You’re asked to bring a bottle of wine to a friend’s house for dinner and you have absolutely no idea what to choose.

Ah, the dilemma of pairing wine with food.

For starters, you can take the old adage, “red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat,” and throw it out the window. It’s how the food is prepared that’s paramount when selecting a wine, not the food itself.

What seasonings, spices or sauces are being used? It’s important to ask, because heavy spices and sauces can drown out the flavors of your wine.

The trick is to choose a wine that will complement your food, not be overwhelmed by it. The same goes for avoiding a wine that’s so big it overpowers the flavors of the food.

For example, braised chicken with a chardonnay would normally be a fine combination. But prepare the chicken Cajun-style, with plenty of heat, and food will render your chardonnay watery and flavorless.

In that case, a medium-bodied red wine, such as syrah or zinfandel, would be a better choice. As an alternative, you could try contrasting the spice with a sweeter wine, such as a riesling or gewürztraminer, which will allow you to taste the flavors of both the food and the wine.

One of the best ways to determine what wines work best with specific foods is to simply sample a number of them together. That will be the focus of a class, “Pairing Food with Wine,” that I will teach at Bellingham Technical College on Oct.17.

We will taste six wines with six different food samples to determine which combinations are good, which are awful, and the reasons why things work or don’t work. I’ll also offer tips on proper wine storage and serving techniques, and how those can affect the flavors of your wine.

For more information and class registration, call the college at 752-8350, or see www.btc.ctc.edu.

Cupcake Vineyards out of Monterey County, California currently offers a full line of wines, a couple of which I had a chance to try as of late. In terms of body style, both were on the lighter side…one as expected, while the other was a bit of a surprise.

The 2008 Cupcake Riesling (pictured at left, about $14) is classic Riesling juice from grapes grown in Washington’s Yakima Valley. There’s plenty of the grape’s signature acidity here (brought out by the wine’s ample citrus notes) while the slightly faint finish of stone fruits provides balance and a gentle touch of sweetness.

The 2007 Cupcake Petite Sirah (about $14), was unlike most wines I’ve tried of this varietal. Good berry aromas lead off, but the darker, inky qualities usually found here are replaced by brighter fruit flavors of cherry and cranberry. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just unexpected, and something to take note of when pairing this lighter bodied red with comparable foods.

Worried about spending too much for a wine that doesn’t provide the quality you were hoping for? Relax. There are plenty of choices priced from $8 to $12 a bottle that can provide you with good quality.

However, if you’re still apprehensive about buying a dud, even at that price range, remember this – your investment cost was pretty low to begin with, so if the wine only tastes so-so, you’re not setting yourself up for a huge disappointment. But if it turns out to be a winner, you’ve found a great deal at a small price, and these days, isn’t everyone looking for a good bargain?

The Vines wine shop in Bellingham always features a nice selection of wines in this price category, and I’ve got a couple of recommendations I’ve enjoyed as of late for you to consider.

The Ironstone Vineyards 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel (pictured at left) has a lot to offer at an incredibly low price. Concentrated flavors of berry and spice, with a bit of oak on the finish make this a great wine to pair with beef, pork, or a hearty stew. Add in a skimpy $9 a bottle price tag and you can hardly wrong.

Also value-priced is the Paso A Paso 2008 Verdejo at about $11 a bottle. This Spanish dry white wine is complex and flavorful, with mineral, bright peach, citrus and herbaceous characteristics. Think Washington semillon, and you’ve got a similar reference point for comparison purposes.

A few more bargain-priced wines that should be easy to find at local wine shops and grocers include the Sagelands 2008 Riesling (about $10) from Washington’s Columbia Valley. It’s packed with fresh pear and peach flavors, and the wine’s bracing acidity is nicely balanced by a lingering, off-dry finish.

And finally, be sure to give the Root: 1 Wine 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (about $12) a try. This well-priced Chilean red has a touch of syrah blended in and features plush fruit flavors of black plum and cherry and a touch of toasted vanilla on the finish.

If you thought 2008 was a strange year for Washington’s grape growers, 2009 may go down as even more peculiar.

Like the year preceeding it, 2009 started out extremely slow and cooler than normal in Washington. I live on the west side of the state, and we were still under the threat of snow as late as April…a good several weeks later than usual.

But the summer turned out to be awesome (perhaps a bit too warm?), and the time that was lost in the spring months seems to have been accounted for and surpassed as the fall grape harvest for 2009 gets into full swing.

In fact, I’ve heard several winemakers note that many varietals were ready to go at the same time, and in some cases ahead of their usual schedule. This concentrates the work load for those in the industry at an already stressful time, but so far, the results have been promising.

Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin winery notes, “There is an abundance of ripeness, flavor and soft tannins in the reds which are signs of this being a great year for reds” and Dakota Creek owner/winemaker Ken Peck adds, “The Malbec and Merlot are both on the brim of perfection…” Walla Walla’s Sleight of Hand Cellars also notes, “So far, the fruit has all been fantastic…and we are really pleased.”

Washington has been on a roll with good vintages as of late. So far, it looks as if 2009 will continue that trend.

Today’s question: Is it worth the effort to try and track down wines that deliver good taste at the lower end of the price spectrum?

Before I answer that, let me define “lower priced.” The $7 a bottle and under category? Let’s not even go there, for the simple reason that at that price range you’re going to be flirting with some pretty marginal wine that you probably wouldn’t even want to use in cooking.

My experience is that $8 to $12 a bottle represents a better starting point; because it’s there that you’ll begin to discover some hidden gems by doing a little digging around.

This may involve reverting to the old trial and error method, where you’re strolling past the wine section, see a $9.99 sale sticker and wonder if you should give the wine a try. Or perhaps you might get lucky by keeping an open ear for a favorable critical review or a recommendation from a friend.

In any of these cases, if you’re hesitant to take the plunge I’d say by all means do it, since you’ve got so little to lose. Spending $10 and finding a good wine…that’s definitely something that falls into the low risk/high reward category. If works out, terrific, you’ve found a great deal, and if not, your investment is so small there’s less chance of “wine anxiety,” where you spend a fair amount of money only to find out later that the wine doesn’t deliver.

Let me give you a suggestion for starters, and then I’ll follow this up with a few more wines in the $8 to $12 price range next week. The Tilia 2007 Merlot from Argentina’s Mendoza region is an excellent value at only about $10 a bottle. With a fragrant aroma of berries and red cherry, its fruit-forward characteristics are balanced by a touch of chocolate and supple tannins on a soft, well-rounded finish. Bring on the beef and enjoy.