"None Is"? or "None Are"?

Don't let populists rule your grammar. The contraction none means "not one" and takes a singular verb in almost every instance. The following sentence is correct: None of the wines is good. The word wines is the object of the sentence, not the subject; therefore, the subject none governs the number of the verb. None is singular: None [Not one] of the wines is good. Populists will argue nobody does it that way. Ignore them. Conformists will cite important style manuals. Ignore them. Pay attention to the grammar, not the hype.