In Pursuit of Paradise Lost

6. Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard

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The outcome when the same wines were tasted with food (a salad, smoked sturgeon, lobster with fennel) was decidedly different, with the former last-place wine coming out on top. The No. 1 pick, the refreshingly crisp and minerally Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard, which was Andrew's overall favorite, was also the lone entry from New Zealand's warmer, more northern Martinborough district. Sandy Block, Legal Sea Foods' vice president of beverage operations, later called this single-vineyard wine "unique" and one of his favorites, adding that he frequently pairs it with Dover sole with capers, oven-roasted rainbow trout and classic baked scrod.

The food-paired runners-up -- which shared a more tropical-fruit flavor profile characteristic of Marlborough sauvignon blancs -- were:

2. Kim Crawford (both of our second-favorites)

3 . Craggy Range Old Renwick Vineyard (Karen's overall favorite)

4 . Saint Clair

5. Astrolabe

6. Wild Rock

The results underscored how food distinctly alters one's perception of wine, a point that drives our own methodology of tasting wines both without and with food.

Excellence in wine, as in food, is rooted in nature. However, as consumers better understand that the way in which wine is nurtured from vineyard to glass determines its ultimate enjoyment, we predict that wineries will continue to expand their own post-production nurturing to new levels.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat," can be reached through their Web site,http://www.becomingachef.com, or athttp://food@washpost.com.

Tip: It's a Gift

One of the most unforgettable wines we experienced this year was the syrah-based 2005 Craggy Range "Le Sol" ($60), whose powerful black- and white-pepper flavors led us to suspect it had spent time aging inside a pepper mill. It was a gorgeous foil to a rare rib-eye of prime beef.

We've already added a bottle to our holiday wish list -- although if we think Santa is feeling extra generous, we might ask for the entire Craggy Range Holiday Gift Set, which includes a bottle of "Le Sol" plus one each of the 2005 "Sophia" Gimblett Gravels , the 2006 Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir and the 2006 Calvert Vineyard Pinot No ir, all encased in a handsome, fully insulated, safari-style canvas-and-leather tote. The Sandstorm brand tote alone retails for $195, so at $275 plus shipping, the set is a relative steal. Call 212-685-2442.