January 30, 2007

Most weeknights supper at our place is something long-simmered and ladled out of an enameled cast-iron pot. It's likely the simmering happened on the weekend when there was time to assemble and prep ingredients. That we're reheating dinner rather than making it from scratch pretty much every night doesn't make the experience a whit less satisfying. At the last minute, someone will descend to the cellar to fetch the wine.

This time of year that will mean red wine. And while a midweek supper doesn't normally call for anything fancy, we'll expect whatever we draw the cork on to pull its weight, making our time at the table more of a pleasure. It's the least we expect from any wine.

With this first plonk column of the new year, we're raising the price ceiling from $10 to $12. The decision stems in part from the continued decline in the value of the dollar, a situation that makes all European wines more expensive than they might otherwise be. The change will also allow us to report on some California wines that otherwise wouldn't make the cut due to high costs of winemaking there.

This particular group is an eclectic collection with nothing more in common than their New World provenance and a robust, flavorful profile that makes for ideal winter-weight sipping -- leftovers or no.

STEPHEN MEUSE