Rib-eye sirloin steak, for example, makes a perfect companion, with its winy wild-mushroom sauce.

My favorite was the butter-tender beef fillet in a winy brown sauce laced with balsamic vinegar.

Game fans would love a special of pappardelle in a dark, winy sauce with shredded wild boar.

Over strong black coffee, broiled sardines and clams in a rich steaming winy sauce, they sat and watched the cars silently pass on the highway.

It sits on a mound of chewy lemon-scented farro in a sumptuous, winy sauce.

Pollo ai castelli Romani, breast of chicken with mushrooms and artichoke hearts in a winy sauce, was the single outstanding dish.

The accompanying mashed potatoes were alluringly dosed with truffle oil, and the whole production would have been perfect if not for a slight excess of oil in the winy brown sauce.

Blanquette de veau (Wednesdays), the homey veal stew, is filled with mild, tender meat in a creamy, winy sauce over rice spiked with coconut.

There's a deeply comforting and tender sauerbraten ($12) in a winy sauce, with skin-on roast potatoes and stewed, spice-laden red cabbage.

The slices of fish - seared golden brown and surrounded by a lush, winy sauce studded with pearl onions, dicings of bacon and feathery with herbs - make a lovely presentation for a party.