Here’s a wine store that looks just like any other high-end wine store…right? So where in the world is this particular store? Include the store name for full credit. (Image credit to follow.)

So, take a gander at the photo to the right and hit the comments with your thoughts as to where the reader was. The first to guess right, wins a gold star, California Grand Cru edition! Caution, objects more difficult than they might appear!

Where in the wine world is it? Hit the comments with your thoughts; answer to follow.

For your, amusement caption the one to the right. While we would probably all approve of his generous pours, Max Riedel probably wouldn’t approve of the stemware…

Given that we had fun with our weekend edutainment a couple of weeks ago, we bring you an encore edition. Last time, it was grapes transported down the steep vineyard via something akin to a ski gondola. This time, we present steep vineyard transportation via something like a dumbwaiter.

Where in the wine world do they do that? Hit the comments with your thoughts. Answer and photo attribution to follow.

And one day, in our steep vineyard series, we do hope to run a photo of someone sliding down on the seat of his pants.

For your Saturday edutainment, we present to you this picture of grape harvesting via modified ski gondola.

Where in the wine world do they do that? Hit the comments with your thoughts. Answer to follow.

My vacation rages, and so do our mystery photos!

This one, not one of my photos, is from a rocky vineyard that produces a limited quantity of fruit. But the juice it produces is quite coveted, if little known…Anyway, enough with the hints! Hit the comments with your thoughts as to just where in the wine world this photo is from. If anyone gets this one, head straight to the head of the class!

While I am in an undisclosed location with limited internet access, I offer you this riddle: where in the wine world are these caves hewn from rock?

Show your deductive powers and hit the comments with your thoughts. Details to follow on this wine mystery!

Where in the wine world are we? We haven’t done one of these for a while….but look for clues in the photo, then hit us with your thoughts in the comments. Win a gold star! Partial credit if you show your work.

There is a bit of a story here to check back later for details.

While some of you might take the post title to have other meanings since it is new year’s eve, we are being quite literal. Check out this photo…where in the world are we?

Hit the comments with your thoughts. The big reveal will follow soon!

We haven’t done one of these for a while. But a site reader thought he could stump everyone with this shot from his travels (click to enlarge). As a clue, he writes “while this vineyard is in among the more picturesque parts of the region, it’s by no means the part of the region you go to to find the best wine.”

Details to follow! But in the meantime, where in the wine world was he?

UPDATE: Good guesses! The picture comes from kiwi lover Eric Arnold, author of First Big Crush: The Down and Dirty on Making Great Wine Down Under, who sent in the picture along with this commentary, satellite imagery, and a map! He writes:

“It’s a marginal piece of land at best. It’s out by Rarangi, toward the coast, which is a tiny dirty-hippie beach community; so it’s pretty sandy over there–nothing like the stony, minerally heart of the Wairau Valley. The highest-quality vineyards of Marlborough are about 10km inland from here, and on the south side of the river. While I’m not sure exactly what wines come from this specific vineyard, I do know that some of the grapes for Monkey Bay also come Rarangi. So I would say that while this vineyard is in among the more picturesque parts of the region, it’s by no means the part of the region you go to to find the best wine. The beach isn’t so bad, though….”

Click to view satellite image

The big red box is where most of the Sauvignon Blanc is grown in Marlborough. The small red box is this vineyard.

Thanks for playing. Send in your photos if you have a good one from your travels!

We haven’t done one of these for a while. So when I saw this photo today in a producer’s presentation, I thought it was about time. (Click to enlarge)

Hit the comments with your thoughts. Guess correctly by 11:59 PM (wherever you are) on Thursday and you will be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of my new book, A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season.

Hit the comments with your caption!

(click photo to enlarge; via reddit, ht Mark)

Where in the wine world was this picture taken? If you’ve found this hard in previous editions, now you have a greater chance since there are two right answers!

According to the photographer, the small road down the middle of the vineyard is actually the line between two significant wine regions. So where is this border zone? Hit the comments with your thoughts! No prizes this time, just glory!

UPDATE: Check here for the answer.

And we’re back with a “where in the wine world” photo! This photo is from harvest time, just last week somewhere in the wine world. But where was it? Feel free to show your powers of deduction for partial credit.

Further details to be revealed later…Send in your photo if you think you can stump us.

UPDATE: Yes, Martin nailed it! He must read Peter Liem’s fine blog, where I found this excellent photo and reproduced it with his permission. Check out his photos from Rene Geoffroy and more since he lives in Champagne!