For many people, dessert is the culmination of a great dinner, and it’s an anticipated event that deserves as much attention as all of the preceding courses. In his “Server’s Perspective” column, Jorge Edouardo Castillo talks about matching dessert with wine.

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Beautifully crafted, with a taut band of Pinot fruit built around a beam of vivid black cherry and wild raspberry. Finishes with firm tannins and a hint of stems, but also rich, earthy fruit flavors. Best from 2008 through 2011. 476 cases made.

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Sweet and generous with its pear, grapefruit, pineapple and delicate mineral flavors, finishing with a welcome balance between the sugar and fine acidity. Drink now through 2011. 7,176 cases made.

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“Open Mike” - a recurring feature on our WineLovers Discussion Group - focuses on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The topic is still active, so there’s plenty of time to read the reports and add your own!

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Ron and Elva Laughton, owners of 1 Vineyard in Australia, make good wines, and I like to drink them. They do what wine ought to do, which is to reflect the place where they grow. But tasting them blind in my office, or at the table with the Laughtons, I’ve never been able to get really revved up about them.

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Lithe, refined and deftly balanced to show off its smoky blueberry compote and cherry flavors, which last on the long, expressive finish. The tannins are refined, but tightly packed. Needs time in the cellar to flower. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Best from 2008 through 2012. 2,095 cases made.

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Well-crafted, with ripe, rich fruit, lots of complex flavors and a sleek finish. Shows off ripe berry, currant and blueberry, with hints of smoke, sage and lavender. The tannins are big, ripe and plush. Drink now through 2012. 1,164 cases made.

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A journey back to the origins of the reporter?s family?s red sauce, which immigrated from Italy and was translated in America.

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