Beware, those of you who mock sign-waving Tea Partiers over glasses of chardonnay at wine and cheese parties.

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On Nextdoor, Orinda residents have been known to organize holiday gatherings like pumpkin carving contests and neighborhood wine and cheese parties.

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Free first Saturday of the month, when there is a big wine tasting and DJ parties that draw half the neighbourhood.

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Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney's 64-unit franchise, Painting With a Twist, which offers painting parties and wine tastings, has invested heavily in social media.

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They throw parties, drink wine, or just relax in a silence they say can't be experienced anywhere else.

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They did their research, hired the brightest minds, and threw parties where you could drink 150 euro wine.

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There are certainly exceptions, some notable, but it is more than fair to say in a rather sweeping generalization that California chardonnays are devoted to a rich, fat, buttery style, with a heavy-handed use of oak barrel aging, resulting in a wine best enjoyed on its own or at cocktail parties, usually deep golden in color.

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