When asked to provide the wine for a traditional Thanksgiving feast, our approach has been to bring one of everything.

Not literally, of course, but because the meal is such a wide-ranging mix of colors, flavors, textures and weights, we feel the more diversity in wine you add to the spread, the more likely everyone will find something to enjoy.

So almost always there will be a sparkling wine, a gewurztraminer, a chardonnay, a pinot noir and most definitely a zinfandel gathered round the turkey.

But if I were forced to limit the choice to just one wine, it would be zinfandel. No varietal is more versatile at the table, as capable of swinging with cranberries as it is with the white meat of roasted turkey. It's the most American wine, thus most fitting for this most American holiday.

And for our family, no wine comes with more sentimental baggage, given that it was the first varietal to intrigue us while we were living in the Sierra foothills, where zinfandel is the most extensively cultivated wine grape.

The choice of what zinfandel to open this year isn't difficult, for the market is jammed with many outstanding examples from the 1999 and 2000 harvests. During the past year, I've tasted blind more than 400 zinfandels in wine competitions. We panelists gave too many gold medals to list them all, but here are some of my favorites, based largely on value, availability and stylistic diversity:

* Pezzi-King Vineyards 2000 Dry Creek Valley Maple Vineyard Zinfandel ($30): At the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, our panel, which judged 75 zinfandels priced $25 and above, nominated this wine for sweepstakes. It didn't win, though it got my vote through each round of balloting. It's a classic Dry Creek Valley zinfandel, with juicy and intense blackberry fruit, and frisky spice on a lean but solid build.

* Sapphire Hills Vineyards 2000 Russian River Valley Winberrie Vineyard Zinfandel ($30): One revelation from the wine-judging circuit this year was how well zinfandels from the Russian River Valley are showing. The area has been known principally for chardonnay and pinot noir, but its fresh and spirited zinfandels are starting to encroach on the high standing of nearby Dry Creek Valley for producing notable zinfandel. The Sapphire Hills was made in a light, racy, fun style, all fresh berry fruit and sharp acidity. Another gold-medal wine from Sonoma's Harvest Fair.

* Robert Mondavi Coastal 2000 Central Coast Zinfandel ($11): Not a heavyweight zinfandel, but still spunky with the varietal's typical fresh suggestions of blackberries and raspberries. Its suppleness and quiet tannins make it easily drinkable. One of only two zinfandels given a chairman's best of class award at the Long Beach Grand Cru.

* Ironstone 2000 California Zinfandel ($10): This was the other zinfandel to win a chairman's best of class award at the Long Beach Grand Cru. It's an interpretation with a lot of bright berry fruit but also more herbalness and more spice than usually found in the varietal. An outstanding buy, it also won a gold medal at the El Dorado County Fair.

* Madrona Vineyards 2000 El Dorado Zinfandel ($14): A zinfandel with generous style, resonating with a blackberry fruitiness not at all overshadowed by the sweetness and softness of its oak. A gold-medal winner from the California State Fair.

* Carol Shelton Wines 2000 Wild Thing Old Vines Mendocino County Cox Vineyard Zinfandel ($28): The name is a mouthful and so is the wine. Carol Shelton makes unapologetic zinfandels that announce their ripeness, richness and depth with a confidence bordering on arrogance, but they're also finely polished, classy and long. Another gold-medal winner from the State Fair, it also won gold at the El Dorado County Fair.

* Michael David Vineyard 2000 Lodi Maley Vineyard Zinfandel ($24): This exceptionally aromatic, complex and lusty zinfandel cleaned up on the judging circuit this summer, winning gold medals at the State Fair and the Los Angeles County Fair.

* Rosenblum Cellars 2000 San Francisco Bay Carla's Vineyard Zinfandel ($29): Squeezed from century-old vines in Contra Costa County, this is one of the nobler zinfandels in California. It's immense, layered with smoke, vanilla, caramel, charred wood and enough sweet fruit to maybe even go well with the pumpkin pie, with or without whipped cream. A gold-medal winner at the State Fair.

* Granite Springs Winery 2000 Fair Play Estate Zinfandel ($25): Another big but mannerly zinfandel, the Granite Springs is jammy with raspberry and blackberry fruit, and sweet with the vanillin of the American oak barrels in which it was aged. Even people who say they don't like zinfandel will find this interpretation fun and agreeable. Best of Show at the El Dorado County Fair.

About the Writer: The Bee's Mike Dunne can be reached at (916) 321-1143 or mdunne@sacbee.com.