When it comes to comfort food after a long day at work, a lot of us think of pasta. There's just something about tomato sauce and the texture of al dente penne that makes me feel better. Plus it's quick, easy and you can put just about anything in it.

I have a lot of those pasta days coming up, so I stopped at The Wine and Cheese Place, 9755 Manchester Road in Rock Hill, to see what I could find.

The 2006 Monte Antico Rosso from Italy's Tuscany region caught my eye. Information attached to the display said the wine had gotten 90 points from Wine Spectator. It cost just $10.99, which sounded like a good deal and it turned out to be one.

This was the perfect pasta wine for me. If you like to pair spaghetti with inexpensive wines from Chianti, you might find that the Monte Antico Rosso tastes better than those in the same price range.

It's a blend of 85 percent Sangiovese, 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 percent Merlot, and it's been aged one year in oak and at least six months in the bottle before being shipped.

The 2006 vintage was supposed to be a great year for Sangiovese in Tuscany, and that really shows in this wine. It has a tantalizing berry aroma and is rich with black cherry and plum flavors with a bit of spice. This is a soft, medium-bodied red that's complex and elegant. It has a refreshing acidity and a nice silky finish.

In addition to pasta and other tomato-sauce-based dishes, this wine would go great with cheese or meat.

While I was in an Italian frame of mind, I thought I'd try something different for a white. I chose the 2007 Cantina Villafranca Frascati Superiore selling for $11.99.

Frascati is one of the classic Roman appellations and white wine from that area is sometimes sold by the pitcher in Roman restaurants. Frascati is a blend and must be about 50 percent Malvasia Bianca di Candia. It can be dry or sweet and still or in a spumante (sparkling) style.

The Villafranca is a still Frascati that's dry but quite fruity. It's a simple, everyday kind of wine with an aroma that smells faintly of almonds. This is a medium-bodied white that's a little rustic and could use a bit more acidity to give it some zip. The finish has a slight metallic taste and leaves a waxy impression in the mouth. This is a food wine that would pair with pasta, fried calamari and veal as well as flavorful cheeses.