On July 14, which happens to be Bastille Day, I was stuck at my desk for hours trying to finish a project. As lunchtime slipped by and I was still typing away, I envied the French who were out celebrating across the ocean.

All I could think about was French cuisine and French wine. I wanted a bite of a baguette so badly I could have screamed.

By the time I got off work, I was tired, hungry and grumpy. Plus it was just too hot to cook. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to Vin de Set, the airy French bistro at the top of restored Centennial Mill Building at 2017 Chouteau Avenue.

Among the things I like about going there is the little wine and gift shop on the lower level, which has a selection of affordable wines, many under $15. Although the shop, called Grand Petite Market, is aimed at folks who want to take the wine home, you can carry it upstairs to the restaurant. However, there's a $15 corkage fee, which is pretty standard for better restaurants in the St. Louis area. Depending on the retail price of the wine, it sometimes makes sense to pay the corkage fee since the markup is so high in restaurants.

But here's an even better deal: If you're visiting the restaurant or bar and you really like the wine you're sipping, you can buy a bottle to take home at the retail price. And those prices are quite good.

For example, to start my Bastille Day celebration at Vin de Set, I had a glass of Charles de Fère Cuvée Jean Louis Réserve Blanc de Blancs Brut. This French sparkler, which is made from the white Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Chardonnay grapes, has received praise from wine critics as a good value.

The label describes this Blanc de Blancs Brut as Mousseux, which is French for 'sparkling." This term often refers to inexpensive sparkling wine that was made through a different process than Méthode Champenoise. Méthode Champenoise, in which the wine goes through a second fermentation in the same bottle in which it's sold, is the process used to make true Champagne.

Although this sparkler is neither from Champagne nor made like Champagne, it is very tasty and quite elegant with fine, pinpoint bubbles. While it is a dry wine, it is not bone dry and has lovely apple and melon flavors. This is a delicate sparkler that makes a wonderful aperitif, especially on a hot summer evening.

Vin de Set charges $8.50 by the glass and $32 by the bottle if you drink it in the restaurant. But if you take a bottle home, it's only $12.69. That's a great price for this sparkler. Since it's not a wine that's easily found in this area, it's well worth picking up a bottle the next time you're at the restaurant.

Another good value wine I tried at Vin de Set was the 2007 Patriarche Mâcon-Villages. This is an unoaked French Chardonnay that sells for $32 by the bottle if consumed in the restaurant and $13.05 if you take it home.

Mâcon-Villages is an appellation in the Mâconnais, a grape-growing area in the southern part of France's Burgundy region. White wines, which make up about two-thirds of its production, are made from Chardonnay. Wines from this area are found as either a simple Mâcon, slightly better Mâcon Supérior or even better Mâcon-Villages. Patriarche, which sells this Chardonnay, has been producing wine in Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy, for 230 years. If you dislike Chardonnay because you think it produces wines that are always heavy and oaky, try this white. It might just change your mind. This is a soft, clean and refreshing wine. It's lively and dry with fresh green apple and citrus flavors and is a good introduction to the top white Burgundies.

It's also a versatile medium-bodied wine that's not too overpowering for trout, but has enough character to stand up to Vin de Set's meaty sea bass.