Back to school is, as that TV commercial for Staples suggested, the "most wonderful time of the year." At least for parents. But instead of prancing down store aisles scooping up notebooks, folders and pencils, consider playing hooky from work this week and indulging in a little quietude over a PB&J.

Not any old PB&J, mind you, but something more sophisticated. Better bread, organic peanut butter, artisan jelly or jam. Set the table with china, silver and crystal and swap out the kids' grape juice for some real fruit of the vine: wine.

Peanut butter and jelly is a timeless pairing perfectly suited to adult tastes, too, as was memorably and whimsically proven at Chicago's Alinea restaurant. Chef Grant Achatz's take on "PB&J," a single peeled grape coated with peanut butter and wrapped in the thinnest toast wafer, was a sensation when the Lincoln Park restaurant opened in May 2005.

Joseph Catterson, Alinea's wine director and sommelier, approached that PB&J with a half-dozen possible pairings before deciding a glass of Sercial "Charleston" Madeira from The Rare Wine Co. worked best for his taste.

While matching wine with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches may raise eyebrows or prompt a chuckle, there is a serious lesson to be learned amid the fun.

"We all have preconceptions of which wines go with food," Catterson said. "Honestly, until you put (the wines) on the palate it's hard to say. ... In the end you have to try things and see how they work."

That's what drove wine consultant Joshua Wesson, co-founder and co-owner of the New York-based Best Cellars Inc. wine-store chain, to put on a peanut-butter sandwich and wine pairing demonstration at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo., in June.

"My idea of a seminar is to take people out of their comfort zone when it comes to matching wine and food," he said. "Almost any food can be matched with wine if you understand the principles."

And the principles, Wesson said, are based on contrast and similarities. "It's the same way people fall in love," he added.

He poured six wines, including a rose, a zinfandel, a gewurztraminer-riesling blend and a recioto della Valpolicella, a sweet Italian wine made with dried grapes. He paired them with four different sandwiches: a classic PB&J made with a cabernet sauvignon jelly; a "Velvet Elvis" fashioned with peanut butter, banana, bacon and honey; a chocolate peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwich, and "The Heat is On," a sandwich made with spicy peanut butter, pineapple jam and grilled chicken. (P.B.Loco Asian Curry Spice peanut butter, available at R. Field, would be perfect for that last one.)

Each sandwich had a dominant flavor that determined which wines worked best with that particular sandwich, he said. One universal factor, however, was the sweetness.

Dry wines and sweet foods don't play well together, both Wesson and Catterson agree. The jelly's sweetness cuts into a dry wine's flavor profile, causing it to taste unbalanced.

Consumers unwilling to drink dessert-type wines with peanut butter and jelly should still look for sweet whites, such as riesling or chenin blanc, or go with fruity roses. Red wines would have to have plenty of fruit, he added.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the choosing. As Wesson said, wine and food pairings, especially unusual foods, constitute one of the most "intellectually fascinating" exercises a wine lover can indulge in.