Yia sas Caroline,

Everyone is different, and I can't speak for Bacchus, but I wouldn't drink an “A” rated wine with food. No matter how good the food is. I'd rather use an A wine for sipping with friends while on the porch just prior to dusk as we watch the children play in the grass. Once everyone moved inside for dinner, I'd break open a B wine and dilute some with water for the kids.

If it's a family weekday meal, I'd use a C grade wine as the coarseness of the food will mitigate any of the flaws of the wine. Following European tradition, I'd also give the kids a juice glass full of half wine and half water. We'd rather children learn at our knees how alcohol is going to effect them than have them learn in an unsafe environment like a teenage party. We also tend to drink a glass at most evening meals.

Between both Bacchus and myself, there have only been three wines rated in the A range out of the 150 or so reviews done so far. One in fifty seems about right. But you are correct, my price range will almost always be under $10, so there are many fewer opportunities for a great wine in that price range.

My personal favorite of all the wines we've done is Zin-fat-u-a-tion, Bob did the review, but I would have rated it a full A, so you might give that a go...

Silenus

After about 200 different wines, things are definitely grading on a bell curve. For the most part, I try wines between $7 and $12 a bottle (750ml), Silenus on the other hand seems to drinking swill between $3 and $7 a bottle. A lot of them have problems. Too watery, to acidic, too sweet (at least for my taste) too much tannins. There's always a problem. For me, grading a wine A or above says to me that this is as near a perfect a wine as you can get for the varital. High praise indeed. I agree with Silenus regarding a wine selection. Pick a wine from the "A" list, and you really ought to try it first yourself to see if you agree with me -- there are some readers who don't. Then serve it with the dinner you've prepared. But, what you serve with dinner should complement what you are serving. An "A" wine might be great beforehand, but perhaps not for dinner. I'll try to do better delineating what might be a better sipping wine than a dinner wine.