Cabernet Sauvignon

If you are willing to spend $10 to $15 on a cabernet sauvignon, you are entitled to a mighty fine bottle of wine.You shouldn't expect a magnificent, profound, complex, swear-you've-gone-to-heaven kind of a cabernet. Most of those left this moderate price bracket more than a decade ago.But $10-$15 is a fair-sized investment for something you can enjoy only once. For that price, you have every reason to demand wines with generous fruit, at least medium body, firm structure and a finish that doesn't speed by like a jack rabbit on steroids.

This red wine made from Bordeaux grapes — cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc — along with syrah has turned out to be a harmonious and complex blend at a very appealing price. It's a smooth, subtle and layered wine with flavors of black cherry, smoked meat, herbs and earth. It's at a good state of maturity now but will only get better over the next 5 to 10 years. From: Toscana, Italy Price: $17 Serve with: Pasta, beef, lamb

For many years, savvy wine consumers had a surefire way to deal with house guests who overstayed their welcome: They just started opening South American wine.Yes, indeed, there was nothing like a $5 Chilean chardonnay or Argentine cabernet to get 'em scurrying like roaches. Before you could say "have another glass," they'd be halfway to Saskatchewan.Unfortunately, you no longer can rely on the South American strategy. Nowadays, anytime you open a bottle of Chilean or Argentine wine, you run the risk of being delighted.

This lush, smooth blend the five traditional Bordeaux grapes — with cabernet sauvignon in the starring role and merlot as its sidekick — plays above its pay grade. Very accessible for a young red wine, it offers ample black cherry, blackberry and raspberry fruit. It has all the elegance and class of many of its pricey Napa Valley peers. From: Central Coast Price: $18 Serve with: Fine cuts of lamb, beef

Quick. Tonight. Got plans? Do this. Pazo is hosting a "Pop-Up" wine tasting with Tony Foreman and sommelier Lindsay Willey. Space is limited for this event, which will include wine tastings and light tapas. The cost is $20. That includes complementary valet parking (CVP). The Wordly Wine Tour wine-up includes: Champagne Laurent Perrier Brut 2002 Reds Monthelie, Thierry et Pascale Matrot 2009 Bierzo, Godelia 2008 Malbec, Siesta en el Tahuantinsuyu 2007 Barbaresco, Moccagatta “Bric Balin” 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Woodhouse “Daríghe” 2002  

Here are some recommendations of fine wines and buying strategies for red wines. In most cases, the prices listed are the sticker prices as I found them. Some stores may charge more or less.Big redsRobust reds -- the wines from the far side of cabernet -- have typically been the superstars of the budget class, and now it's as true as ever.The most dramatic story here is the excellence of the wines othe Cotes du Rhone, particularly the 1988 vintage. At their best, these wines rival the quality of such prestigious regions as Hermitage, Cote Rotie and Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

2000 Rosemount Estate "Hill of Gold" Mudgee Cabernet Sauvignon ($19). This intense, full-bodied cabernet from Australia's renowned Mudgee region more than justifies the investment and rivals California wines in the $30 to $50 range for complexity, balance and aging potential. It offers vibrant flavors of black cherry and herbs and a long, graceful finish. It makes for smooth drinking now, but would benefit from five to 10 years of cellaring. You could serve this with roast poultry, but this is really a wine for the red-meat devotee.

2002 Dona Sol Cabernet Sauvignon ($5) This is not a great wine, but it is cheap and palatable - a California red for the struggling graduate student or skinflint in all of us. Sure, it's a bit coarse, but it is very much a cabernet - with the characteristic black-cherry, black-currant and chocolate flavors, along with a hint of less-than-elegant charcoal. Don't think about it too much and by the third glass, it'll taste great. Serve with --hamburgers, pizza, chili

1999 Boordy Vineyards Maryland Cabernet Sauvignon ($14). What could be more appropriate around Halloween than a hauntingly fine red wine from the home of the Blair Witch? This elegant, beautifully structured wine is made primarily from grapes grown at Boordy's vineyard in Burkittsville, where the original movie was filmed. The exceptionally penetrating black-cherry and spice flavors show once again that this is one of the finest cabernet vineyards on the East Coast. Drinkable now, the wine also has the balance and tannin to age well -- probably a good 10 years.