Martella is Michael Martella, longtime winemaker at Thomas Fogarty who bottles some choice varietals under his own name. This is one of them and it belongs on your dining table.

Syrah loves lamb, duck, olives, almost any cheese - and goes nicely with a long sunset. In the Martella Syrah found meaty, smoky tones initially, with plenty of grip and a band of brambles sitting firmly in the center - brambles that expanded horizontally, on and on into a leisurely finish. Around $20 and worth its weight in American oak.

Baker is currently running a variety of sculptural crudo appetizers involving artworks of oysters with baby fennel mignonette, uni interspersed with tart minced grapefruit (inspired!), and local halibut tartare in pools of chopped avocado, chili smoked tomato and Meyer lemon.

After dinner, I feasted on a spectacular saffron Pavlova meringue, drizzled with rose custard, sweet fresh strawberries and toasted pistachios. Gabriella pastry chef Jessica Yarr never fails to astound me.

We decided to do the all-out tourist thing, so we stayed in the very conveniently-located midtown Hilton. Our room on the 34th floor offered a sprawling view of skyscrapers, theaters and verdant Central Park. A block away was the Museum of Modern Art, where we feasted on Monet, Rauschenberg and Pollock and then went upstairs to The Terrace cafe for lunch. Btw, the dominant language in NY these days is French! (Good euro, bad dollar.)

I never miss the chance to dine on beautiful, affordable food at this terrific cafe. Fresh organic tomato and basil soup, with Israeli couscous and lemon zest pleased my mom, while I liked a cool seafood salad of scallops, calamari, one giant shrimp, tomatoes, and a topknot of mâche, everything bathed in a very tart passionfruit vinaigrette. Along with La Colombe espressos, we split a decadent chocolate custard topped with crusty glazed chocolate bits.

The elegant WPA architecture of the Plaza’s suite of buildings and courtyards holds its own in a sea of contemporary super-skyscrapers. A few blocks away, the mighty Michael Graves’ postmodern landmark - once the Hancock building, now headquarters for SONY’s digital lab-theater - knocked us out. A true secular cathedral, this building was playfully “invaded” by a 40-foot floating sculpture of Spiderman.

Our pastry quest continued up at the lovely Cafe Sabarsky, inside the beautiful little Park Avenue mansion that Estée Lauder’s son turned into the Neue Galerie, home to the $138 million Klimt painting. Definitive apple strudel, mit Schlag of course, and a pot of black tea fueled us for the afternoon, and another cultural pit-stop at The Met.

The visually delightful, all-organic catering group founded by Heidi Schlecht and Amy Linstrom (who also operate the inviting River Cafe) continues to fuel some of our best parties.

Platters lavish with edible flowers, opulent proteas, and other eye-candy adorned the tables and decks up at the Vine Hill winery release party last weekend. Endive leaves were stuffed with roasted salmon, dill, and lemon zest aioli. Buffalo mozzarella and sage were wrapped in prosciutto and then grilled - that’s the sort of one step further thinking that characterizes Feel Good Foods’ catering style. Yet completely fresh and clear, nothing tricky or mysterious. The ripe cheeses and myriad olives shared plates with toasted almonds, spreads, dips, relishes and crusty breads. Guests simply added a glass of Cumbre or Gatos Locos wines, and enjoyed the live music out on the deck.

Speaking of wine - yes, it’s true. River Cafe now offers wines by the glass to go with its earthy, artisanal menu. Silver Mountain pinot noir, Alfaro rosé and Chance Creek chardonnay. Drink local!

After a half hour or so, the wine resolves into a midnight edition of moist earth, plum and tamarind. In other words, you will have sampled a deep slice of the region translated through the pinot noir grape. Contact Wines of Vine Hill for details about how you can order bottle for yourself - if there are any left. And kudos to Cumbre winemaker Salvador Godinez.

Ben, Ben, Ben - when you’re hot, you’re……

Here’s one that rewards the splurge — and soars to great heights paired with aged sheep cheese.

The lovely Pernand-Vergelesses 2003 from Domaine Rollin Pere et Fils, is a subtle powerhouse of a Burgundy grand vin, fully equipped with notes of tobacco, leather and a heart of ripe plums. Yet at 13% alcohol and intricate acidity, it never tires the palate. Not one bit. Poetry down to the last sip, it opens and just gets better by the hour. The next day (should you be able to restrain yourself and save some) it is yet another ravishing creature, with a rounder tone and yet sturdy enough for some choice bit of oil-rich seafood or a roast pork loin.

Grab $30 — remember, you’re celebrating one more year of getting your taxes done on time — and head for Soif. There might just be a bottle left.

Whatever one’s attitude toward the esoteric agricultural teachings of Rudolph Steiner’s biodynamic philosophy, several things are obvious. 1) Grapes grown according to these hyper-organic standards, in which the soil is nurtured to maximum health, prosper through meticulous husbandry. And 2) the proof of whether biodynamic techniques are worth their calendula and nettles, is in the drinking. And that’s where this very young, 12.5% alc. wine excels.

Within minutes of twisting off the yellow screw-top, this wine was practically bouncing into the glass. A shimmering hint of effervescence was followed by a band of salinity, honey and then a center of lead crystal began to open. The finish - at first - was perfumed with wild gardenia. After a half hour, a top-note of lime entered this very pretty, crisp white wine. In other words, this wine offers a fabulous mystery tour for the palate, balancing neatly between mineral and floral.

Lively and complex, this intricate wine bodes well and beautifully for the Demeter-certified, biodynamically-farmed grapes of Ca’ del Solo vineyard down in Monterey County. Such a wine would be perfect with curries or jambalaya. Ready to drink now! $14.99. - Bonny Doon Vineyard.

Lake Champlain Organic Chocolate! Packaged in a convenient purse-sized (!) 1.25 oz bar, this truly TDF chocolate comes in some brilliant forms. Those who like it dark will scream over the 55% cocoa Dark Spicy Aztec. It tastes something like what Moctezuma might have consumed on his way to the harem - the rich, deep chocolate is spiked with vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds and enough cayenne pepper to make your palate pay attention. The finish on this one is very exciting.

Now for the milk chocolate, sea salt and almonds version. Those of you who will recall my ecstatic description of A16’s chocolate budino with sea salt and olive oil, should heed this shout out about the Lake Champlain chocolate bar. Even though it contains only 38% cocoa, which ramps down the intensity of its chocolatey-ness, it recovers nicely thanks to the presence of sea salt. The salt powers the chocolate flavor further, faster and, I’ll say it, deeper. Almonds are a value-added ingredient which brings even more to this mouth party.

Dig it - the price is a mere $1.79 per bar, which is scored into eight convenient two-bite-sized rectangles.

At Shoppers, and probably elsewhere. Get it. Eat it. Get some more.

2004 Miller Hill Vineyard. At 13.5% alcohol, this wine has real finesse and cries out to be joined by chicken, fish or perhaps a lightly-seasoned duck dish. We tasted an initial round of ash and tobacco, something rich, meaty and spicy in the middle - Bolognese? blood? - and a finish of pomegranate, licorice and wood putty.

As the wine opened it settled into both rounder and deeper territory, and added a layer of metal (zinc? steel?) cherry and orange. It partnered beautifully with roast turkey and a Basque sheep cheese for dessert.

2005 Muns Vineyard. Lovely garnet color, classic licorice front and strawberry/plum back. After half an hour, a distinct bouquet of tangelo appeared, haunting each sip. Very nice, especially with food.

So far the Tondré still rules. One oenophile who ran out for a bottle based upon my posting last week, emailed me with her response: “W.O.W. - wow!” But I’ve got a few more vintages to try. Stay tuned!