Ask a Francophile to describe the outstanding attributes of France’s southern Rhone region known as Provence, and you’ll likely get responses that heap praise on it’s striking mountains, fields of lavender, delicious Mediterranean cuisine, Roman ruins and Papal Palace in Avignon.

Ask an oenophile (or just some wine geek like me) about Provence and we'll quickly tell you it is home to Chateauneuf Du Pape, the most famous and expensive wine of this southern Rhone River region. As a matter of fact, I had the pleasure of spending some time in Provence in the summer of 2002, and visited Chateuneuf Du Pape as well as many of the other wine villages and towns of that picturesque region.  

While Chateauneuf  Du Pape can produce truly exceptional wines, particularly from producers such as Fortia, Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraphe, Chapoutier, Paul Autard and Rayas, there are a plethora of other exceptional wines being made in Provence that are very reasonably priced. And, while there are some good white wines made in Provence, the emphasis here is on red, and that’s what we’re examining here today.

There are 13 grapes that can be used to make red Chateauneuf Du Pape and other wines of the region, but most wineries blend a combination of syrah with the ubiquitous grenache and a touch of mourvedre to produce these lovely, full-flavored wines.

First, understand that there have been a series of exceptional to superlative vintages in the Southern Rhone region over the past decade. With the exception of 2002, when many vineyards were inundated by torrential rain and flooding, every vintage that has been released  since 1998 is rated over 90 (in a 100 point scale).

The wine you might try first is called Cotes du Rhone and is made predominately from Grenache with some Syrah and Mourvedre blended in to provide a deeper color. Cotes Du Rhone can be made from grapes grown anywhere in the broader southern Rhone region and are generally medium-bodied wines with appealing peppery, spicy and dark cherry flavors. Cotes Du Rhone is usually priced from $10 to $20 a bottle and is especially good with barbecued hamburgers, ribs or casseroles.

After Chateauneuf Du Pape, the most notable wine areas in the southern Rhone are Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cotes du Luberon and Tavel. With the exception of Tavel (near the Mediterranean) which produces arguably the greatest rose on the planet, the best wines are red, and again use varying amounts of grenache, syrah and mourvedre.

The wines around the village of Gigondas are often mistaken for Chateauneuf Du Pape because of their dark fruit flavors, depth, black pepper aromas and intensity.  They might be a little rough around the edges in their youth, but these wines are significantly less expensive (usually between $20 and $40) than their more famous neighbor, and they are a great accompaniment to roasted and seasoned meats.

Vacqueyras (pronounced vack-er-as) is a little village right next door to Gigondas, yet the wines seem to be fuller and richer with an earthy character. If you can find it, buy a bottle of Domaine Des Garrigues ($20) and uncork it with roasted leg of lamb.  The 1999 wine has a bouquet of violets and a rich, peppery flavor. Most Vacqueyras wines are priced between $10 and $20 a bottle.

Cotes du Luberon wines remind me of merlot, though they are made mostly with Grenache. Soft, round and flavorful, you should be able to get them for around $10 -$15 a bottle. I recently matched a Cotes du Luberon with a Provencal veal stew and it was a lovely pairing.

For those of you who love dessert wines, you’ll have to look for a Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Produced in the village of the same name from Muscat grapes, this sweet elixir is full of apricot aromas and rich, round melon flavors.  Great with chocolate!

Some labels to look for in Provence and the southern Rhone are Jaboulet, Domaine De Ferrand,  Louis Bernard, Guigal, and Delas Freres.

So the next time you’re looking for an alternative to zinfandel or shiraz or some other juicy red, look to the wines of Provence and the southern Rhone. 

So friends, how about some new WineBoy recommendations that will titillate your palate, soothe your weary psyche and free your spirit? 

Okay, I know, that’s a little over the top.  So how about this:  the following wines are real good (especially with food), reasonably priced and will likely knock your socks off!

Now that’s more like it, right?  Okay, so here goes.

2007 Patient Cottat Sauvignon Blanc ($13) – This lovely, delicate wine is grown in and around the world famous vineyards of Sancerre in France’s Loire Valley.  Sprightly and lively enough to be an aperitif (or porch- sipper), this baby has lovely citrus and melon notes with just a hint of anise and would make a superb accompaniment to pasta with asparagus and prosciutto.

2007 Domaine Matrot Bourgogne Blanc (Chardonnay) ($20) – White Burgundies from even bad vintages can cost as much (or more) than a digital camera.  So, when you find one that is good – and also reasonably priced – grab that sucker (and forget about the camera). The beauty of this chardonnay, which was produced near the esteemed vineyards of Mersault, is its subtle flavors of apricot, butterscotch and minerals along with perfect balancing acidity.

 I had the pleasure of sipping this wine at a special multi-course dinner at the Bridge Road Bistro where it was paired with a seared sea scallop which sat atop a green papaya salad with a cilantro dressing.  Man, that was a course for the ages! I would also suggest using the wine in combination with chicken breast, sautéed in butter and lemon and finished with a little heavy crème.

2008 Yellow + Blue Torrontes ($13) – If you’ve been reading my words for a while, you know that  I abhor wine snobs, however,  I must admit to being a bit put off by this non-traditional  package. This wine is housed in a bio-degradable yellow and blue box (thus the name).  But, like a lot of unattractive packages, what you get inside can be a lot better than it seems.  In this case, the wine is a pleasant surprise in terms of both quality and quantity. 

First the quality.  Torrontes is a fairly obscure, but very interesting, wine from Argentina with a floral and aromatic aroma, and flavors of citrus, anise and melon.  This would be a great wine to have with fresh fruit or even an Italian sausage and mozzarella omelet.  But the other benefit of the Yelow + Blue is that you’re getting about eight ounces more wine since the box is a full liter.     

2005 Benegas Don Tiburcio ($11) – Another Argentinean masterpiece of both flavor and value, the Don Tiburcio has complex, layered and intense dark fruit tones with just a touch of vanilla.  Surprisingly, the wine, while excellent now, has noticeable tannins on the finish and would benefit from a few more years in the bottle.

Comprised of all the grapes used in a traditional Bordeaux blend (including malbec, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petite verdot) the Don Tiburcio is one of the most remarkable values I’ve come across in quite a while. Try this wine with grilled sirloin seasoned with garlic, olive oil and crushed black pepper.     

2006 Benegas Sangiovese ($22) – This wine is sangiovese made in the “new” world style with ripe cherry, cinnamon spice and toasty oak flavors.  Dark fruit flavors and a nice dollop of new oak are hallmarks of this robust wine that is round, rich and somewhat tannic.  Serve it with a boned, butter flied and grilled leg of lamb that has been marinated overnight in blend of olive oil, garlic, rosemary and red wine. 

2006 Easton Amador County Zinfandel ($14) this medium-bodied wine embodies what I like most about the zinfandel produced in California’s Amador County.  Simply put, it has a nose of spice and teaberry mint, and flavors that have a nuance of chocolate to go with the blackberry tones that are usually associated with this varietal.  Try it with barbecued baby back ribs with a tangy, sweet, cayenne pepper and tomato-based sauce.     

With summer gaining on us pretty quickly, you’ll be spending more time in the great outdoors grilling all manner of animals, vegetables and fish.  This American tradition, often referred to as barbecuing, really originated in prehistoric times and even before cavemen knew how to start a fire.   So, how could they enjoy barbecue delicacies if they didn’t know how to start a fire?  They would simply wait for the conclusion of a lightning-induced forest fire, and then gingerly roam the charred woods to feast on the roasted remains of various animals. Can you imagine any other way to barbecue a tyrannosaurus rex?        Anyway, many of us will soon be dusting off the old grill, laying in a good supply of charcoal (or propane for you gas grillers) and purchasing all manner of animal parts to roast in the great outdoors. And the good news is you won’t have to wait on a lightning-induced forest fire! Regardless of what cut of meat, fish or even vegetable you intend to barbecue, preparing the food before grilling is crucial to achieving success with the finished product.  Many people make the common mistake of firing up the grill, laying on the meat and immediately inundating the food with commercial barbecue sauce. Wrong move.     The problem is that when you add sauce to meat over a hot grill the food catches on fire and turns the stuff into crispy, unidentifiable, blackened hunks of formerly organic matter. And I don’t have anything against purchased sauces even though I’ve never bought one without adding other ingredients. However, I know you can do better with your own concoction. Here are few recommendations (from BarbecueBoy) for avoiding a disaster and for turning your grilling experience into a rousing success.  Let’s deal today with two of the most popular cuts of meat: chicken and pork ribs. I like to begin by trimming a portion of fat from both cuts of meat.  Next, I always apply a dry rub of spices or powders to impart flavors to the meat during grilling. Try using different combinations of dry rubs.  A good one for ribs is a teaspoon each of black pepper, chili powder and cumin.  Or try these other store-bought rubs on either chicken or ribs: Cajun seasonings; lemon pepper; Indian curry spices; or Jamaican Jerk spices. I generally cook the meat, particularly ribs, very slowly (by closing the lid and adjusting the air vents on the top and bottom of the grill) and I use the indirect method of grilling.  To use the indirect method, simply move the charcoal to either side of the grill and placing the meat in the center of the rack.  For indirect grilling with gas, simply turn one or more of the burners off and move the meat to that side. You can even add water to an aluminum pie pan directly under the meat to catch any drippings and to keep the meat moist during cooking. Sometimes, I will simply slow roast the meat with just the dry rub and serve it that way without any sauce, or other times I’ll serve the sauce on the side.The key, however, is not to add the sauce to the meat until the very end - for the last five minutes or so. If you wish, you can take the ribs or chicken off the grill, add more sauce to the meat and cover the dish in a warm oven for a while longer. So now I suppose you want my barbecue sauce recipe?  Okay, I’ll share this one with you:  one cup of ketchup; 3 oz. of orange juice; two table spoons of Tabasco; one teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce; 3 oz. of white vinegar; and one teaspoon of brown sugar.  Bring this concoction to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  This is particularly good on ribs. Now what about wine for the above mentioned dishes?  I am a great believer that rose’ is the perfect barbecue wine, particularly ones that are dry or just slightly sweet. Here are two that would be especially nice with the barbecued chicken or ribs mentioned above.  2007 Masciarelli Rose’ d’Abruzzo ($12) This delicious dry pink Italian rose’ has aromas of spice, strawberry and freshly mown hay. In the mouth it is full of delicate cherry flavors with just a touch of cinnamon and enough acidity to make it a special match to barbecue. 2008 Las Rocas Rosado ($14) This Spanish rose’ is a deeper color of pink than the Masciarelli and the flavors are more intense. On the nose, the wine has a berry and floral character and on the palate has rich cherry and spicy tones with excellent balance.  The wine starts off slightly sweet and then finishes dry. Try it with heavier, spicier barbecue sauces or dry rubs. 

You’ve probably read from time to time about the superb quality of this or that particular vintage in some part of the wine world.  In California, wine makers have had almost a decade of pretty good to excellent vintages, particularly for cabernet sauvignon. In Bordeaux, wine made in 2000 and 2005 have been hailed as the “greatest vintages” of the century (of course the century is less than a decade old now). And the silky wines made from Brunello Di Montalcino have also had a string of exceptional vintages recently. 

I’ve sampled some of the aforementioned wines and have concluded that, hyperbole aside, these are excellent vintages and you would be wise to purchase them - if you can afford them. Even in this troubled economy,  people will pay excessively for highly rated wines.

But where do you age these vinous gems if you don’t have a special, temperature controlled wine cellar or wine cabinet?

Finding an appropriate place to store your bottles requires paying attention to a few key details that will ensure your wines emerge from their Rip Van Winkle-like sleep mature and ready for you to enjoy. Since everyone knows that aging wine in a cool place is desirable, why not just store your bottles in the refrigerator?

Well, for wines you’ll be consuming in the short term – both red (particularly) and white – the refrigerator is fine as a short term storage alternative. However, for those wines you hope to age for several years, it is both impractical and ill advised to store that wine in the refrigerator.

Vibration from the refrigerator’s cooling system will disturb the wine and the low humidity will tend to dry out the corks.  Also, adolescents (and desperate adults) have been known to consume, absorb, sniff or otherwise ingest just about anything, including that special bottle you’ve been patiently aging.

If you have the luxury of a cellar (which is a fancy term for a basement), find an area where the cellar wall is below and adjacent to the earth. The reason:  the temperature below ground is generally constant and usually in the range of between 50 and 60 degrees F. which is approximately the ideal temperature for aging wine.

If you don’t have a cellar, use a closet or other dark place (like under a stairwell) where the wine is not exposed to natural or artificial light. Don’t store wine in the attic or any area where the wine will be exposed to high temperatures. You can use styrofoam or even wine boxes to create a stable temperature in the space.

The key with temperature is consistency. An area in which the temperature fluctuates five to seven degrees from summer to winter and does not exceed 70 degrees F is fine.  Wines stored in warmer environments will tend to mature more quickly and spoil easier.

Also make sure that the storage area is odor and vibration –free, and that there is adequate humidity in the space. Dry spaces tend to cause the corks to shrink and wine to evaporate.   Actually, humidity in the range of 60 to 70 percent is best for the wine, and you can artificially create this effect by keeping an open container of water around the stored wine.  Of course, you’ll need to age the wine on its side so that the cork stays moist. You may also use wine case boxes to store the stuff or you can purchase or build wine racks too.   

I hope that I’m preaching to the choir, but there are few things more pleasurable than sipping a glass of wine with dinner, particularly after a long day of toiling in the vineyard – so to speak.

The demand for good, affordable wine is at an all time high, and producers are responding with a sea of new products from all around the world. In addition to the recognizable tried and true wine producing countries such as the US, France, Italy, Germany and Australia, other nations, less known for their viticultural acumen, are now making very good wine.

So, to give you a push in the right direction, here are a few eminently affordable wines to try with your everyday “slow food” meal whether it is filet mignon or mac and cheese.

Reds:  07 Cecchi Bonizio Sangiovese ($9);  06 Finca El Reposo Cabernet Sauvignon ($12); 06 Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cotes Du Rhone ($13); 07 Santa Carolina Reserve Carmenere ($14).

Whites:  07 Fetzer Gewurztraminer ($9); 08 Yellow and Blue Torrontes ($11); 08 Dr. Loosen Riesling ($12); 07 Clos Du Bois Sauvignon Blanc ($11).