Wine

MANY TIMES, I've imagined this scenario: Noon on a Wednesday and instead of working, I'm standing out in front of a liquor store at 12th and Chestnut Street. On this day, however, I'm sober and still gainfully employed. Actually, I'm standing here as part of my job. There are several others standing with me, and they all seem gainfully employed, too, or at least employable. "I'm supposed to be in a meeting right now," says the guy with white hair and a trim mustache, wearing a golf shirt.

AS PLCB retail wine specialist Max Gottesfeld led me on an extended wine safari, I found plenty of interesting wines for under $15, many for under $12 and some for under $10. Here are just a few examples of the game I bagged:   Château Font-Mars Picpoul de Pinet 2010, Languedoc, France. $11.99   Picpoul, the grape grown in southern France, is fun to say and easy to remember. Crisp, lively, full pear and apple notes but balanced by minerality on the finish.

HARRISBURG - Debate on a bill to privatize Pennsylvania's state-run wine and liquor stores is set to begin today in the House of Representatives - and it's bound to be a lengthy one. House members will consider a revamped plan of getting the state out of the business of selling wine and hard liquor. The new proposal comes with a twist - it would also change the way beer, already a private industry, is sold in Pennsylvania. The plan, championed by House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny)

BUZZ: Feeling left out this week, Marnie?   Marnie: Not particularly. Why? Buzz: It's Philly Beer Week. That must really chafe you wine people. Marnie: Not really, Buzz. Beer and wine are more alike than wine and spirits. Most wine lovers appreciate good beer, too. Buzz: Really? I would think your friends would be too hoity-toity to be seen swilling beer. Let me guess — they drink only the fancy ales that come in bottles with a cork. Marnie: Well, therwe is certainly appreciation in wine circles for well-crafted beers made with quality ingredients and for the most complex, "winelike" beers.

Buzz: Hey, Marnie, what's the deal with all those pink wines stacked up at the wine store? The guy tried to sell me one last week. I guess no one told him pink is for girls. Marnie: Rosé wines are more popular than ever, Buzz, and not just with the ladies. Fans of sweet, light-bodied wines like white zinfandel may still skew female, but those demographics are shifting now that we're seeing more dry options in stores. Buzz: Yeah, right. I'm sure the guys are all over wines that look like they're made for a princess.

WELCOME TO Cheap Buzz, where we eavesdrop as sommelier Marnie Old attempts to teach the joys of wine and fine spirits to Buzz, a guy with no sophistication and not much money. Here's their latest conversation: Buzz: I was reading the notes on the wine signs at the State Store and, boy, are they crazy! Marnie: You mean the tasting notes? Buzz: Yes. One wine tasted like "leather. " Another was "grassy. " The worst was the one that was "chalky. " though. Who the heck would drink a wine with chalk in it?

BUZZ: WHEN did they start making wine with chile peppers, Marnie? Marnie: I think you may have your wires crossed, Buzz. Where did you hear that? Buzz : I read it right on the label of the wine my buddy brought over last night. It said "Chile. " My gut can't handle spicy stuff the way it used to, so I didn't open it. Marnie: Oh. No need to worry. That's not "chile wine"; it's wine from Chile in South America. Buzz: Red wine from South America?

Bordeaux can be intimidating for new wine buyers, especially with its reputation for pricey bottles that require a decade (or several) of aging, not to mention a good cellar to age them in. That's why I've always liked the Right Bank wines of Pomerol, whose merlot-centric blends can be drunk in relative youth. Travel a bit north of the Barbanne stream, however, and you'll end-up in the lesser-known appellation of Lalande-de-Pomerol, where one can find a similar approach (if not quite the depth or finesse)

THESE SIX WINES, all available at local PLCB stores, illustrate that "sweet" is relative and doesn't always equal cloying or sugary. Sweet can be complex, and since the alcohol level is in check, these wines pair great with meals, especially spicy Thai or Indian and sushi. All my recommendations are less than $20 per bottle. Pio Cesare Moscato D'Asti 2009, Piedmont, Italy, $15.99, 5 percent abv (alcohol by volume). The downside of moscato's sudden popularity is the amount of poor-quality wine out there.

WAY BACK in the Paleolithic era of American Wine Drinking — a time coinciding with leisure suits, fern bars and the Carter administration — sweet wines ruled. People loved their cheap Mateus and Blue Nun and Andre Cold Duck. Then, all of a sudden, everyone got all sophisticated and savvy and demonstrated this by eschewing sweet for dry. Basically, you were a moron or a rube if you liked sweet wine. Or at least that's what we were told. I know something like this happened in our home when I was growing up. As a kid, I vaguely remember a moment when my parents started opening bottles of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.