Wine

I picked up this dry white wine from the little-known macabeo grape at a local store on the strength of the reputation of its importer, Kysela Pere & Fils. I wasn't disappointed. It's a spectacular value — rich, minerally and gripping. Its complex flavors of pine, lime and tropical fruit go far beyond my expectations in a 10-buck wine. Supplies of the 2009 may be low, but the 2010 is expected soon. I'll be in line for a case of it. --Michael Dresser Wine Find: 2009 Yasa Old Vines Macabeo From: Calatayud, Spain Price: $10 Serve with: Broiled scallops; oysters

From: Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes, France Price: $16 Serve with: Seafood This dry white wine from the south of France has a style all its own. It's an imaginative blend of Muscat of Alexandria and viognier, two very floral and fruity grapes, but the blend is admirably restrained, rather than over the top. There is a hint of a wine that wanted to be sweet, but has been disciplined into dryness. It offers a wonderful palette of pear, peach, apricot, almond and herb flavors.

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.

Torres has gone back and forth on whether to market this wine as semi-sweet or dry, but with this vintage seems to have settled on dry. It's a good choice, as this blend of 85 percent Gewürztraminer and 15 percent muscatel strikes a terrific balance of exuberant fruit and food-friendly zip. It's an aromatic wine with nuances of lime, pear, tropical fruit, mineral and Asian spices. But with all that flavor, it still retains some elegance and restraint and doesn't go over the top. It displays excellent grip and intensity, but don't push it by holding on too long.

From: Bolgheri, Italy Price: $25 Serve with: Sole, rockfish, curry Yes, this dry white wine from Antinori is pricey, but it more than holds its own with many California chardonnays that cost much more. The vermentino grape may not be well known, but it's one of Italy's finest, and this is a particularly complex and sophisticated version. It offers an appealing interplay of peach and apricot fruit, minerals and fresh herbs such as basil and thyme. While it's a subtle wine, there's also an intensity and penetration that can stand up to strong flavors such as Indian cuisine.

Gruner veltliner is still one of the world's more obscure white wine grapes, though the Austrian variety is winning more acceptance each year. It deserves the affection oenophiles have been lavishing on it because it produces wines of outstanding charm and considerable complexity. This is one of the more popular-oriented labels, obviously adapted for the American market and our fear of mispronouncing anything. It's a lively, fresh, dry wine with goos structure and a mix of lime, tropical fruit, mineral and herb flavors.

From: Germany Price: $14 Serve with: Pork, ham, Asian cuisine There was a time when a fine German wine would carry a name such as Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Kabinett Halbtocken. The Germans have made a big swing in the direction of simplicity lately, and it doesn't seem to have had a bad effect on wines such as this delicious dry gewurztraminer. This is a pleasantly spicy, vibrantly fresh wine with more structure and verve than the typical German gewurztraminer.

From: Champagne, France Price: $40 Serve with: Caviar and countdowns There is still nothing that says New Year's Eve as well as a classic dry champagne - the real stuff, not New World imitators. Taittinger is hardly a boutique winery. It is among the most widely distributed champagnes on the planet. But despite its immense production, "La Francaise" has consistently been a paragon of the delicate, elegant style of champagne (as opposed to more robust style such as Bollinger)