2004 Trentadue Petite Sirah

Pleasant enough drinking wine with lush fruit, but rather unremarkable for the price point ($20). Guess one shouldn't expect too much with grapes generic grapes sourced from Lake and Mendocino Counties. I'd chosen this to go with the earthiness of the morels in the pasta primavera I was making but it didn't really have the depth I was looking for.

2006 Conquista Malbec

From Argentina's Mendoza region...good structure, moderate tannins. Paired well with our burgers!

2007 Marques de Caceres White Rioja

Crisp, clean taste with a hint of lemon. A nice match for seafood such as the scallops I made with arugala cream sauce. A good buy!

Price: $10
Grape: Viura
Region: Rioja, Spain
Food: Seafood, such as scallops
QPR: Very good

2007 Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec

Deep purple color. Dusky blackberry taste. Pretty nice match for our ribeye, with Mexican spices.

Price: $15
QPR: Good
Food: Grilled steak
Region: Mendoza, Argentina

2006 Coli Chianti

Blackberry and leather taste, with some tartness and medium tannins. Decent with a tomato-based Italian meal such as the chicken cacciatore I made. Will be interesting to compate to a chianti classico. $9.

2006 Cantina Terre Del Barolo Barbera D'Alba

Licorice bouquet and taste of of cherry. The acidity was striking at first but softend after breathing. This acidity made it work as a pair for the pork ragu with its tomato based sauce, definitely more of a food wine than something to sip by itself.

2006 Strozzi Chianti

Chianti is the natural choice for spaghetti, with enough acidity to match the tomatoes. I had a good bargain recommended to me at the wine shop, the 2006 Strozzi Chianti ($10). Seeing it was young, I let it breathe for a solid hour, after which it showed soft, lush plummy fruit and just a bit of leathiness to give it some backbone. If you find this one in the store, pick up a few bottles for simply pasta or pizza meals!

Price: $10
QPR: Excellent
Food: pasta, pizza
Region: Chianti

Beaux Freres

Just finished reading this month's Food & Wine article on Oregeon pinot noirs, and the Beaux Freres sounds like one I'd like to try!

2006 McManis Petite Sirah

I'll break my silence of a few weeks here with the suggestion that you pick up a bottle of the 2006 McManis Petite Sirah ($13) if you come across it. I was busy finishing dinner prep when I was first tasting it, so I didn't take notes. But the big fruit forwardness of the wine with good structure stand out the next morning here. Definitely a good find at this price.

This wine hails from a newly named California wine region, the River Junction appellation. It's south of Lodi in the San Joaquin Valley. I've also previously enjoyed one of their cabs, also at a good price.The petite sirah was a great match for the roasted porterhouse steak, served with creamed spinach and a baked potato. I'd say this would also be a great wine to keep in mind for grilling season. I can't claim credit for the simple but tasty recipe; it comes from my Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Roasting which is a great go-to resource in the cold weather.

Price: $13
QPR: Excellent
Region: River Junction, California
Food: beef, grilling

2003 Meeker Zinfandel

Strawberry bouquet, taste of cherry, still fairly tannic. Not quite as good as some others I've had from Meeker. Was a pretty good match with the chili.

Price: $15
QPR: good
Pair with: spicy meat dishes, such as my chili
Region: Mendocino, California