Darling Hills, Ovation, South Africa (about $20 for 3L; find this wine ): a 50-50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault, the workhorse grape originally from the South of France. Tags: Wine under $10 wine picks “Merry Christmas!&# “Here’s 24 liters of wine!&# Season’s greetings! Standing tall. crowd pleaser. MORE >>

But here are three reds from the South of France! Tags: Wine under $10 wine picks French wine Everybody always wants a good wine under $10. And that’s never been more true than now. The sad thing is that it’s so hard to find good wines under $10. Montirius , Le Cadet, vin de pays de Vaucluse, 2005 ($9.99; find this wine ). MORE >>

With the end of the Prohibition profits, de Latour decided to embark on the quality route and went to France to find the best Frenchman for the job. American wine wine picksI always relish the rare opportunity to taste a California wine from the 1970s, the era before rising temperatures and fruit bombs. MORE >>

Cabernet franc grown on limestone from a top grower in Chinon. American wine Bordeaux wine picksWith all the hype about the Bordeaux campaign to pre-selling their 2010 wines, it made me think: surely there are more affordable, just as age-worthy alternatives out there. And around $30 a bottle? It sells for under $30. Under $30. Roda I. MORE >>

Turning to the master first, (whose son Mathieu does a lot in the cellar these days), the Raisins Gaulois from the Lapierres is labeled as a mere “Vin de France,&# rather than a Beaujolais (since they already make a Beaujolais). Tags: French wine wine picks And Thierry Puzelat in the Loire is a leading, young naturalista. MORE >>