By Marty Rosen
Before moving to Iowa in the late 1990s, Stephen Gaucher spent most of his life in Massachusetts and Maine, places where wine was readily available. He spent annual holidays in France, where he formed friendships with a rich network of wine-loving folks.

Then suddenly, he found himself in a state that ranked 45th in the nation in wine consumption. The full meaning of that was brought home to him one night in Des Moines when he innocently set out to buy a case of white Burgundy -- and there was none to be had.

Soon thereafter, he was on the phone with friends in France, and before long he was a wine importer. These days, his firm, Wine Adventures, imports enough French wines to service 10 states, including Kentucky.

Gaucher selects his wines the old-fashioned way: He goes to France and tastes, and tastes and tastes.

"To me, French wines, compared to American wines, are feminine wines," he said in a telephone interview. "They're lighter in style. They're more complex. They take more time to understand. And if you take the time to understand them, they're more rewarding."

And Gaucher's wines are superb accompaniments for food.

Pale green-gold Picpoul de Pinet 2006, from the southern reaches of France, is fresh, crisp and lively -- the word picpoul translates as "lip stinger," but this is a sting that happily complements seafood, roasted poultry or a mound of Capriole cheese. And at $7.99 a bottle, you can afford to lay in plenty for the holidays.

If your taste runs to reds, his Domaine Le Grand Destre is a simple but satisfying country wine that will set you back about $9. And if you're looking for a peppery Rhone, try his Chateau Beauchene Cotes Du Rhones, a fine blend well suited to this season.

Gaucher's wines were picked up last summer by Old Town Wine and Spirits (1529 Bardstown Road, 451-8591) and The Wine Market (1200 Bardstown Road, 451-7446), and the initial offerings have been among the best -- and best bargains -- I've come across this year.

More Gaucher wines are arriving in the next week or two, and if you're putting together your holiday cellar, take note that Gaucher will conduct a tasting at The Wine Market on Nov. 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

For some folks, the blasted corkscrew is the most stressful part of the holiday season. Some enormous portion of the world's wine corks come from Portugal, which is a long way from Australia. So it's not surprising that many fine Australian wines come in screwtop bottles. If you've shied away from screwtops because you think they're inferior, think again.

In the past year, I've come to love d'Arenberg Hermit Crab; the blend of Viognier and Marsanne delivers a wispy scent of honeysuckle.

D'Arenberg's The Footbolt Shiraz is a deep red, has rich layers of flavor and the superb textures that come from using old-fashioned techniques in the winery.

These wines should be widely available, and will likely set you back $17-$18 a bottle -- but you can leave the corkscrew in the drawer.

Is there a food or cooking gadget you love? E-mail freelance columnist Marty Rosen at cjdining@gmail.com.