Wines

The price first-time homeowner Justin Bieber paid for his new digs in Calabasas has wended its way into the public record: $6.5 million. Set on 1.3 acres in a gated community, the 10,000-square-foot main house is described as "transitional French" in style. Features include a high-ceiling foyer, library, a movie theater with stadium seating, a wet bar and a wine cellar. Just what every 18-year-old pop singer needs. Including a guesthouse, there are seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

  The term "Rosso Toscano" usually indicates an inexpensive wine made for everyday drinking. But in this case, the wine is essentially a Super Tuscan, made from a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Not a drop of Sangiovese, but it's unmistakably Tuscan - intense and concentrated, with a seductive tonal palate and enough body and tannic grip to age and evolve. And hard to resist now. This is a great red for barbecue season, with the stuff to stand up to smoke and char.

The hunt for a red October (and beyond) Here's where to find some of the wines mentioned in this article: Moric's 2008 Burgenland Blaufränkisch is available at Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454, http://www.winex.com ; and Domaine LA, Los Angeles, (323) 932-0280, domaine547.com, about $26. The Pfneiszl 2007 Soproni Kekfrankos is available at the Wine House in West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731, http://www.winehouse.com ; Larchmont Village Wine, (323)

To some, a Mother's Day getaway means a don't-look-back, tires-screeching hall pass for an escape with girlfriends. To others, it means an amorous sojourn with a husband or partner. Then there are those who want to take along their kids or even the family pet. Herewith, places to suit all preferences. A tip: You can sometimes get fantastic last-minute deals on websites such as http://www.hotels.com . Le Méridien, Isle of Pines, New Caledonia For the mother - or family - who has been everywhere.

Bodega Wine Bar in Hollywood Where: 6290 Sunset Blvd. When: Open daily at 5 p.m. Price: Nearly all wines at $9 a glass Contact: (323) 464-3400

Here are five great Mourvèdre-based wines from Paso Robles, Calif. Because they are produced in small quantities, it may be necessary to order them from the winery. 2007 Anglim Winery Mourvèdre "Hastings Ranch Vineyard" ($34): Quite a spicy wine, with notes of cinnamon, star anise and black pepper. Black plum fruit comes through on the mid-palate and drives through to the finish. 14.9% alcohol. http://www.anglimwinery.com 2007 Edward Sellers Mourvèdre ($35): Dark cherry fruit with black pepper and a gamy "low note" to keep it interesting.

Wines on a budget Here are a few favorite wines for less than $15 from the people we interviewed: Simon Cocks of Larchmont Village Wine Spirits & Cheese: NV Anton Ohlig Sekt Rosé Extra-Trocken, "50 N" (German sparkling rosé), $14.99; 2009 Hubert Rousseau Gros Plant du Pays Nantais (French white), $13.99; 2009 Monte dos Perdigöes Alenteja DO, Tapada do Barao (Portuguese red), $11.99. 223 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 856-8699 (no website)

FOOD Enjoy fine wines, including the best that California has to offer alongside the great vintages from France's Loire Valley during the seventh annual Newport Beach Food & Wine Festival. Four days feature a sampling of more than 60 wines; food-and-wine-pairing seminars with master sommeliers; a winemakers luncheon and more. Balboa Bay Club & Resort, 1221 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. Thurs. to Sun. Event times and ticket prices vary. (949) 630-4146; http://www.balboabayclub.com.

Bungee jump off a bridge, careen through wild rapids, float on a river through the blackness of a subterranean cave. "If you can dream it, we have it," the Kiwis say. There's no doubt about it: New Zealand offers a great escape, a misty dreamland of tranquil fiords, rugged peaks, frosty glaciers, turquoise alpine lakes and verdant rain forests. But with its wines now ranked alongside some of the world's best, New Zealand also offers visitors a grape escape as well -- a first-class wine destination where travelers can find pleasure year-round in hundreds of tasting rooms.

Because every day feels more uncertain, we need our everyday wines -- something tasty, straightforward, and cheap in the glass -- to signify the day's end. For this, it's useful to maintain what I call a "working case" for your home, a boilerplate selection of wines to have on hand for everyday sustenance. There are simply hundreds of wines out there that over-deliver for the price.

This is a stunning Arneis from Giovanni Almondo in the Roero region of Piedmont. And to think this grape was once almost extinct. It may be temperamental, but whatever pains must be taken to produce this lovely white are worth it. The 2011 wafts the scents of ripe pears, melons and flowers from the glass. It's fleshy but lithe, cool-toned and with a vivid minerality. I'd pour it with mozzarella and pea shoots, with summer soups and pastas, and grilled whole fish. It's a terrific basic that doesn't cost the Earth.

Fifty miles north of San Francisco, straddling U.S. Highway 101, sits Santa Rosa, former home of Charles M. Schulz and the gang from "Peanuts. " From the highway, as you boom past at 70 mph, Santa Rosa appears to be just another somewhere on the way to somewhere else. But a short detour east into downtown or west into the wine country quickly proves otherwise. The tab: We spent $163 for a night at the Hotel La Rose, dinner for two at Willi's Wine Bar was $84, including wine, and a lavish picnic from Whole Foods Market came to $43. Gas and incidentals added $100 to the tab. Wine at Bella and Iron Horse vineyards, of course, was extra.

I could drink a bottle of this Morgon "Côte du Py" from Jean Foillard every week with the greatest of pleasure. How beautiful is the bottle, with its red wax seal? The wine itself is soft and unctuous, tasting of prunes and dried cherries, a voluptuous cru Beaujolais made with painstaking care. The organically farmed vines from the famed "Côte du Py" range from 10 all the way up to 90 years of age. This is a very serious Gamay. It's beautiful with grilled sausages, stews, a simple roast chicken or duck.

Six men and two women sit down to a simple dinner around a rectangular table in a glassed-in upstairs room at Osteria la Buca. It's 7:30 on a Tuesday night in spring, and the sun is just barely sinking into the city haze, leaving Melrose Avenue awash in dirty pink and gold light. The guests - all strangers - have arrived to take part in a new dinner series called the Salon at Osteria la Buca. They have been picked by the restaurant to participate based upon recommendations from previous guests and RSVP letters they composed outlining their professional accomplishments and personal philosophies.

Ordering some Chardonnay or Cabernet while eating out can sometimes be the priciest part of a meal. And it's only getting more expensive. The price of vino by the glass rose steadily over the last six months, according to Restaurant Sciences, an independent firm that tracks food and beverage product sales. The cause of the costlier buzz? A tightening squeeze on wine inventories - some even call it a shortage - coupled with swelling consumer demand for the alcohol. "We're seeing more and more wine lists with nothing under $40 for a bottle," said Michael Whiteman, president of Baum/Whiteman International Restaurant Consultants.

This Sunday afternoon, the intersection of Glendale and Glenfeliz boulevards in Atwater Village will be taken over by brewery tents, wine tasting stations and food trucks for the first Atwater Village Beer, Wine & Food Festival . Organized by the folks behind 55 Degree Wine shop and the adjacent Link N Hops gastropub, and sponsored by the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce, the festival will showcase more than a dozen breweries ...

EVENTS Celebrate the humble grape at the 7th Annual L.A. WineFest. Choose tastes from more than 500 different wines, spirits and beers; nosh on gourmet food truck fare; and listen to live music. Classes on wine, beer and Scotch food pairings will also be conducted. Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood. 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sat. Noon to 5 p.m. Sun. $75. http://www.lawinefest.com.

Come Thanksgiving, in addition to brining the turkey, ironing the tablecloth and laying in special supplies for impossible guests' special diets, you have the task of picking the wines. You certainly don't have to, but coming up with a plan will mean you are likely to enjoy the dinner better than if you leave it to chance - and the sad fate of having to serve the box wine your well-meaning great-uncle will surely bring. Not an option. Still, making a plan is easier said than done.

Olive & Thyme: The Toluca Lake cafe will be offering a wine and cheese tasting from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.  Attendees will sample more than a dozen cheeses with cheesemonger Tyler Schwarz and learn about cheesemaking from aging and texture to methods of making and region of origin. The wine and cheese tasting is $45 per person. Call or email gayle@oliveandthyme.com for reservations. 4013 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, (818) 557-1560, www.oliveandthyme.com . Modern Art Desserts: On Saturday, the Craft in America Study Center will present the third installment of “Food as Medium for Craft,” with a talk and book signing by Blue Bottle pastry chef Caitlin Freeman.