If you are looking for refreshing white wines and fruit-forward red wines from the Southern Hemisphere, one of the most exciting appellations to get to know is the Casablanca Valley, a cool climate region located between the capital of Santiago and the Pacific Ocean.

Wondering what wine to purchase mom for Mother’s Day? This year, it's Sunday, May 12. Rest assured, there’s a flavor profile to meet every palate.  In this week’s Likelii Top 5, here are some tasty suggestions to make Mom feel like the superstar she is.

Pinot noirs are not all created equal. Some are light and delicate. Others are heavy-handed with overripe flavors, too much oak and high levels of alcohol. A few winemakers even use a touch of syrah in the blend to add more color, body and flavor to the wine. In some cases, the end result is a robust, high-octane Pinot Noir that can taste sappy and syrupy. If you dig pinots, here are some that are elegant and balanced.

Iit’s hard for a sommelier to call California wines with 15 percent alcohol delicate, elegant and lively. In most cases, these high alcohol wines are bold, brutish, sweet, syrupy and insipid. In terms of sipping, they are comparable to doing shots of booze with your friends—a communal spirit where you have to work up the gusto to finish the glass.

In the past, the sweet, syrupy and cloying flavors of Passover wine might have made these four glasses a daunting task. But thanks the more detailed winemaking practices of certified kosher wines, many of the new releases of red, white and sparkling wines are on par with the top non-Kosher wines from around the globe. Here are Likelii’s top picks and food pairings for Passover 2013.

Beyond religious ceremonies, baby chicks, bouncing bunnies, neon candies and fragrant flowers, Easter also marks the beginning of spring—here are five top picks that  complement the food served at extravagant brunches, gourmet luncheons and delectable meals this time of year.

Ports: tehy're not just for winter, Christmas or your great-aunt Hortese anymore--especially when they're sensuous tawnies.

And the winner is… Argo, the intense thriller/drama that just won the Oscar for Best Film at the 85th Academy Awards—and out on DVD and Blu-Ray for date nights at home.

The 2010 vintage in Bordeaux was a legendary year. Here are the wines Chris Sawyer says to look out for and enjoy repeatedly.

We're introducing a new feature this week: Likelii's World Wine Tour, a whirlwind examination of of the world's great and interesting wine regions. Step off the tour bus with us!