Sexiest food-and-wine pairing: caviar and Dom Perignon? Think again

In food, as in love, the best matchups often happen when you least expect them. At San Francisco's Piperade, we fell hard for a bowl of the restaurant's sweet, eponymous pepper-and-pancetta Basque stew paired with a glass of Spanish Tempranillo, a wine full of dark berries, herbs, and earth. (The combo prompted the first kiss of a relationship--right on the spot.)

If you can't get to Piperade ($$$; closed Sun; 1015 Battery St., San Francisco; 415/391-2555), visit sunset.com/piperade for our version of its signature stew, and serve with one of the Western Tempranillos below.

Gundlach Bundschu Rhinefarm Vineyard Tempranillo 2004 (Sonoma Valley; $32). Well balanced and beautifully textured, from a vineyard that's been in the family for 150 years.

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Matchbook Tempranillo 2004 (Dunnigan Hills; $15). Lively, earthy dark berries, sweet vanilla, and supple textures.

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Spencer Roloson Madder Lake Vineyard Tempranillo 2004 (Clear Lake; $32). Plush ripe plums and berries layered over mocha and spice, with an interesting herbal edge.

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*TO JOIN THE SUNSET WINE CLUB, GO TO sunset.com/wineclub