Dungeness crab is a signature taste of Wine Country winter, when the meat is sweeter and more robust

A warming fire crackles happily in the corner, pushing back the dark cold of a winter?s evening. You?ve lit the candles, warmed the fresh sourdough bread and chilled the apple-tinged Chardonnay.

There?s a bowl of lemon slices at the ready, and the butter on the stove is slowly melting. Now, spread newspapers all over the surface of the dining room table and get ready for the classic taste of a Wine Country winter ? cracked Dungeness crab.

You?ve seen Dungeness crab at other times of the year ? in May or July or September. And what about all those crab cakes on menus year round? Here on the West Coast (its range stretches from Alaska south to Mexico), this delicacy is indeed available throughout the year. But in Bodega Bay, the season opens in mid-November and becomes a winter joy.

Although it is legal to trap crab until mid-June, the finest Dungeness and the most abundant catch come early in the season, during the first few weeks, when the meat is sweeter, more succulent and more robust. By February, the catch off Bodega wanes and crab from Oregon and Washington begins to replace it. By April, local crab is a delicious memory and restaurants that are genuinely committed to regional products take cracked crab ? the purist?s preference ? off their menus.

When the season is in full swing, there are a few restaurants that do our signature shellfish proud. Tony?s Seafood in Marshall, the rustic, family-owned eatery on the southernmost edge of Wine Country since 1948, has a reputation for the sweetest cracked crab anywhere. (Is it because they remove the innards before cooking?)

In Healdsburg, Willi?s Seafood & Raw Bar serves Dungeness straight up, on ice, with spicy aioli, cocktail sauce and lemon. As good as it is, there are aficionados who consider it all but a crime to serve crab with anything other than melted butter.

Wherever you indulge, don?t forget that eating crab neat is a messy affair. If that doesn?t suit you, you?ll find plenty of Dungeness crab this time of year already removed from the shell ? in crab-mango-avocado stacks, neat little crab cakes and crab gratin, bisque, chowder and even ravioli ? that lends itself to a dinner fork or spoon.

As delicious as these dishes may be, none offers the undiluted, lusty joy of just-cooked crab pulled from its shell by your own fingers.

So stoke the fire, pour yourself another glass of Chardonnay and dig in.