Napa

California's Napa Valley tends to produce a much different style of zinfandel than fruit from Sonoma County or other parts of the state. This offering from Ravenswood is an excellent example, with its hints of raspberrry, vanilla and spices. Some zins "shock and awe" the palate; this one seduces it. It's racy rather than rumbling. There's something to be said for each style. It's fully ready to drink now, and the wine's finish is long and smooth. Serve with roast poultry, pasta and red meat.

Here's a wine worth putting away in a cool place for five to 10 years, but if you insist on drinking it now, you'll still be rewarded. This classy blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot and malbec delivers terrific balance and complexity - with flavors of black cherry, smoked meat, chocolate and herbs. It's a full-bodied, layered wine with exceptional potential and all the penetration you expect of fruit from California's Napa Valley. 2005 Buoncristiani OPC Proprietary Red Wine From: Napa Valley, Calif.

This wine is a bit of a splurge, but it is well worth it for admirers of classic Napa Valley cabernet. Joseph Phelps has been producing great cabernet for three decades, and I've been around long enough to taste most vintages. This one is as fine as any young Phelps cab I've tasted - and that's saying a lot. It's about the perfect combination of youthful accessibility and long-term aging potential. The texture is velvety, and the flavors are typical Napa - black cherry, black currant, chocolate, herbs - but with just a little more nuance and roundness than most of its peers.

Robert Mondavi, who died this month at age 94, put American wine on the world map. The son of an Italian immigrant, he presided over California's Napa Valley, where over the years he and members of his sometimes feuding family made a range of wines, some expensive, some affordable. But all the wines, Mondavi maintained, were consistently drinkable, ones that Americans could be proud of. 2006 Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc by Robert Mondavi, Woodbridge, Calif. 12.5 percent alcohol by volume; $9.99 for 1.5 liters.

Sometimes the judges get the scoring just right. That's what happened last month in Sacramento when the California Supreme Court unanimously upheld a state law that says you can't label a wine with the word Napa unless the grapes actually come from the Napa Valley. It's doubtful that the eminent jurists sat down and tasted through the 2001 vintage of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon before they reached their conclusion. But if they had, they would have found plenty of evidence to support their decision to buck the Bronco Wine Co. and to tell it to stop messing with Napa.

To most people who have a serious interest in California wine, the names of the Napa Valley and Sonoma County are more than just familiar. They are almost synonymous with Wine Country.But if you have a little more space in your wine memory banks, you might just want to save a little of it for Contra Costa County, Amador County and Paso Robles.Like Sonoma and Napa, these three far-flung regions are important growing regions for zinfandel -- that most American of the world's great red wines.

In California's wine country, there's Napa, the valley. And then there's Napa, the city. Napa, the valley, is the realm of chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville and Francis Ford Coppola's Niebaum- Coppola winery in Rutherford, of the luxe Meadowood resort in St. Helena and the mud baths of Calistoga. And Napa, the city? That's been another story. What I remembered most from visits years ago were empty storefronts and a polluted river that flooded. Polite people called the place scruffy.

1999 Napa Ridge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($12). Napa Ridge used to make affordable wines that were good enough to fool people into thinking they actually came from the Napa Valley. They weren't, and the feds put an end to the practice. But now Napa Ridge has been reborn with a Napa Valley grape source -- if you can believe the label. The result? Probably the most inexpensive Napa Valley cabernet you'll find on the market today -- and a very good one. The 1999 shows generous black-cherry and black-currant fruit, hints of chocolate and sweet oak and impressive flavor intensity.

1999 Napa Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($18). It's a bit pricey for a sauvignon blanc, but the quality of this organic wine is impeccable. And it really comes from the Napa Valley, unlike some other wineries that have used Napa in their names. The quality shows in the intensity and complexity of this dry white wine, which offers nuances of pears, figs and herbs. This would be an excellent match for grilled seafood or Creole-style cuisine.

This robust, smooth zinfandel does a pretty good imitation of a fine vintage port, minus the sweetness. It's packed with flavors of blueberry, chocolate, herbs and coffee. Its style is more reminiscent of a big-shouldered Sonoma County zinfandel than the typical Napa zin, but who's complaining? It's simply a delicious red. Michael Dresser 2006 Napa Cellars Zinfandel From: Napa Valley, Calif. Price: $22 Serve with: Pasta, pizza, winter stews

From: Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Calif. Price: $23 Serve with: Lamb, better cuts of beef Ghost Pines is one of Gallo's "ghost" labels, but an association with the Modesto, Calif., giant is rapidly becoming more of a positive recommendation than a warning flag. This full-bodied, stylish cabernet from Napa (61 percent) and Sonoma (39 percent) offers pure and intense black cherry and black currant with a distinct Napa style predominating. It's reasonably complex and well-structured and will benefit from age, but can be enjoyed young.

From: Napa Valley, Calif. Price: $32 Serve with: Roast turkey You can serve either white or red with the Thanksgiving feast. Among whites, I recommend pinot gris. Among reds, zinfandel excels - especially the style of zinfandel that comes from Napa Valley fruit. And Ravenswood Dickerson is at or near the top of that breed. This wine is incredibly intense, complex and full-bodied, but with excellent balance and acidity. The flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry are clear and pure.

VINCENT DEDOMENICO, 92 Rice-a-Roni inventor Vincent DeDomenico, co-inventor of Rice-A-Roni, whose catchy TV jingle paid homage to San Francisco and made the pasta dish famous, died Thursday in Napa, Calif., with his wife, Mildred, by his side, his family said. He had kept working until the day before his death. Along with his brothers, Mr. DeDomenico, the son of Italian immigrants, created the packaged side dish of rice and pasta for their San Francisco-based family business. "The San Francisco treat" became known in the 1960s through TV commercials that featured the city's cable cars.

EMBARRASSING CONFESSION from a wannabe "foodie": Until a recent trip to San Francisco, I thought Michelin only made tires. "All of the places we're going to in Napa have Michelin stars," my sister, Andrea, boasted minutes after my boyfriend and I arrived at her North Beach apartment for a week-long family vacation. "Not the same company that makes the tires?" I asked. My continent-hopping sister looked at me -- the sibling who actually uses her stove and who subscribes to zagat.com and Food and Wine magazine -- as if I had spent my post-college years in a black hole.

1999 Beaulieu Vineyard Zinfandel, Napa Valley ($14.29). This medium- to full-bodied wine is an elegant Napa-style zinfandel, not a Sonoma-style blockbuster. It offers plenty of vibrant, intense black raspberry fruit with hints of chocolate and blueberry and a creamy, smooth texture. It should go wonderfully with pizza, pasta and most red meats.

From: Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Calif. Price: $23 Serve with: Lamb, better cuts of beef Ghost Pines is one of Gallo's "ghost" labels, but an association with the Modesto, Calif., giant is rapidly becoming more of a positive recommendation than a warning flag. This full-bodied, stylish cabernet from Napa (61 percent) and Sonoma (39 percent) offers pure and intense black cherry and black currant with a distinct Napa style predominating. It's reasonably complex and well-structured and will benefit from age, but can be enjoyed young.