Pairing: Sweet potatoes with syrah

Our Wine of the Week, McManis Family Vineyards 2013 California Syrah ($10), is a sassy quaffer with a lot of bang for the 10 bucks you'll pony up for it. If you love big reds, this is a wine you can enjoy frequently without blowing your budget.

Fruit flavors include a suggestion of Bing cherries, pomegranates, cranberries and vine-ripened blackberries. There's a suggestion of dry, briar-y leaves, fragrant with the scents of a creek bed, along with hints of both black and white pepper and dry toast. The lingering finish reverberates with bright notes of vanilla, caramel and cafe au lait.

In the glass, the wine is closer to purple than it is to scarlet, and it has the vibrant hues of youth. On the palate, there is a slightly tangy quality, a flourish of acidity that keeps the wine refreshing and underscores its tender age.

At the table, you want foods with robust flavors and, if you like, an edge of fragrant spice. Everything from teriyaki chicken wings to grilled tri-tip will welcome this wine alongside. Certain shell beans, especially black beans, work well with the wine, and slow-cooked stews with concentrated flavors are good companions, too. End-of-season tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, eggplant, winter squash, corn (including polenta) and roasted sweet peppers stuffed, perhaps, with a medium-bold cheese all work well.

Root vegetables are outstanding companions, too, especially beets, carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes. The oven-roasted parsnips in a mildly sweet, citrus-y condiment served recently at Vignette restaurant in Sebastopol would be fabulous with this wine, as would a simple medley of roasted vegetables, with or without grilled meat or poultry alongside.

Come November, the wine warrants a place on the Thanksgiving table, where it will enhance turkey thigh meat, chestnut stuffing and steamed winter squash.

Sweet potatoes are another great match. From simple baked sweet potatoes with butter and black pepper to sweet potato soufflé, this syrah will flatter and be flattered by a vegetable most of us take for granted. Today's recipe combines local hard cider with fragrant black pepper for a scrumptious side dish suitable for almost everyone, no matter their dietary preference. Vegans can simply omit the final step of adding butter.

Sweet Potatoes with Apple Cider and Black Pepper

Serves 4 to 6

2½ to 3 pounds (about 2 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick

— Kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 1-inch cinnamon stick

1 cup hard apple cider of choice

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

— Black pepper in a mill

Put the sweet potatoes in a wide saucepan, add water to barely cover, and season with salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low, and simmer, covered, until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain and discard the water, return the potatoes to the heat and add the black pepper, cinnamon stick, apple cider and vinegar. Agitate the pan once or twice to distribute the pepper, and simmer gently over low heat until the liquid is reduced to a glaze.

Transfer to a serving bowl, use tongs to remove and discard the cinnamon stick, cover, and return the pan to the heat. Add the butter, swirl until it is just melted and pour over the sweet potatoes.

Season with salt and several generous turns of black pepper and serve immediately.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 17 books to date, including 'Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.' You'll find her blog, 'Eat This Now,' at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.