Food & Wine Report: Three Great Wine Values

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— The gift of a nice wine this holiday will make a perfect accompaniment to a festive dinner. Three appealing wines at some nice prices are available from some noted regional wineries. We'll start with the 2011 Kenwood Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

With its medium light garnet color and touch of strawberry floral notes on the bouquet, it exudes a delicate and elegant spiciness to the palate and is perfect to serve with salmon or turkey. It's a surprise to see that this bottle is available at the competitive price for only $18.

The 2010 Morgan Syrah is from the Santa Lucia Highlands in the Monterey area. Deep, intense purple-red color with a bouquet of ripe plums and cherries leads to a lush and rich mouthful of ripe fruit. But wait this isn't one of those over-ripe or over-alcoholic wines. It's drinkable now with a steak or BBQ, but a year or two of aging would really be worth it to develop its complexity. Again, it's a great value at only $20.

And finally from Yorkville we have a 2010 Malbec, which you don't see much of being made in California. It has a rich, red color boasting an unusual ripe red berry bouquet that leads to a fascinating wine.

It's a classic French varietal from Bordeaux and is the 16th consecutive vintage from Yorkville. It's a gutsy wine with fruit and plenty of tannin. Once again it'd go well with a steak or BBQ and is a great value for only $18.

Narsai David is the KCBS Food and Wine Editor. He has been a successful restaurateur, chef, TV host, and columnist in the Bay Area spanning four decades. You can hear him Saturdays at 10:53am, 12:53pm and 4:53pm, and at 2:53am Sunday on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

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