Value from France and Spain

This month’s wine selections, found at Martin Wine Cellar, are budget-friendly yet don’t sacrifice quality or nuance. We’ve got a flinty Sauvignon Blanc, an impressive organic red blend worth more than its $12 price tag and a 92-point Spanish Grenache for only $7. These are all perfect wines for changing weather, Mardi Gras festivities and the seasonal bounty that emerges this spring.

Patient Cottat • 2011 • Sauvignon Blanc • France • $11

Dry and acidic, Sauvignon Blanc is the world’s most food-friendly white wine, with a range of characteristics that can include citrus fruit, grassiness or minerality. This one falls in the latter camp. It’s flinty and clean, with aromas of pineapple and spice. The wine is produced from grapes that grow near up-market appellations, including Sancerre, giving it high quality for its down-market price. It’s great with a range of seafood dishes and feta and spinach supper omelets. It’s also safe with vinaigrette salads, especially if they include sumptuous goat cheese.

Famille Perrin • Organic Red Wine • France • $12

From Perrin, the winemaking family that brings you the excellent workhorse La Vielle Ferme, this well-priced French organic red blend presents bright red fruit and spice. It’s velvety and drinkable with great structure. Pair it with anything grilled, from sirloin to thick pork chops to balsamic vegetables.

Old Vines • 2011 • Spain • $7

Minerality along with jamminess is front and center here in this Spanish Grenache produced from grapes grown in arid Aragon. There are assertive notes of plum and cherry along with an undercurrent of pepper, making it a good fit for burgers with smoky Gouda or a self-designed taco and burrito bar.