Go HERE to read the story. Durham is featured prominently in the story.

Amanda Miller with Dock to Door Seafood has offered 2 tickets to next week's Sip and Surf event in Cary to a lucky Mouthful reader.

Sip and Surf is an oyster-centric event from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 at Sip, a wine store, in Cary. The $30 tickets include unlimited oysters, wine, beer and cheese tastings. The featured cheese will be from Goat Lady Dairy in Climax, N.C.

To enter, leave a comment below this post before noon Monday. I'll choose a winner at random.

To buy tickets, go to sipawinestore.com/calendar or call 919-467-7880.
Tickets cost $30 each or $15 for wine only or $15 for oysters only.

Chapel Hill's 3Cups will close on Feb. 2.

The coffee, wine and tea store was the work of entrepreneur Lex Alexander, former owner of the Triangle's Wellspring grocery stores that were bought by Whole Foods. Alexander was known for carefully selecting the products sold in his store, including loose leaf tea, freshly roasted coffee, wines from small family-owned wineries, chocolates and more.

Alexander opened 3Cups in 2005 in downtown Chapel Hill before a dispute with the landlord moved the store to its current location off Elliot Road.

Alexander and his wife, Ann, sent out notes Monday announcing the store's closing. "After much deliberation, we have decided that our 3 Cups business model is no longer financially sustainable," the email said.

On Tuesday, Ann Alexander added, "We had a passionate group of supporters -- there just weren't enough of them."

Lex Alexander, who once hoped to create multiple 3Cups stores, said he was sad to see the store's end: "I'm heartbroken about it."

Now that they have announced the store is closing, customers came in to say goodbye and shop.

"Yesterday, we had the biggest sales day we've ever had," Lex Alexander said.

To read a profile of Lex Alexander that ran in the News & Observer in 2010, go HERE.

I received a box of goodies from the Trudeau Corp. (shoptrudeau.com), which makes kitchen wares. I have assembled a collection of the wine, beer and cocktail items as a giveaway for a lucky reader. These items include a mojito muddler, a bottle opener, a box of 12 wine glass charms, a box of nine glass tags with a magic marker (pictured below), an aerating pourer (pictured at left) and an automatic lever corkscrew. The retail value of these items is more than $120.

Consider this a chance to win a holiday gift for the wine, beer or cocktail aficionado in your life or to snag some cool bar tools for yourself.

To enter, you must leave a comment below this post before noon, Friday, Nov. 30.

Please make sure that the email you register with newsobserver.com is valid and one you check regularly. I can't tell you how many times I've seen emails notifying someone that they won a giveaway only to have the email bounce back or to never hear from them to collect the prize.

One important note: The winner must be willing to come to The News & Observer's office in downtown Raleigh to pick up this prize.

Good luck!  

After winning the District 22 state Senate seat last week, Mike Woodard (right) resigned his City Council seat at Thursday's council work session.

After congratulatory applause, Councilman Eugene Brown handed Woodard a bottle of red wine.

"Based upon the current makeup of the state Senate, you may need a little more of this," he said.

Woodard, a Democrat going into the Republican-dominated legislature, looked at the label.

"Based on the current makeup," Woodard said, "this says it's only 13.5 percent alcohol."

Woodard's resignation is effective Dec. 31. The remaining council members will elect a successor to serve out the last year of his term in January.
 

Cave Taureau, a new wine store in downtown Durham, is set to open the week of Oct. 15.

Owner Noel Sherr managed several notable wine shops in New York City, including Heights Chateau in Brooklyn Heights and Chambers Street Wines in lower Manhattan, before moving to Durham two years ago. Sherr and his wife, Marie, visited Durham in March 2010 and so enjoyed the city that they decided to relocate to open their own wine shop. The store's name means The Bull's Cellar in French.

Sherr is partnering with Wes Rountree and Nathan Vandergrift, wine lovers who both work at Duke University medical school's biostatistics and bioinformatics center. Vandergrift's brother, John, owns Rue Cler and Pop's.

The shop will be located at 339 W. Main St., near Beyu Caffe, Toast and Whiskey. The 1,100-square-foot space will have a selection of about 250 wines made by winemakers or imported by importers with whom Sherr and his partners have longstanding relationships. The store will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays.

For information, go to www.facebook.com/cavetaureauwines.
 

Shannon Healy, the longtime manager at Chapel Hill's Crook's Corner, hopes to open his own bar, Alley Twenty Six, in downtown Durham next month.

The 1,300-square-foot bar will be located at 320 E. Chapel Hill St., down the street from Rue Cler restaurant and around the corner from Scratch bakery. Healy says they will offer a small curated wine list and quality cocktails using local ingredients. They will offer a small bar menu, including charcuterie, and focus on what food pairs best with what beverages.

"The Triangle has plenty of fine restaurants. It's time for the bars follow," Healy says.

Healy, who spent the last decade as a general manager at Chapel Hill's Southern food landmark, Crook's Corner, says they hope to open the first week in September.

The hours will start out as 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 

Vino!! Wine Shop opens today at 11 a.m. in downtown Pittsboro and will have a grand opening wine tasting from  5-7 pm. Friday.

The 1,000-square-foot space will be above The City Tap bar. The shop's address is 89 Hillsboro St., Suite D, Pittsboro.

Owner Anna Kizer says she plans to offer wines from all over the globe and focus on affordable bottles in the $10-$25 range.

For more information, go to vinowineshopnc.com.
 

"Virginia is for wine lovers," seems to be the theme of a Sunday event from 4-8 p.m. at Durham's Fullsteam Brewery: a tasting of Virginia wines and food.

The participating wineries include Barboursville Vineyards, White Hall Vineyards, Rosemont Vineyards and Winery, Foggy Ridge Cider, Chateau Morrisette Winery, Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Democracy Vineyards and Rappahannock Cellars. Beyond the wine, you'll get tastes of Border Springs Farm lamb and Rappahannock River oysters.

The event costs either $9 for samples or $15 for unlimited tastings. Tickets can be purchased via EventBrite: http://nttn.eventbrite.com.
 

Vino!! Wine Shop may be open by the end of June in downtown Pittsboro, according to owner Anna Kizer.

The 1,000-square-foot space will be above The City Tap bar. The shop's address is 89 Hillsboro St., Suite D, Pittsboro.

Kizer says she plans to offer wines from all over the globe and focus on affordable bottles in the $10 to $25 range.

Kizer, 30, grew up in Chapel Hill and graduated from Orange High School. After attending   Rhodes College in Memphis, she enrolled in law school at Campbell University. After four years of commercial litigation, Kizer discovered: "It turns out I liked law school way better than I liked practicing law." So she decided to open this wine shop in Pittsboro with her mother, Carolyn, and brother-in-law, Ascary Arias.