Okay, the moment has arrived.

You're about to go on vacation and you've done the one thousand and one more necessary things to get ready. Going on vacation is a lot of work, but being on vacation shouldn't be and that's why you need my Vacation Sampler Packs: Rouge and Blanc et Rosé.

I don't know about you, but when I think of the word "summer vacation" I envisage hours of near paralysis on a lounger somewhere with a stack of New Yorkers nearby and a glass of wine just about to touch my lips - maybe a mountain off in the distance or some waves lapping at the shore thrown into the scene.

I don't imagine myself waiting on line at the local wine shop or staring glassy-eyed at the bins trying to remember which of these hundred bottles I've read something about or even heard of - let alone which wine is good.

Here is all you have to do:

1) Choose which Summer Vacation Samplers you would like and email me.

2) Send me your summer address (home, country home or away) and I will arrange to get it delivered to you. Ready to go.

3) The Summer Vacation Sampler is also the perfect house gift to send ahead of your arrival. Wouldn't your host really prefer a case of French wine to those little linen seashell napkins sent so thoughtfully after you're back home? Plus the Summer Wine Vacation Sampler will guarantee you great wine during your stay. Not that that should be a prime consideration, of course, or even flit through your mind.

A case of twelve bottles (3 bottles each of 4 different wines) of delicious, ready-to-drink red from the Rhone, Southwest, and Bordeaux regions of France. Since quantities are limited, this could shift a bit but all of the wines will be ones I am drinking on my vacation.

Here are the wines in my Summer Vacation Sampler :

#1 Petit Clos from Clos Triguedina, the famous estate in the southwest of France The cepage is 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot. The wine is a dark, limpid red with red berry notes and some hints of licorice. It is smooth and well-balanced. It performs way beyond its price tag.

#2 Domaine Rochouard Bourgueil, Bourgueil is usually 100 percent Cabernet Franc and the wines are known for their complexity and aroma. Bourgueil is notable for its black cherry and berry taste, its moderate tannins and its perky acidity.

#3 Domaine de Mourchon Cotes du Rhone 2008. A fabulous little wine that can take on those summer grilled foods. It is dark and rich and you'll smell the earthy lavender of Provence. The cepage is about 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah.

#4 Chateau Fabas Minervois. This is old vine wine from ancient vineyards near Carcassone. It is a mouthful made from 60% Syrah with some Grenache and Mourvedre. There is a little oak to make it velvety smooth. A mouthful of mature red fruit.

Yes, the whites. It is summer so let's not forget what we all know we need. Good, flavorful whites that can do double duty: provide a cool pre-dinner cocktail and stand up to all that fresh fish we will be eating. I find I am drinking more of these than ever before. A glass of white in your hand raises expectations for the dinner to come and sometimes I just can't let the red take over and must continue through the meal with the shimmery pale gold stuff.

#1 Muscadet Yes! If ever there were a wine on the rise, it is Muscadet - and with good reason. Those tall, slim bottles with their prickly dryness and mineral fruitiness that make nice with every sea creature and most cheeses. It's irresistible! We are shipping the 2009 now - an especially good year for Muscadet

#2 Saumur Blanc slightly less dry and equally charmant is made from the Chenin Blanc grape. Its beauty lies in its not-so-steely dryness - just enough pluckiness to get you off the lounger and tending the grill, but more subtle than some whites. You will pick up some melon flavors, white flowers and peaches on the palate.

#3 Macon Solutré And, then there is the discreet charm of the French white Burgundy - undeniably, Chardonnay in its best and most stylish expression - not heavy, but playful with the senses and such a great companion to any fish or cheese and some fowl. Remember these are French Chardonnay - flavors that are profound, but not weighty. You don't wear them like a heavy overcoat on your tongue. They hip-hop around your mouth as you discover peaches, melons, grapefruits, oranges and lemons with a thread of honey shot through.