My uncle David lives in Palo Alto, Calif., just south of San Francisco, and he's quite an expert on California wines. Very emphatic about it, in fact, so much so that he recently berated me for not including more Cali juice in my recommendations.

"California can fairly compete with any other wine region in the world," he declared in a recent e-mail exchange. "Dollar-for-dollar, the best value in wine today. And don't forget to write about more than just chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon! I hate it when you do that. There are a lot of other great varietals grown in California, too."

Now, my uncle and I have some knock-down, drag-out fights about wine, and while I admit that my vinous tastes often skew toward the Old World, this is one area where I can't really disagree with him. The weakened dollar and a flood of new plantings have conspired to make California juice as good a value as it has been in a long time, especially if the varietal isn't immensely popular like chard or cab.

Just as with some of the greatest vineyards in the Old World, the best parts of California wine country boast a wide variety of microclimates. This means that wines from adjacent areas can - and often do - taste very different from each other.

Vineyards have sprung up all over the state to take advantage of these local variations in terroir, allowing vintners to tease out varying flavors and textures from similar starting materials. A good case in point is petite sirah.

Also known as Dourif, petite sirah can be vinified in a variety of styles. The "petite" portion of the name refers to the small size of its berries, which creates a high skin-to- juice ratio. This often produces very tannic wine that can age quite well. When properly handled, there is often a spicy, plummy character in the bottle, with bold flavors and a bouquet of herbs and black pepper.

If you want a relatively light petite sirah with oodles of grapey goodness, try the rustic Concannon Petite Sirah from California's Central Coast area, full of chewy currants and baking spice, or the punchy Pedroncelli Petite Sirah from Dry Creek Valley, boasting flavors of pepper and chocolate.

Another excellent choice is the brightly tangy Big House Prodigal Son Petite Sirah from Paso Robles, drenched in flowers and fruit punch. And make sure to seek out the decadent Windmill Petite Sirah from Lodi, a mound of blackberries and brown sugar.

One nice thing about petite sirah is that if you bravely stride just a few steps up the price scale, you're rewarded with a wealth of additional flavors and richness. There's no better example of this than the Mettler Family Vineyards Petite Sirah from Lodi, inky and tannic, dominated by bittersweet chocolate.

Another top-notch, higher-end wine is the port-like Vina Robles Petite Sirah, a large mouthful of raisins and chocolate. And don't forget Victor Hugo's version, also from Paso Robles, redolent of cream, dark berries and lime zest.

One commonality that all these petite sirah producers have is a dedication to exploring the terroir that's been granted them. Petite sirah is a labor of love, usually not very profitable because of its obscurity. So creating a good one is a statement of the winemaker's philosophy, that he understands the terroir he's been given. He's not trying to make his juice into something it isn't and is instead content to maximize what nature has allotted.

The petite sirahs I've recommended uniformly move me beyond where I usually go in my wine habits, and that's always a rewarding journey. Don't be afraid to venture beyond your comfort zone when it comes to wine. You may be a confirmed chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon fan, but it is possible that another wine made from a different varietal will strike your fancy.

benweinberg@comcast.net

Recommended:

Red

* Concannon Petite Sirah Limited Release 2005 (California) $15

* Pedroncelli Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley 2005 (California) $15

* Big House Petite Sirah Prodigal Son 2006 (California) $15

* Windmill Petite Sirah 2006 (California) $13

* Mettler Family Vineyards Petite Sirah 2005 (California) $25

* Vina Robles Petite Sirah 2006 (California) $26

* Victor Hugo Petite Sirah 2006 (California) $22