L.A. WINELINE HE'LL STOCK YOUR CELLAR.

Byline: - Larry Lipson

So what wine will you serve with your chicken or lamb curry?

If you know a guy named Chris Meeske, the answer's easy.

Meeske, the former sommelier for Joachim Splichal's Patina, took over a retail store, Mission Wines at 1114 Mission St., South Pasadena, in October 2003.

And, in keeping with his policy of, in his own words, ``providing unique, esoteric and eclectic wines,'' Meeske might point with pride to a wine from India, either the Sula 2003 chenin blanc ($10.99) or the Sula 2003 sauvignon blanc ($11.99) from Nashik, about 120 miles north of Bombay.

``I don't want to have wines that are readily available elsewhere,'' insists Meeske, who through his contacts when buying wines for the Patina Group, is able to get allocated small boutique wines other wine merchants cannot.

``You'll rarely find mainstream brand names on my shelves,'' he declares, noting that if a customer wants a hard-to-find cult wine like Screaming Eagle, Mission Wines would not only obtain it but would sell it at a reasonable price.

Those in the know realize that a bottle of Screaming Eagle can easily cost $1,000. Meeske said he would charge around $750.

As for other hot and rare wines, he'll sell Araujo or Dal Valle 2001s somewhere between $100 and $200 per bottle, Peter Michael 2002 chardonnay for around $70, and the allocated Marquis Philips Australian wines for $17.99 per bottle.

Like most conscientious wine merchants, he'll not hesitate to put in an order for a wine requested by a customer if it's not on hand as part of his well-chosen, 1,000-label inventory.

Meeske emphasizes the service aspect of his new retail career.

His sommelier experience with food and wine pairing at Patina locally - and before that Charlie Trotter's in Chicago and the Highlands Inn in Carmel - gives him, he says, invaluable aid in making recommendations to his wine shop customers.

Unabashedly he says, ``I'm the perfect person to stock new or depleted wine cellars.''

And his reputation has already gained him individual wine orders as high as $5,000.

But he's down to earth enough to realize that the current Las Rocas grenache from Spain ($9.99) or the ``old vines'' version ($14.99) from the same winery are excellent red wines for novice and collector alike.

Presently in the process of rearranging and refitting his store's interior with new white oak, mission-style wine bins, Meeske continues with Friday night (5 to 7 p.m., $20) and Saturday (1 to 4:30 p.m., $10) wine tastings at his rear tasting bar, which will soon be moved to the front.

Ask Meeske nicely and he may even allow you to actually taste one of those rare Indian wines.

TWICE THE BARGAIN: For my bargain of the week, it's a tie.

Two under-$10 gems were discovered at Mission Wines (address above) in South Pasadena, a French white from the Armagnac region and a Spanish red whose name signifies the date of an early 18th-century battle won by Borbonic Spaniards over the Austrians.

The white is a clean, crisp, dry, aromatic refresher, the 2003 Domaine de Pellehaut Cotes de Gascogne Blanc. Called the ``harmonie blanc,'' its indigenous-to-the-area grapes - colombard, ugni blanc and gros manseng - are commonly used to make prestigious Armagnac brandy. But they also make a tasty white wine priced at only $7.99.

The red goes by the name 1707, the year the battle of April 25 was won. The vintage is 2002, and this round, soft wine with dark fruit components from a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah is from Almansa, Spain, and a great deal at $9.99 per bottle.

Information: [phone].

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com