THE WINE LIST

The best thing about the wine list at Depot is the beer, which seems appropriate considering the spiciness of some of the dishes.

Depot has 26 lagers, ales, porters and stouts. The focus is on micro-breweries, which make far more interesting beers than the mass marketers. Included are such intriguing brews as Red Tail Ale from Hopland, Pete’s Wicked Ale from Palo Alto, Rhino Chasers from Chatsworth and Boont Amber from Mendocino.

As for the wines, all are from California, and all are good--perhaps even too good. Since the menu tends to appetizer-size courses, encouraging grazing and informal dining, the wine prices seem steep. Depot should balance its premium-wine listings with well-chosen, moderately priced wines.

This list has few such items. Among the five Cabernet Sauvignons are 1987 Silver Oak, $47; 1987 Chateau Montelena, $45, and 1988 Groth, $37--all too high. Better priced are 1989 De Loach Chardonnay, $26; 1990 Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc, $22, and 1989 Ravenswood Old Vines Zinfandel, $18.

One of the best wines on the list to pair with the spicy foods is the 1989 Z. Moore Dry Gewurztraminer, a bargain at $17. Another bargain: 1990 Hogue Chenin Blanc, $12--superb with Thai dishes.

All great wines are products of great winemakers, and Depot honors them by listing the names of the winemakers for each wine. This is a nice idea also used at Depot’s sister restaurant, Chez Melange, because winemakers often are ignored. But it backfires if, as here, some of them are incorrectly identified.

Examples: Frog’s Leap’s John Williams hasn’t suddenly popped up at Ravenswood--Joel Peterson is the one who makes the wine at Ravenswood. And Rob Prosser isn’t the name of the winemaker at Hogue. It’s Rob Griffin; the winery is located in Prosser, Wash.

The nit-pickers will have a field day.