THE WINE LIST

Pasta and red wine are so symbiotically linked in Italy that one might wonder which came first. At L’Opera Ristorante, it matters not: Both are in abundance and both are very good.

I found that you could spend as little as $14 (for a Bardolino) on the Italian reds or as much as $200 (for 1969 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva). For lighter dishes, try 1988 Chianti Cetamura from Badia a Coltibuono, $17. A bit heavier is Coltibuono’s splendid 1986 Chianti Classico Riserva, $30, and heavier still is 1986 Farina Amarone, $31.

The list of Italian reds also has all the requisite upscale names--Solaia, Sassicaia, Tignanello, Ornellaia--and all are priced a tad high. (The 1986 Solaia, with a retail price of $65, is $115 here.) The best red-wine value is Californian, the 1989 Ridge Zinfandel “York Creek,� $19.50--and it may actually go better with the pasta than any of the Italian wines offered.

Among the Italian whites, try the 1990 Ceretto Arneis, $33, a spicy wine that goes with a wide range of lighter fare. For splurging, the 1988 Gaja Chardonnay, $85, is magnificent.

If you’d rather stick to a California wine, there are loads of choices, all reasonably priced. The 1990 Lakespring Sauvignon Blanc, $17, offers the best value. In Chardonnay, you could have 1990 Silverado, $25.50, or 1990 Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River, $24.50.