Wow, Petlover, Franzia vs. Charles "2 Buck Chuck" Shaw...would beat Falcon Crest in terms of soaps any day! Peter loves the 2 buck chuck or Safeway's response, 2 buck Searidge Merlot.

For company 'table wine' though, I prefer to serve Mouton Cadet. Not bad for $9.00 (even better when it's on sale at S'way for $7.00. If we are doing something special, then I go all out with the Silver Oak Cab (Napa Valley preferably...that goes for about $100 direct from the winery, $100+++ anywhere else). A friend of ours also introduced us to Tiganello from Tuscany, it is very nice and here in California retails for about $80. I also love good Pinot Noirs, I find those from Oregon generally better than California, preferably from the late 90's.

In terms of whites (when we do have them), on the less than $10 side I like Hess Select Chardonnay. If I want to go up into the high teens/low twenties, I like Clos Pegase "Mitsuko's Vineyard" Chardonnay. Peter loves Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio (low 20's), so I always keep a bottle around...goes great when we have Mediterranean Chicken dishes. For the splurge side, nothing like a Far Neinte Chardonnay, that starts around $60 here in the store.

Finally, for summer evenings, we like Lillet, served on ice with a slice of orange...very refreshing!