If you're looking for a great wine buy, I have one for you. The other night my husband brought home a bottle of Bigi Vipra Rossa 2005 to have with Rigatoni Abruzzi that I'd made for dinner. The wine is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Sangiovese and 10% Montepulciano from Umbria.

The soil the grapes are grown in is gravelly and poor. You've heard the saying that the vines need to suffer, right? The struggling vines have low yields, but concentrated fruit, making a ripe, elegant wine. It had aromas of berries and spice, and tasted of leather, spice, and blackberry. It is slightly toasty, and overall well-balanced.

The wine is aged for six months in French oak barrels before it is blended and further aged. This easy-drinking wine retails for around $11.99.