But what do I know of pairing wine with food? Nothing. I’m strictly an amateur. But I do know what I like to some degree. With chocolate it must be red and rich. I thought I had a good candidate in “the cellar.” It was a 2002 Black Label Claret from Coppola. It had been hanging around for a year or so. The deal was sealed.

This wine rocked my socks off. The cake, too, was stellar. These were two very rich substances going toe-to-toe until the final bell. The wine was lively and fruity, a great addition to the rich, dense cake. I ate too much. I drank to much. It was a good birthday.

As I explore the world of wine, I’m continually amazed by how much I like a good Italian red. The 2003 Rossa della Maremma Toscana, a “Super Tuscan,” is no exception. I would call it lively, to borrow a term from Robert Parker’s helpful glossary, with fruitiness too complex for this novice to deconstruct.

We shared a bottle with a couple friends while gorging on authentic Neapolitan pizza from Tutta Bella. It was an excellent combination. The spicy tomato sauce complemented the lively fruit flavors nicely. My only wish was for a second bottle. $15 at Urban Vines.

While shopping at the PCC a couple of weeks ago, I took notice of a display of 3L wine boxes from two French wineries. The tasting notes were interesting, but the packaging and overall value was what captured my attention. 3L is the equivalent of four bottles yet the box is the size of a short, plump cereal box. The 2002 Costières de Nîmes Rouge was $22, equal to $5.50 a bottle, perfect for an everyday table wine in my book. It looked small, cheap, and innovative. I bought it without hesitation.

I haven’t been able to dig up anything in English on Chateau des Alouettes. The Costières de Nîmes appellation is in Southern France along the Mediterranean and tends to produce fruity red wines. There ends my knowledge of this vintage. But I do know that it’s rather yummy. Fruity is definitely the choice descriptor. The color is slightly purplish and the nose is so-so, but for a table wine it’s more than serviceable. In fact, because of the packaging, it’s extraordinarily useful. Allow me to elaborate.

The bag inside the box has a valve at the bottom. This valve allows you to serve the wine without the wine inside the bag becoming exposed to air. Also, the bag shrinks like a bladder to keep air out. This keeps the wine fresh for weeks. After two weeks of drinking the 2002 Costières de Nîmes Rouge, I can attest to the efficacy of the bag and valve. It’s still yummy. However, there is a technique to serving wine from such a container. Your first draw will come out very fast if you open the valve fully. Bubbles will form on top like a light head. A carafe comes in handy so the wine may settle and breathe prior to drinking. Also, a carafe can be brought to the table and passed around, unlike the box. The pressure inside the bag seems to lessen as it empties, so the more you drink the less careful you need be pouring. This is where having three liters of wine “on tap” becomes dangerous. It’s just too easy to “top off” another glass while running about the kitchen. I found myself consuming a good deal more than usual.

Given my expectation of mediocrity, I was pleasantly surprised by this wine. A found it highly drinkable for an everyday, nothing-special table wine. The packaging is excellent and I plan to try other bag-in-a-box wines soon. If you have any recommendations for me, please leave them in the comments.

Lucky for me, the nearest winery is the Wilridge Winery in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle. I’ve often wondered about this urban winery, how it operates, and what their wines are like. Wilridge Winery specializes in single-vineyard designated wines. For each of their wines, they contract with a Washington State vineyard to produce a specific wine. The wine I chose is the 2002 Nebbiolo di Klipsun in the Red Mountain Appellation. According to Wilridge’s website, Wilridge obtained all of the 2002 Nebbiolo grown at Klipsun, which was named one of the top 25 vineyards in the world by Wine & Spirits magazine. The grapes were picked on October 30, 2002, hand harvested, delivered to the winery in a refrigerated truck, and hand sorted at the winery. The wine was aged for 16 months in 2 and 3 year old French-oak barrels. 122 cases were bottled May 5, 2004. I ordered a bottle from my local shop, Urban Vines ($19).

So how did it taste? Well, I’m a novice, lacking a complex vocabulary for describing wine, so I’ll have to start out with generic superlatives: amazing, fantastic, expensive, delicious. The first sip was a bit harsh, giving my palate a start. It may have been the case that I didn’t let it breathe in the glass long enough. A few sips later it was like drinking heaven. It was rich and complex, quite fruity, too. The color was a rich red though not too dark. The aroma was gorgeous. I actually spent quite a lot of time with my nose in the glass which my children found quite funny. Sip after sip, it got better and better. My wife and I each enjoyed a glass while dinner cooked, then poured another to go with our simple meal of salmon, asparagus, and potatoes. The Nebbiolo probably would have gone better with richer food, but it was fine with what we had prepared. There’s still a little left in the bottle, miraculously.

Wilridge has made a believer out of me. The 2002 Nebbiolo may be generally more expensive than I’m likely to pay, but for special occasions it goes to the top of my list. I give it an A.

Some tasting notes on the 2002 Nebbiolo di Klipsun from Wilridge:

Brick red in color. The aroma is classic Nebbiolo, with violets and rose petals in the nose that seem to explode from the glass. The wine is both subtle and flavorful, with hints of tannins on the finish. It’s enjoyable young for the delicious fruit aromas, but also has the structure to age for several years.