1999 Seghesio Barbera ($22).

This California red wine, made from an underrated Italian grape, might be in short supply but it's worth an extra effort to find. It's a complex, full-bodied wine with intense flavors of black cherry, wild berries, smoked meat and herbs. Its lively acidity -- pronounced but in balance -- makes it a delicious accompaniment to a spicy marinara or arrabiata sauce. It carries a simple California appellation, but it has all the flavor and burly vigor you'd expect to find in an old-vines wine from a famous vineyard.