Wine makers don’t get much support these days by making sitting-down wines. That’s because at the higher prices, the wines that get the greatest attention are “walking-around” wines.

Perhaps a bit of explanation is necessary here.

Many consumers, as well as wine buyers for shops and restaurants, are swayed by the scores awarded to wines by various wine columnists. A score of 96, or even 92, is likely to help sell a wine; conversely a score of 80 is like playing taps.

And the wines that the scorers seem to prefer over the last 20 years are big, hulking and “impressive.” This means red wines that are hugely flavored, usually high in alcohol and concentration, leaning in the direction of motor oil. The highest scoring whites are either slightly sweet or so low in acidity that they are “weighty,” as wine lovers like to say.

Delicate wine? Forget it. It’s never worth more than a score of 80, 85 if you’re lucky.

And this is the kiss of death in the world of many “wine connoisseurs,” whom I define as people who think they know something about wine.

Basic facts:

Dry wine is, first and foremost, a beverage aimed at making your food taste better.

The weightier the wine, the less likely it will be to go with food other than as a liquid to wash something down.

Since many of the highest-scoring wines are also high in alcohol, which can be harsh on the tongue, they do not go particularly well with food. How many people do you know who pair their roast chicken with Scotch?

And how do these wines get their high scores? Often from people who attend wine tastings at which people walk around trying various wines from different tables.

And thus these are “walking-around” wines.

“Sit-down” wines, on the other hand, are those you take directly to the dinner table because they are lower in alcohol. They are not as “impressive,” and curiously enough, the bottles they come in seem to have fewer ounces in them since they go dry seemingly on their own.

Fortunately, examples of sitting-down wines abound, but oddly, the vast majority are made in other countries, often from grape varieties that aren’t necessarily in the mainstream.

Think of white wines such as Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and New Zealand sauvignon blanc; riesling from Australia; vine verde from Portugal; muscadet from the Loire Valley, German riesling made dry (called trocken), and pinot grigio from Alto Adige in northern Italy.

In reds, we have Côtes du Rhône, Rioja, Chinon from the Loire Valley, Italian Chianti and many other reds, Cru Beaujolais, Portuguese reds from the Douro, and a dozen others.

Certainly there are domestic wines that work nicely with food, but so many wines today are well over 14 percent alcohol (and some over 16 percent!) that it’s hard to make a case for a particular wine type.

But there are two categories of wine that are often overlooked as food companions that work brilliantly with food: dry rosé and sparkling wine.

Dry rosés and domestic sparkling wines both are usually well under 14 percent alcohol, and have the acidity to work nicely with food. A key is what alcohol shows on the label. Anything over 14 percent is probably not really dry on the tongue.

U.S. regulations define “table wine” as any wine between 11 percent and 14 percent alcohol. Anything more than 14 percent alcohol pays tax at a higher rate, the government saying, in effect, that such a wine is antithetical to the notion that wine is a beverage of moderation.

Most sitting-down wines have 12 to 13.5 percent alcohol and are balanced with good acidity, sort of the way you might squeeze a little lemon juice on your halibut, to create a better balance as you dine.

And the word “dine” was carefully chosen here, not simply “eat.” Wine on the table implies a more casual experience.

Let the walking-around wine people have their $40 bottles of zinfandel, I’ll be happy with my sitting-down $17 Chianti to go with my pasta (not spaghetti).

Wine of the Week

2008 Kenwood Pinot Noir Rosé, Russian River Valley ($14) — A dramatic wine with wild cherries and berries in the aroma, and virtually no sweetness so the wine pairs nicely with a wide array of foods, from seafood to steak.

Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, where he publishes Vintage Experiences, a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at danberger@rocketmail.com.