THE WINE LIST

Italian wine came of age in the past decade, and now dozens of great wines that marry well with Italian food are available in this country. Such wines are awfully expensive to begin with, and then Chianti adds more than a little on the top. For example, 1987 Solaia, an excellent red wine, is $130--$50 more than its suggested retail price of $80.

Still, Chianti’s wine list has many pluses, not least of which is the multitude of very good wines that would go well with a wide variety of foods and are fairly priced. And I start with one assumption--that red wine is what people will be ordering here.

If you must have a white wine, stick with 1989 Hess Collection Chardonnay, $24.50; 1989 Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc, $19.50; 1990 Chateau St. Jean “La Petite Etoile” Sauvignon Blanc, $17.75, or a great all-purpose wine, 1990 DeLoach Gewurztraminer, $16.

Among the better-value red wines are 1989 Ceretto Dolcetto, $26.50; two wines from Antonio Vallana--1990 Barbera d’Alba, $16, and 1983 Gattinara, $30--and a 1989 Chianti from Felsina, $25.

For those who prefer less challenging wine but wine that is appealing and reasonably priced, the domestic list offers more alternatives--if one avoids Cabernet Sauvignon. The splendid 1989 Byron Reserve Pinot Noir, $23, is a bargain; 1988 Ferrari-Carano Merlot, $28, works well with dishes that feature mushrooms; 1989 Havens Cabernet Franc, $29, is explosively fruity. And the wine to try with well-seasoned pasta dishes is 1989 Ravenswood Sonoma Zinfandel, $18.

The best part of this wine list is the page of five dessert wines, a rare collection of superb and reasonably priced offerings that may encourage you to spend an extra hour at the table, enjoying the surroundings and the company.

Two of the wines are so rare I was surprised to see them. One is 1989 La Boatina Verduzzo, $26. Verduzzo is usually a dry Friulian wine, but here it is made off-dry, and it’s superb with not-very-sweet desserts.

Even rarer is the 1991 Bracchetto d’Aqui from Banfi, $26. Bracchetto is a grape variety found near Alba in Piedmont. This wine is slightly sweet, slightly fizzy; it would be elegant with chocolate desserts. Either of these wines would also be excellent by themselves to finish a special-occasion dinner.