When Sally and I aren't drinking wine, we try to stay busy with our careers so we can afford to buy more wine! My day job is working as a customer service consultant, and I recently wrote a book called Service Failure to share a lot of my research. Since wine is never far from my mind, I decided to host my book release party at one of my favorite wine bars in San Diego - Village Vino.

Their tag line is "a place for friends to gather, relax, and celebrate," which couldn't be more appropriate for my event. Owner Rita Pirkl and her team were wonderful hosts and really made everyone feel welcome. Many of my guests remarked that they couldn't wait to return to Village Vino and try some more of their great wine.

For the event, Rita picked out a collection of wines from Spain:

• Raventos Mercat Cava, NV (bubbly)

• 2011 Antonio Sanz Verdejo (white)

• 2007 Cillar d Silos Tempranillo (red)

There are two things I'd like you to remember about this post. First, a wine bar is a great place to throw a party. Second, Village Vino is a wonderful wine bar for any occasion!

New author Jeff Toister celebrating with friends