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The old rap against Chianti was that it was thin, harsh and simple. This was several decades ago, when it was classically paired with accordion music and oversauced, overboiled spaghetti served by restaurants frequented by people using napkins as bibs, Rat Pack-style.

Since then, Chianti has gone through a much-hailed revolution. Collectors now buy up the best labels, which have mellifluous names like Isole e Olena, Fonterutoli, Fattoria di Felsina and Castello dei Rampolla. Top wines from these estates, usually labelled "Chianti riserva," can age nicely for up to 15 years.

But now there's another rap against Chianti. People often complain it's too expensive.

Typically much more concentrated and lower in acidity, Chianti - based on the sangiovese grape - exists in a whole new category. The best are $30 and more. Even widely available fine brands, such as Barone Ricasoli Brolio and Frescobaldi Nipozzano, are now more than $20.

The spaghetti red has come a long way - not just in quality, but in price.

It's a shame more people can't enjoy Chianti more often, because it's such a versatile red for food, able to tackle the spectrum from tomato-sauce pasta to T-bone steak. And it's a crowd-pleasing choice for a dinner party, able to score points with neophytes as well as wine nerds. Usually medium-bodied, Chianti tends to taste of cherry, violet, mushroom and leather and has a sublime texture that tends to be round and soft but not at all wimpy, almost always built on a firm acid backbone.

It's become exceedingly hard to find a good, modern Chianti for less than $15. That's why I think many people will be hugely impressed with Gabbiano Chianti 2006 ($13.95 in Ontario, product No. 78006). With a striking label featuring a red figure of a knight on horseback against a white background, it was recently rolled out to most provinces, including British Columbia ($14.87), Alberta (about $13), Quebec ($14.75) and Nova Scotia (about $15, private wine stores only thus far). It may be available later this year in Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

This affordable wine hints at all those delicious Chianti flavours. It's medium-bodied, cherry-like, with notes of leather, mushroom and a hint of cigar box, with just the right amount of food-friendly acidity.

It's the entry-level wine of a 900-year-old estate bought by the big Australian company Foster's. The Italian export manager told me earlier this year that locals in surrounding hillsides at first were nervous about the spectre of an Aussie company in their midst. Would there be loud pool parties at the castle and beer cans everywhere? In truth, not much has changed, and the style of winemaker Giancarlo Roman is very Tuscan. Authentic Chianti at Lindemans prices. And a pretty good partner for shrimp on the barbie, I must say.

Ontarians with a bit more loose change can get a taste of a more expensive and very good Chianti launched this week through Vintages stores. Fattoria La Ripa Chianti Classico Riserva 2003 ($26.95, No. 984401) took home a best-of-class award at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition, which surprises me. This is not the kind of wine that typically stands out in a tasting competition because it's rather subtle. Very dry, with restrained notes of cherry and licorice, it's quite harmonious.

One standout buy from the current Vintages release is Guardian Peak SMG 2005 from South Africa ($22.95, No. 083972). It might also make a nice gift for the golfer in the family. The great duffer Ernie Els is a partner in Guardian Peak with his friend, Jean Engelbrecht. This full-bodied red is a Rhone-style blend of 63-per-cent syrah, 29-per-cent mourvedre and 8-per-cent grenache, showing a dense, smooth core of sweet, dary-berry fruit embellished by toasty, smoky oak.

Another very good red now available in Vintages is Onix Fuiso 2006 from Spain ($27.95, No. 074872). Based on garnacha (better known as grenache) from the fashionable Priorat region, it's modern and full-bodied, packed with dark-skinned fruit, leather, espresso, spice and minerals. Still quite tight and tough because of the considerable, gritty, fine-grained tannins, it should open up within three to five years.

Though not what I'd call a crowd pleaser, Leopold Gruner Veltliner Zechkumpan 2007 ($14.95, No. 085266), a white from Austria, is a classic and impressive statement of Austria's signature grape. Light, fresh and exceedingly dry, this wine tastes of lemonade and Gyprock - the plasterboard used in home renovations. More flatteringly, a connoisseur might call it "wet rock." Either way, it would be a terrific thing to try with sushi or any kind of lightly prepared fish.

Another good white in Vintages is a French sauvignon blanc new to the Ontario market, Roger et Didier Raimbault Sancerre 2006 ($26.95, No. 082255). Light but very fleshy for a Sancerre, it shows grapefruit and lemon on a silky frame, with an herbal backnote. A great wine for a cheese plate.

Ontario residents curious about the much-hyped new wine region in the eastern part of the province, Prince Edward County, might want to check out Huff Estates South Bay Chardonnay 2006 ($29.95, No. 088955). It's not cheap for a wine from an emerging region, to be sure, but you can taste the concentration from well-pruned vines here. It's full-bodied, with sweet, almost candied fruit and honey flavours on a silky frame and a pronounced flavour of toasty oak.

Readers in the West might want to look for the very good Inniskillin Okanagan Merlot Reserve 2005 ($17.99 in B.C., No. 76877), a full-bodied red with rich raspberry and plum-like fruit, vanilla and spice flavours.

There may be no better place in Canada to taste a more lavish assortment of aged wines in one night than the annual Gala Tasting linked to the Vintages Finest & Rarest Wines Auction conducted by the LCBO and Ritchies Auctioneers. This year's event, 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, features 63 rarities, including the famed Château Margaux 1990 (awarded a perfect, 100-point score by U.S. critic Robert Parker), a slew of top Rhone wines from J.L. Chave, Guigal and Jaboulet and a glorious 1996 Barbaresco Asili Riserva from Bruno Giacosa. Tickets for the tasting are $275. Location: The Carlu, 2472 Yonge St., Toronto.

Meanwhile, the auction - by far the richest and most elaborate in the country - runs over three days in October (24th, 25th and 26th) and two in December (6th and 7th). This year's event for the first time features an opening-night dinner at Centro restaurant in Toronto ($325) paired with wines including 1989 Château Mouton-Rothschild and 1977 Graham's Vintage Port. For more details on the auction and an electronic copy of the catalogues, visit Vintages.com/events/auctionevent.html.Pick of the week

Gabbiano Chianti 2006 ($13.95 in Ontario, product No. 78006) is the entry level wine of 900-year-old estate. It has just the right amount of food-friendly acidity and hints at all those delicious Chianti flavours