L.A. WINELINE GREENS DON'T HAVE TO COMPETE WITH REDS, WHITES.

Byline: LARRY LIPSON

Pairing wine with salad isn't easy. Especially when there's a vinaigrette dressing involved.

Vinegar and wine can clash quite strongly, believe me.

So here comes a guy named Jordan Mackay, a contributing writer to Wine & Spirits magazine, who admits it's a challenge, but who says, ``This is a challenge that is easy to overcome.''

He tells us that high-acid sparklers, dry roses and whites with little or no oak work well with many vinaigrettes.

He suggests sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, dry riesling or an albarino from Spain.

And through the courtesy of the Wine Market Council, he gives us some tips on how to make salads more wine friendly.

Like tossing your salad with meat, seafood or poultry. It supposedly helps buffer the vinaigrette's acidity.

Like using milder rice vinegar or sweeter balsamic vinegar for your dressing.

Or even discarding vinegar partly or altogether by substituting a citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit) and/or wine in the dressing.

And by using more oil and/or a fruity olive oil (and by adding something salty (olives, capers, anchovies) and/or chopped nuts.

So how about some specifics?

vinho verde.

With a Cobb, we're told to try a red, like a lighter pinot noir or Beaujolais. If white is preferred, he says we should go for a dry riesling.

With a Caprese salad, both pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc are recommended.

And with crab Louis, he advises a crisp French chablis or a lighter unoaked chardonnay.

Greek salads call for not any old sauvignon blanc but one of those lively New Zealand sauvignon blancs. And Asian chicken salads pair comfortably with an off-dry (slightly sweet) riesling.

So when do we get to open one of those big, rich, creamy California chards?

Here's Mackay's prescription: A classic California chardonnay, as a rule a difficult wine to pair with food, is pointed to as the right companion to mayo-loaded, rich and creamy pasta salads.

Now we know.

VINEYARD PASSPORT: Some 40 California wineries in the Santa Cruz mountains will again offer a summer passport ($30) for July 15 which provides multiple winery visits and tastings and discounts up to 30 percent at local restaurants.

Many of the participating wineries are not normally open to the public.

Information: [phone] or www.scmwa.com.

NEW RELEASES: The Russian River Valley winery Crinella has released its 2004 sauvignon blanc ($22), a blend of grapes from Clone 01 from Chateau d'Yquem and the aromatic sauvignon musque. Information [phone] or www.crinellawinery.com. ... A 2005 dry rose called Rosato di Sangiovese ($16) from Valley of the Moon in Sonoma Valley is now on the shelves. Information: [phone]. ... From Napa Valley's Chimney Rock comes a Bordeaux-style white, 2004 Elevage Blanc ($36), only 300 cases produced, made with sauvignon blanc and sauvignon gris grapes. Information: [phone]. ... The new 2005 chardonnay ($10) from McManis Family Vineyards has a River Junction appellation (just south of Lodi). Information: [phone] or www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com. ... There's a bargain-price pinot grigio out from Barefoot Cellars in Modesto tagged at only $5.99. The 1.5-liter size goes for $10.99. Information: [phone] or www.barefootwine.com. ... Adding to the burgeoning flow of domestic pinot grigio is the latest, a 2005 ($9.99) with a colorful 3 Blind Moose label from Centerra Wine Co. of Constellation Wines U.S. Information: www.cwine.com. ... Also from Constellation come some interesting Hardys Aussie wines, a nonvintage sparkling shiraz ($20), a sweet dessert bottling of botrytis semillon ($15) and a nonvintage tawny port titled Whiskers Blake ($13). Information: www.hardywines.com. ... Champagne Salon has released its Le Mesnil 1996 vintage (only 37 vintages have been produced in the past century). And it's already being compared to Salon's spectacular 1928. Dig deep into your pockets for this ultra-premium bubbly. It carries a $300 ticket. Only 600 cases came to this country. Information: www.wilsondaniels.com. ... On the other end of the cost spectrum, four $4.99 2005 white wines from Southeastern Australia's Banrock Station (chardonnay, riesling, semillon-chardonnay, white shiraz) are now available. Information: www.banrockstation.com.

LAST SIP: Actress Lorraine Bracco (``The Sopranos'') now has her name on a line of Italian wines. The Bracco label will grace eight different bottlings priced from $12.99 to $64.99. Currently, they're only available on the East Coast. Information: www.braccowines.com.

The Wineline column appears alternate Tuesdays.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com