One from the Languedoc, one from Tuscany, one from California. How three recommendations from one retailer stacked up. And how they tasted after a day or two.

Wine Stores: Wines by Morrell

Spring comes late to the East End. Botanically it seems at least two weeks or so behind New York City, and also behind Nassau County and even behind western Suffolk. So until the first asparagus show up in the bins at the Amagansett Farmer’s Market and the first strawberries at the roadside stands in Wainscott, winter menus and comforting red wines seem right for our cool nights.

I recently visited Wines By Morrell, in the Red Horse Shopping Center, and asked Rodney Roncaglio, one of the partners, and Marcus Baladron, the manager, to suggest some good, inexpensive reds that would match well with my late winter and early spring dinners. I wanted sound, not high-reaching or serious wines, those with a taste ripe and exuberant enough to satisfy on a chilly evening and with sufficient finesse and balanced acidity to pair with early local produce. And my price limit was $20.

I also wanted to be free ranging in area, including domestic and international choices. Purely as an experiment, I decided to leave a bit of wine in each bottle to taste over the following day or two. At informal home dinners we are often left with a glass or two in the bottle, and I see no reason it should be thrown out when it might be enjoyed the next day for lunch or as an aperitif. Or as a treat for the cook before the evening wine is opened.

I began my explorations with a bottle of Chateau D'Oupia 2002, from Minervois, an appellation within the Languedoc region of France. I used to visit this area in the southwest of France when it produced industrial quantities of cheap, bad wines. But over the last decade or so the quantity has been reduced and the quality has been significantly upgraded. With some 72,000 acres of vines, the region still produces more than half of France’s red table wine, and American importers are increasingly finding the good ones among this tsunami of wines. Each year seems to bring us more tasty and well-produced Languedoc wines, many at affordable prices.

Oupia, at a mere $10 per bottle, delivers a lot of enjoyment. While the label does not indicate the blend, I would guess from the plummy, prune bouquet and the slight spice in the taste that it contains grenache, carignan, and mourvedre, typical Languedoc grapes, and perhaps also syrah or some lesser-known indigenous grapes. The taste is rich and mellow, straight forward with integrated tannins. There is not a lot of complexity or profundity, but who needs that on a Tuesday night at home? This is a good, unpretentious and versatile wine and a reliable value.

Another recommendation from Wines By Morrell was 2000 Melini Isassi Chianti Classico. I chose this to embellish, to spike up really, a surpassingly simple dinner of pasta with Citarella puttenesca sauce incorporating the leftovers in the fridge. And the wine, with its Tuscan pedigree, ruby color, invigorating red fruits and genial taste—all characteristics that make me think the sangiovese grape is the main component—did its part in making the dinner seem composed and even a bit special. The better Tuscan wines have remarkable affinities with so many foods, and this soft, easygoing, supple Melini, with its traditional, simple qualities and reasonable $15 price, is an effortless choice.

Both wines, by the way, were still a pleasure to sample the next day. I chilled them slightly before drinking, trying to achieve cellar temperature rather than that of my kitchen counter. Though each lost a bit of the fruit, just that slight edge, the taste was still balanced and fresh. Just right for a little nip after a day’s work.

Another recommendation was Ravenswood 2000 Napa Valley Zinfandel, priced at $17. Ravenswood is large producer of powerhouse zinfandels (their motto: no wimpy wines). If you like that big, fruit-filled California taste, you might explore the Ravenswood portfolio. I am drawn more to dryer wines with more subtlety but I had to admire its heady, muscular, fill your mouth qualities. I noticed this wine at a greatly reduced price on the Ravenswood website. Although they do not ship to New York State, it is nevertheless troubling that a producer would significantly undercut the normal retail price of a respectable small wine merchant.