 Wines
for Everyday
Or Fishing for the Right Value
By Jens Strecker
While looking for great wines with a great value
but also excellent quality for $8 to $15, the response you will
often hear to this statement is “yeah, right.” But the fact
is, more and more value-conscious consumers are trying to strike
gold and there is something appealing about finding a really good
value wine for not a lot of money.
Contrary to popular belief, buying wine on a tight budget doesn’t
mean you have to give up drinking wines from favorite grapes and
regions. No matter how you cut it, the bottom line is that value is
determined by the interaction of quality and cost.
One of the challenges will be to discover which regions are
offering the highest quality for the lowest price. There are value
regions all over the world but they often share one thing: The cost
of wine is lower when the cost of land is lower. Value regions are
also mostly outside of prestigious appellations. Some great examples
are Southern France (Cotes du Languedoc, Costieres de Nimes and
Minervois) as well as Southern Italy (Puglia, Campania and Sicily).
You will also find excellent bargains from Australia, South Africa,
Austria, Southern Spain and Portugal.
But also think about your preferences and how willing you might
be to expand your search for different grapes. You will find more
value in wines based in Barbera, Dolcetto, Primitivo and Nero
D’Avola than based in Sangiovese and Nebbiolo when you look for good
Italian wines. You will find more value in Zinfandels than in
Cabernet Sauvignons. A $10 Cabernet is hard to find, but a $10
Zinfandel can be delightful and thrilling. In white wines you will
find more value and quality in Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion than in
Chardonnay.
The other thing you should consider is that big, well-known
producers like Mondavi, Antinori, Philippe & Benjamin de Rothschild
and Guigal make great budget bottles in a lower price range.
Considering all these facts you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for
help. An experienced retailer tastes more wines in a week than the
average Joe drinks in a year.
Good luck!
Jens' Top Value picks:
Philippe de Rothschild Medoc Reserve Mouton Cadet 1998
(France) $13
Wonderful Cabernet with lovely currant and blackberry flavors on
a fine-grained frame with a hint of coffee and minerals and a silky
fine textured finish.
Falesco Vitiano 2000 (Italy) $10
Ripe, earthy red from winemaker Ricardo Cottarella. Rustic,
country-stile wine with dark fruit and plum flavors and hints of
leather. Well-integrated tannins on the long finish. Best in 3 – 5
years.
Candido Riserva Salice Salento 1997 (Italy) $7
Wonderful blend of Negro Amaro and Malvasia Nero from Southeastern
Italy. Flavors of red berries and cherries coated in spice and wood.
Finishes with deep toffee and dusty mineral notes. Great wine with
pasta with red sauce as well as meat and cheese.
Rosenblum Zinfandel Cuvée 2000 (California) $11
Kent Rosenblum, the Zinmeister from Alameda, produces consistently
some of California’s best Zinfandels. The 2000 Cuvée shows rich
flavors of plum, cherry, boysenberry and raspberries with hints of
chocolate and black pepper. With its velvety texture and excellent
balance, this wine will win lots of Zinfanatics
Rocquerousse Cotes du Rhone 2000 (France) $10
Michel Bernard’s Cotes du Rhone always has a great value. This 2000
Rhone vintage has rich flavors of cherries, blackberries with some
herbal notes and nuances of leather and spice on the finish.
Montpellier Syrah 2000 (California) $11
What happens when the famous dark skinned grape of Southern France
spends a summer hanging out in Napa? Here is the result: Bushels of
mouth-filling flavors suggest ripe black cherries, plums and prunes
with a nice touch of spice and vanilla oak.
A Mano Primitivo 2000 (Italy) $11
Another rustic Southern Italian wine with flavors of dark plums,
prunes and hint of raisins with a touch of spice. This has well
integrated tannins on the smooth, spicy finish. |
