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The doctor's Rx for a child who would not eat: "Pour some red wine in a glass and cut it with water. The wine will spark his appetite."

I know this because I was that child, served wee drams of Manischewitz before dinner. Fermented Concord juice made me feel like one of the grown-ups.

If relatives raised an eyebrow, my parents would say: "It's kosher -- doctor's orders."

That I was drinking kosher wine -- a drink of God's Chosen People -- was more memorable because ours was a household of rock-ribbed Presbyterians. And as anyone can tell you about stoic Presbyterians: We are God's Frozen People.

Until you get some wine in us -- kosher or otherwise.

I relate this to introduce the 2007 Ben Ami Merlot ($13), grown in Israel's Galilee region.

This wine-growing region gets little press, even though its roots date to antiquity, mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy. Back then, the Mesopotamia-to-Egypt trade route made ancient Israel a happening grape growing/winemaking place.

Now, 15,000 acres are planted in wine grapes, and conditions still favor the fruit.

The 2007 Ben Ami Merlot (found at Total Wine) was medium-bodied and seductively silky in tannin and offered generous plum and black cherry with a hint of bell pepper and toffee at the end.

Kosher, I learn, is a Hebrew term for what is -- under dietary laws -- "fit and proper."

My next bottle of 2007 Ben Ami Merlot will fit a proper place in my wine rack.

In country

Viognier -- classic white grape of the French Rhone -- takes me to odd places. Like the 2005 Sawtooth Winery Viognier ($14) -- a real gamble.

First, there was the 2005 vintage for this time-sensitive white wine. Viognier can crack up after a few years.

Second, there was lineage: Idaho.

"Can't say I've had a wine from Idaho," I told the sales rep at Wine-Styles in Greensboro.

"Now, &ellipses; this isn't &ellipses; a sweet wine. It's a &ellipses; dry wine," she told me, carefully enunciating, real slow, like that school bus driver to a young Forrest Gump in the movie "Forrest Gump."

Maybe I looked like I had issues, seeing I was picking Viognier from Nampa, Idaho. Never been to Idaho. No idea where Nampa, Idaho, is.

But you know, sometimes wine is like a box of .... choc&ellipses;o&ellipses;lates. You never know what you're going to get in Nampa, Idaho, somewhere near the Snake River.

I got Viognier that hadn't cracked, closer to form -- pear, honey, and dried apple -- than I see in Viognier from California and Australia. Bottle age dimmed bright, crisp flavors, but a dollop of vanilla and a creamy, yeasty texture had filled in.

Now I can say I've been to Nampa, Idaho, somewhere near the Snake River, if only in my mind.

Customer service

In August, I wrote about a disappointing white wine during a beach trip. I suggested the 2007 Sobon Estate Roussanne possibly cooked in distribution channels.

California's Sobon Estate has a good track record with Zinfandel and with Rhone varietals like Viognier and Roussanne. I've enjoyed them in the past.

Days after that column posted on the News & Record Web site, I got this e-mail:

Dear Mr. Williams,

I was so sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with a bottle of our 2007 Sobon Estate Roussanne.

I agree with your title, "Uncorked: Bad wines rare in these good times." That is why it was very disappointing to read about your trip to the shore with a bottle of our wine.

Not having heard any other negative feedback on this wine and vintage, it was a surprise.

The Sobon Family would love to be able to replace the bottle with a 2008 Roussanne, which has been well received and is our current vintage.

Again, I want to apologize. It is always tough to hear about someone's special event that didn't live up to expectations because of a disappointing bottle of wine.

Sincerely,

Robert Sobon

Sobon Estate & Shenandoah Vineyards

12300 Steiner Road, Plymouth, CA 95669

I rarely encounter customer service like this. And I was floored when a 2008 Sobon Estate Roussanne arrived, with a hand-written note from Robert Sobon.

Summer began with a 2007 Sobon Roussanne beachside. I vowed it would end with a 2008 Sobon Roussanne mountainside. So for Labor Day, I snuck it poolside.

The 2008 Sobon Roussanne ($14) -- with a splash of Viognier and Grenache Blanc -- is a velvety white layered with fresh gardenia, Bartlett pear and guava. My wife and I enjoyed every last drop.

Doubt it? Somewhere someone on a cell phone snapped a photo of some guy poolside, whimpering, banging the punt of a Roussanne bottle to savor last legs.

And Robert Sobon? He's one of two sons of the winery founder.

The Sobon Web site says: "Today, he manages the Business Accounting and Computer Operations, the Tasting Room and day-to-day office operations."

Somewhere, Robert Sobon found time to make me taste his new vintage and eat my words.

Tailgating?

2007 Big House Red ($8): Anything not thrown into this California blend? Sixteen French, Italian and Spanish grapes include Montepulciano, Barbera, Tannat, Charbono, Mourvedre, Tempranillo and Touriga. Settled tannins, red berry fruits, a chewy complexity. Want to goof on your favorite wine snobs? Pour this blind and ask them to identify the varietal. Comes in a screw-cap bottle. (Harris-Teeter)

2007 Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec ($10): From Argentina's famed Lujan de Cuyo appellation comes a chewy, mouth-filling style chocked with blackberry, raspberry, plum, toffee and poblano pepper. Another screw-cap makes it easy to access. (The Fresh Market)

2008 Hugl Gruner Veltliner ($13): Austria's -- not Australia's -- signature grape. And in cooler climates, this white varietal delivers higher-acid and nuanced green melon, granny apple, minerals and peppery spice. The liter bottle means more to pour. Yep, screw-cap. (Total Wine)

Ed Williams is director of public information at Alamance Community College. This column publishes the first Wednesday each month. If you have information about a wine event, send e-mail to williamsonwine@aol.com If you would like to subscribe to our free wine e-mail newsletter that is distributed twice a month, visit www.news-record.com and sign up under e-mail alerts.