Food and wine pairings in autumn are challenging because the possibilities are endless, above all with reds. There are two paths you can take: by country, or by grape varieties. I prefer the latter, for all you need to do is acquaint yourself with a half dozen or so major grapes and discuss these with your wine merchant.

For example, if you find that the lush and peppery syrah is to your liking, chances are that a good wine shop has bottles from around the world. Each country has a signature style, so it's easy to home in on one or more to your liking. Searching by country, on the other hand, is fine if you are a connoisseur and know exactly what you are looking for, but even then your options are relatively narrow.

Searching by grapes is fairly easy with domestic wines because in most cases thegrape name is displayed on the label. This is also common with bottles from New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Australia. Here are some autumnal red wine grapes to search for in order of concentration: merlot, pinot noir, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel.

When it comes to whites, few have the stamina to step into the ring with fall fare like casseroles, root vegetables, buttery sauces, stews, and highly seasoned pastas. One exception is chardonnay, especially renditions that have been aged in oak. The round and lush character of the chardonnay grape can be beautifully enhanced by barrel-aging, which imparts a subtle vanilla essence.

For more than a decade, many California winemakers have taken a pummeling from the press for their heavily oaked chardonnays, some of which had all the fruit flavor of a baseball bat. But you can hardly blame the winemakers back then, for the public clamored for them. In recent years, however, tastes have evolved toward lighter, more balanced chardonnays that can be ideal for lusty cooking.

Four widely available wineries you can count on are Sonoma-Cutrer, Kendall-Jackson, Chalk Hill and Beringer. Other fine examples can be found from Spain, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.

Recently I experimented with two very different whites to see how they stacked up to a simple autumn main course: curried lentil soup with ham. There is no cream in it, so a big wine, red or white, is not necessary. There is a little salt from the ham and spiciness (but not heat) from the curry. I reasoned that light-bodied, high-acid whites, like sauvignon blanc and pinot blanc, would complement the curry; instead, they sank to the bottom of the pool, totally overwhelmed. What is more, both whites reacted to the salt in a strange way, leaving a metallic aftertaste.

Instead I pulled out three superior bottles of lightly oaked chardonnays, and they were right on, big enough to take on the spice and salt. The vanilla couldn't have been a better addition: D'Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay, from Australia; Raimat Chardonnay, from Spain; and a Francis Coppola Diamond California Chardonnay.

I cook with wine year round, more so now. One long-held rule of thumb for food and wine pairings - often ignored these days - prescribed "white wine with fish, red with meat." In truth, the manner in which an ingredient is prepared can be more important than the ingredient itself. This was certainly the case in the accompanying recipe for pompano fillets baked in fish stock and Beaujolais. One reason this is so good is that during cooking the wine and stock permeate the flesh, leaving it faintly sweet but in no way winey.

The obvious choice here is Beaujolais. Choose a Beaujolais Villages, a step up from basic Beaujolais, or what are called "Cru" Beaujolais, the most concentrated and refined (in the $15 price range). Do not use Beaujolais nouveau, which is too raw and grapey. For this recipe I used a Duboeuf de Rosiers Beaujolais, which is available in the Philadelphia area. Or try pinot noir, the gloriously supple grape that reaches its apotheosis in the great wines of Burgundy. The only problem is that good stuff is a wallet- buster, even more so considering the unfavorable exchange rate.

Instead I looked to the Pacific Northwest, and King Estates in Oregon, which is renowned for its seductive pinot noirs. In addition I wanted to try something from Italy. Dolcetto d'Alba, made from the dolcetto grape in the Piedmont region, is sometimes called the Beaujolais of Italy for its youthful and bright fruit flavors. In recent years, dolcettos have been getting bigger and more tannic - I don't know why - but one that fit the bill here is called Mauro Sebaste Santa Rosalia Dolcetto d'Alba.

For the third recipe I wanted to cook with beef, but not a simple roast or pan-cooked steak. To mix up the wine pairing I cooked a hanger steak Cajun style. (You can make this with flank steak, but it will not be as moist or tender.) Clearly, when it comes to cooking highly spiced red meat, the bigger the wine the better - in this case, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah. But do not select one that is young and tannic. Tannin makes hot food taste hotter, a brutal lesson I learned in a Szechuan restaurant. Ask your wine merchant for a juicy, full-bodied, low-tannin red. If you prefer white wine, try pungent and acidic gewurtztraminers, or dry (or semi-dry) German rieslings.

On a heat scale of 1 to 10, this Cajun-inspired recipe is only about 7. The cumin, cayenne and chili present not only a modicum of heat but also a pleasing layering of flavors.

After sampling about 10 reds I kept coming back to three.

The oddly named South African shiraz from Magpie Estate, a gutsy wine with enough plummy fruit to tame the flames; from California, you can't go wrong with Ridge, which is famous for its voluptuous zinfandels; finally there is the juicy and tannic Barolo from Mauro Sebaste Brunate.

Drink This With That

These wines are available at Pennsylvania Wine and Spirits Stores; * designates bottles available at Premium Collection Stores.

With Curried Lentil and Ham Soup

2006 D'Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay, from Australia, $13.49.