I love to shop for wine, and I was looking for a way to make choosing a wine more fun, and somewhat challenging. What did I come up with? It may sound rather silly, but I decided that I was going to go straight through the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z.

I'll be sharing my wine choices with you as I go, and I'm going to begin with A, B, and C. All three wines were purchased from Sendik's in Brookfield.

A to Z Night to Day, 2004, Dundee, Oregon. $13.99. This was a red blend, and I thought the name of the wine was a perfect fit to begin my journey of buying wine in alphabetical order. The color was a dark garnet; nose was spicy; taste was very fresh and peppery; the finish was long. I had been wanting to try an A to Z wine for a long time, and I liked it a great deal. I served it with pizza and it paired well.

Ben Marco, 2006, producer is Dominio Del Plata, Mendoza, Argentina. $21.99. 90% Malbec, 10% Bonarda. The color was a dark ruby; nose was lavender; taste was spicy and lush; the finish was good. I really liked, I served it with hamburgers and chips, but I think it would have paired nicely with a steak.

Conn Creek Limited Release, 2004, Conn Creek Winery, Napa Valley, CA. $23.99. Cabernet Sauvignon. The color was a deep ruby red, no legs; nose was a light aroma, perhaps cherry; taste was very light; not a lot of tannins for a Cabernet; the finish was short but silky. My overall impression was that this was not a very robust Cabernet, it was very light, and I could have easily mistaken it for a Pinot Noir.

In the coming weeks and months I'll continue to tell you about my wine odyssey through the alphabet. Feel free to share in the comments your favorite wines, or follow my ABC wine list and compare tasting notes. I will warn you though, most of them will be red wines. Cheers!