There's simply nothing better with some meals than a Chardonnay made in a classic Burgundy style: richly flavored and textured but balanced with mineral notes and bracing acidity. Tom Dehlinger began planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (only 14 acres at the time) in 1975 when quality Sonoma wine was barely known. He was 28. He and his wife Carole built a wine business now world renowned for its quality in the hills near Sebastopol while raising four children. Two of their daughters now run the operation on a daily basis. Dehlinger’s 2020 RRV Chardonnay was barrel fermented and bottled without filtration. You’ll enjoy experiencing its minerality and notes of vanilla and crème brulée in a mouth-filling,superbly balanced wine.

Santa Cruz Mountains wines, made on the Peninsula south of San Francisco, lean toward elegance. They’re a reflection of the Pacific Ocean's cool breezes and (sometimes) morning fog. Mount Eden is a superb-quality small winery at the top of a mountain in Saratoga famous for excellence since the early 1980s. Those Saratoga foothills vineyards yield dry-farmed Pinot Noir with medium-ruby color, earthy red fruit notes, and smooth texture. It is a premium wine perfectly at home with a simple roast chicken or a piece of grilled salmon.

A thick, juicy beefsteak from Draeger’s famous butchers’ case begs for a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, especially one from Napa Valley. TD-9 is named for the 1950s vintage International Harvester tractor that the late winery founder John Shafer, a brand new farmer from Chicago intent on planting grapes, found in one of his farm sheds in 1973. Nearly fifty years later his longtime winemaker Elias Fernandez built this Cabernet Sauvignon blend from several Shafer estate vineyards in the Vaca Mountains just south of the Stags Leap District. Including fruit from nearby best-quality vineyards, TD-9 is a plush mouthful with concentrated fruit, herb and cocoa flavors from a legendary Napa winery.

Hartford Old Vine Zinfandel comes from dry farmed vineyards in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley that average more than 115 years of age. Made with the same techniques as its widely respected Pinot Noirs and aged 9 months in French oak, Hartford’s zin has a bright blueberry-raspberry personality accented with suggestions of nutmeg, pepper, and minerals framed by supple tannins. It is brambly, vibrant, and elegant–equally at home with a vegetarian bean stew, a richly-flavored grilled sausage, or a well-marbled steak.

When you find yourself appreciating the flavor of a Washington State Merlot or California Cabernet Franc (now the most expensive grape grown in Napa Valley!) it is worth remembering that these varietals originated in Bordeaux, France. A blend of these grapes grown in Montagne-Saint Emilion is definitely worth gracing your table. "Right Bank" territory in wine-speak, the land east of the Dordogne River tends to have more clay than the Atlantic region where Cabernet Sauvignon is more common.

The 50/50 blend made of Merlot and Cabernet Franc is made at Les Piliers de Maison Blanche by the Despagne family whose members have been involved in growing, making, selling, or coopering (barrels) for some 11 generations. Their 50- 75 year old vines yield grapes full of flavors of black cherry, raspberry, and spice. Slightly leaner in style then the usual California versions, the Cabernet Franc and Merlot in this classic Bordeaux blend pair beautifully with red meats, stews, duck, or soft cheeses.

When you’ve collected a glisteningly fresh piece of Petrale sole or other whitefish from Draeger's Seafood Department, you might appreciate a Chardonnay of light texture and lemony-grapefruit flavors. Joseph Drouhin’s Mâcon-Village fills that need beautifully. The family, now in its fourth generation of winemaking, creates quality red and white wines from vineyards they own or have on contract across nearly the whole of Burgundy. Their vineyards range from expensive properties in the Côtes d'Or, in the north near Dijon, down to the Mâconnais region in the south near Lyon. The 27 villages in southern Burgundy whose vineyards are entitled to be included in a Mâcon-Village wine yield affordable and well-made Chardonnay that is a bit lighter on its feet than most coming from the "New World." Aged 6- to 8-months in stainless tanks, Drouhin's Mâcon-Village is a perfect match with many meals.