a Friday evening, the most appealing part to me is just walking through the door.

I have found the “Cheers” of wine bars, where most everybody knows your name. I can always count on seeing four or five familiar warm faces there, and leaving a couple of hours later knowing a few more. At the very least, l’ll always find a room full of gregarious souls who love to celebrate wine. Read the full story

If you see a group of girls engaged in chatter and laughter while sipping vino on the outdoor patio at Salotto Ristorante Italiano in Delray Beach, by all means, stop to say hello. You’ll undoubtedly be invited to join them.

“Ladies Wine Night” gathers once a month for wine tasting, socializing and networking. On a recent Thursday night, I joined the group with best friend Beth, who had told me about the girls’ gathering after she had attended the month before.

Wine steward Claudio (center) takes a seat with the ladies on the patio at Salotto restaurant

The idea for “Ladies Wine Night” was fermented (sorry, dear readers, couldn’t resist) by Angie Worthing about six months ago as a way to explore affordable wines with other women and to include some business networking in this trying economy. It started at her house with guests each bringing a bottle and a snack, and, after rotating through a few more homes, is now held at Salotto. Read the full story

Sometimes you just need a little mid-week bubbly to get you through. Such was the feeling all the Swirl Girls had this past Wednesday, when we converged at my house armed with five different kinds of cheese, fruit, baguettes, raspberry phyllo brie bites and three bottles of champagne.

Sometimes we really know how to live.

The Swirl Girls had received three bottles of champagne to review, so we were three times as excited to do a little taste testing. After loading down my coffee table with our goodies, we settled in and popped the first. Read the full story

I just spent a long weekend in one of my favorite places – Key West – and dined at one of my favorite restaurants on the quirky island – Mangia Mangia.

If homemade pastas (choose from long, short, flat, round, spinach!) with a delectable selection of homemade sauces (marinara, meat, pesto, alfredo, yum!) set on an outdoor brick patio lined with lush, tropical trees isn’t enough to lure you there, then most certainly the 43-page, worldly wine list will.

Would you like wine by the glass? How about a Chianti, Super Tuscan, cabernet, malbec, grenache, zinfandel or pinot noir? Prefer a glass of white on a steamy summer evening? Try a pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay or riesling. Read the full story