I don't drink wine, but my dog-ma teaches me wine lingo. Most people who live and visit here drink wine. When I say "here," I mean appellations and sub-appellations around Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Coast and the Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley and Napa Valley, "that other valley."

Here are grown and crafted great reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Malbec, and of course Pinot Noir. And lots of others like Barbera and Mourvedre. . . . Then there are the great whites: Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, and of course Freestone Fogdog Chardonnay. And some other whites like Muscat and Rieslings.

I know more about wine and winemaking than most dogs. Not that I'm the Jancis Robinson of the dog world or anything, but I do do my homework, so to bark.

I drink a little beer. It helps me when I have muscle spasms. My dog-ma will search for a lovely pilsener like Blue Paddle, or a pale ale like Mendocino Brewing Company Blue Heron, or sometimes Rogue Brewery HazelNut Brown Ale. According to Rogue's Brewdog, their ales are made with "coastal free range water." Woof?

People in winemaking are often beer aficionados who know more about beer making than the average bear. Try asking 'em when they're not being bears, like when they're bored from working long harvest hours hand-sorting grapes or doing punch-downs.

Or go to the annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair and change the subject from wine to beer. You can change the subject to anything you want by the end of the winetasting day. You can even sneak in with me, a Welsh corgi, and your dog, I bet.