Scan the sidewalk menus for some chilli crab or the local staple ayam buah keluak (chicken cooked with a dark, oily local nut), or just sip a glass of wine and watch chugging "bumboats" ripple the reflections on the river.

BBC: A perfect day in Singapore

So as 2012 begins and we toast the birth of a new year, I invite you to take a sip from the RedNek wine glass, think of Pat Gunkel and write down on that cocktail napkin the happy returns you can expect when you invest in creating a culture of ideas.

FORBES: Where Ideas Come From: Nature vs. Nurture

Thus transformed, she will knock on the front door and sip from a glass of wine traditionally set aside for the Biblical prophet.

WSJ: What's Plaguing Passover Feasts? Some Say Rituals Need Spicing Up

Then drink in that Southern drawl beside the verdant 9, 500 square-foot villa that is Willow Creek Winery as you spend a day learning about the innerworkings of a vineyard from grape to wine and sip away all life's little stresses.

BBC: Daily deal: Cape May B&B and vineyard

Before our first sip of wine, religious communities offer us a thought that can be swallowed with the liquid like a tablet.

WSJ: Alain de Botton on Religion for Everyone

Wine critics swirl, sniff, sip, slurp and spit scores of wines in a single sitting.

FORBES: 2009 Bordeaux Is Great? Pass.