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Best buys may be found at any price level. While many, if not most, will be around $12 or less, the recommendations are for any wines that represent good value in their category or price range.   1 to 4 stars, as follows ( + indicates better than...but not quite worth another * ):
*good (above average)                                                                               wbow:  a Wine Buy of the Week selection
**very good (also good value in its category)
***excellent
****outstanding......grab it!
 
 

 
 

Bacchic Reflections                                            "....eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart..."                                                                                                                                         King Solomon, Ecclesiastes                       Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.                                                                                                                           Benjamin Franklin "Perhaps the nearest I come to gluttony is with wine. As often as possible, when a really beautiful bottle is before me, I drink all of it that I can, even when I know that I have had more that I want physically. That is gluttonous. But I think to myself, when again will I have this taste upon my tongue? Where else in the world is there just such a wine as this, with just this bouquet, at just this heat, in just this crystal cup? And when again will I be alive to it as I am this very minute....?" M.F.K. Fisher   "In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary." A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway         "The trouble with really fine wine is that it tastes so good that it spoils you for anything cheap,                                        all the ordinary stuff you drank before because it was affordable."                                                                   Shelby Foote to B.E.                                                                    Centennial celebration of William Faulkner's birth                                                                   Oxford, MS

Great Reds for Winter Feasts Roast Lamb or Beef:  Many reds work with beef and lamb but fine Cabernet  Sauvignon is a noble match. There are some excellent ones out there right now:       Jordan Vineyards 2007, Alexander Valley, $40-45 Jordan Cabernets are among the most balanced, from first release to several years beyond--a good two decades.or more. Jordan Cabernerts are about four years at release, supple and accessible but with plenty of structure and grip. The '07 is  75% cabernet, 20%  merlot,  petit verdot and a dash of malbec. Lovely blackberry flavors, good concentration and length. Rodney Strong 2009 Estate Cabernet, Alexander Valley, $20-25. Several Cabernets and cab blends are made under the Rodney Strong label, including Alexander's Crown and Symmetry--both impressive but big, dark and dense, in need of some years in bottle. The 2009 Estate is much more accessible but with plenty of black fruit flavors. Lively balance, appealing for drinking now. BenMarco 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina. Not just Malbec--Argentina can produce excellent Cabernet, like this one. Bold black fruit flavors, spicy oak not overdone. Well-structured but very drinkable now. On sale at Chapel Hill Wine Co-$18 if you buy two bottles (and you should!). Shafer Merlot 2009, Napa Valley, $45. Merlots of this stature work beautifully with lamb, or beef. This one is smashing, stuffed with spicy blackberry, big but balanced, with great length. Blackbird Vineyards 'Arise' 2009, Napa Valley. A Pomerol-style blend, mostly merlot with cabernet sauvignon and cab franc--lush and rich, very seductive. Great gift for those who like Bordeaux-style blends. Order online:  www.blackbirdvineyards.com Turkey:   Roast or Deep-fried  my first pick is medium, balanced Pinot Noir, for its ruddy flavors hinting of berries and spice--just right with all those trimmings, too. Just tried one at Whole Foods that's quite nice, readily drinkable:  Meiomi 2010, from cool coastal regions of California, about $20 But good ones abound, such as these 2009s:  J Vineyards, Rodney Strong, Merry Edwards, King Estate,  La Crema Monterey, Kings Ridge, Drouhin La Foret, Willowbrook What to Serve with Sweets     Pumpkin pie,  mincemeat--and those other sweet confections that load the sideboard between now and January 1st--like fruitcake,ȇ ambrosia, angel food or pound cake made from scratch, chocolate.         I like to have on hand this time of year a few "stickies" (nickname for sweet dessert wines), ones with good acidity that can cut through the richness and complement the sweets rather than compete.          With chocolate, for instance, I find it very hard to beat Quady Elysium, the black muscat wine that brilliantly sets off dark chocolate (tried recently with Loyd Auerbach's Ghost Chocolates). Quady's orange muscat, Essencia, works with chocolate, too--but superbly with pound cake, almond or hazelnut tarts, and, amazingly, crème brulée.            Port also suits these sweet things, and does wonders for good (not too gooey) fruitcake. Look for dark rich wood-aged Ports such as Cockburn Special Reserve and Graham's Six Fruits. They keep nicely for a week or two, so are handy to have on hand during the holidays.

Sparkle, Sparkle.... Champagne and/or sparkling wine make a great aperitif  and get things off to a convivial start. Great choices at every price level, so it depends on the occasion. Elegant classics for intimate dinners or tȇte-à-tȇtes, great value for more casual moments or large gatherings. Elegant, Classic: Pierre Moncuit Brut Champagne, $45-57  A grower Champagne, estate-produced grapes. Really elegant; creamy, yeasty flavors, crisp, smooth, great length! Pol Roger Réserve, among the most elegant of nonvintage bruts; exhilarating Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs, $27-31 rich, with great depth and length; the Blanc de Blancs nifty with oysters on the half shell. "J" Vineyards Brut Rosé, Russian River, CA  $20-22  A very elegant sparkling rosé -- hints of berryish fruit but briskly dry, excellent length. Great Value: Mirabelle Brut Rosé, California, $19-20, California.  Schramsberg's second label; nice hints of berries in this lovely dry pink sparkler. Crisp, bright, very nice. Domaine Chandon Etoile Brut California, $18. Dynamic effervescence, dry and crisp, good balance, length and elegance.  Very nice, good value. Dibon Brut Reserve, $12 -- a Spanish cava, and definitely a cut above in terms of crisp, dry flavor and length. An excellent bet for larger holiday gatherings--quite nice to keep on hand to open at a moment's notice. Mionetto Prosecco Brut Valdobbiadene, Italy, $14.99.  Light and delicate, fruity and clean. Prosecco is the hot bubbly these days. This one is widely available.

                                                                                                                                             ©Barbara Ensrud