If you can't find these specific bottles, try to find something from one of the broad categories that showed the most promise: sauvignon blancs from New Zealand and Sonoma County; Beaujolais from France; cabernet sauvignons and merlots from Napa and Sonoma; shirazs from Australia; and pinot noirs and zinfandels from Sonoma.

2003 Dry Creek Vineyard Fume Blanc, Sonoma County, $13.

"We've been serving the 2002 Shea Pinot Noir (about $38 retail) from the Willamette Valley in Oregon with our seared duck breast, which comes with Concord grapes and a pecan-faro pilaf. It's a French-style pinot noir with a lot of blackberry-cherry aromas and flavors, and when you sip it, you get some nut undertones that go well with the pilaf. At the end there's a little chocolate and a nice long finish."