THE WINE LIST

When the waiter brings the bottle of wine to the table for your inspection, look carefully.

The other night at Bambu, the bottle of 1990 Napa Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon I ordered turned out to be a non-vintage Napa Ridge Red Table Wine. The Cabernet is excellent and would have been a decent value at $18. The red table wine would have been a rip-off at that price.

I would have loved to have ordered 1991 Freemark Abbey Riesling to pair with the spicier dishes, but $24 is three times its retail price. Fairer is the Handley Gewurztraminer at $12, but no vintage was listed.

One of the better white wines with the food is 1991 Byron Sauvignon Blanc, $18. Wine lovers may appreciate the Domaine Ott Blancs de Blancs, the rare white wine from Provence, which is a good buy at $34.

Among the better red wines, try 1986 Clos Pegase Cabernet, $22; 1990 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel, $28; 1987 St. Francis Merlot, $30, or 1988 McDowell Valley Vineyards Syrah, $28, listed only as Les Vieux Cepages.

To Bambu’s credit, the owners said they were redoing the wine list as this was being written.