Hi, Eva, a delight to see you, and Sophie and Jacques.
Hi, BBB, glad to.
Ellpus, we'd love to see you in zee person.
I'll contribute an article I saved today from the SF Chronicle on wallet saving wines under $10./bottle, as chosen by San Francisco bay area wine buyers - may be of interest to our european contingent since probably the majority are european produced wines. I'll argue with anyone that the San Francisco Bay area is the foodie capital of the United States.. I still follow their food/wine sections with interest.
The link -
Wine buyers' picks choices re low cost wines
BARGAIN BONANZA!
Soothe your aching wallets with local wine shops' picks for bottles $10 or less]
W. Blake Gray, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, December 29, 2006
Your Christmas tree's in the Dumpster, your kids already destroyed half their presents and your credit cards are smoking from overuse. But here's your biggest problem: You're broke and thirsty.
This is a call for The Chronicle's Bargain Wines column. (We need to get capes.)
We wanted to do a larger year-end edition of Bargain Wines to help everybody with that endemic end-of-year budget crunch. I wanted to do it differently than my usual method, which is to sit down with about 35 wines of a given variety and try to discern the best ones. And I wanted to respond to my most e-mailed comments from readers.
Because The Chronicle is so widely distributed, whenever I rave about a small family-produced wine I get a dozen e-mails asking, "Where can I buy this wine in Vallejo?" Or Eureka or Santa Cruz or even occasionally Atlanta. This leads me to always include a few mass-produced, widely available wines. That leads to frequent e-mails from local wine shops saying, "We have several wines in that price range better than that mass-produced supermarket plonk."
OK, fine, let's try 'em. I asked wine buyers from 11 shops around the Bay Area to recommend their five best Bargain Wines. This provides a starting point (11, actually) on where to find the wines.
The rules were simple: The wine could be anything -- red, white, sparkling, dessert -- from anywhere, but had to actually be available in the store for $10 or less. And I would be the sole judge of which ones are best.
From those 55 wines, the best 31 are listed starting at right. There are 3 bubblies, 10 whites and 18 reds. Sorry, fans of stickies: No dessert wines were submitted.
Why wine shop buyers? Along with sommeliers, they are the most important gatekeepers of the wine industry. Good wine buyers may taste 50 wines or more per week, choosing the best to carry in their stores. Forget quality schools and access to transit: a wine shop with a careful selection is the best reason to choose your neighborhood.
But unlike sommeliers, good wine buyers are something of a dying breed. Morgan Miller, a partner and wine buyer at Oddlots in Albany, says store owners increasingly prefer to rely on scores from publications like Wine Spectator, the Wine Advocate and The Chronicle, rather than pay a salary for a specialist to pick wines different from those in the shop across the street.
"It's harder to find stores where you can talk with somebody who's knowledgeable," Miller says.
After talking with the buyers about their choices, a few common themes emerged.
-- Most, but not all, like European budget wines better than American ones.
"A lot of people think that's the black hole of California: There aren't a lot of good wines under $10," says Richard Leland of Vintage Wine & Spirits in Mill Valley. "There are a lot of daily drinking wines, but they're at $12 to $14. Two years ago, the California wines were more fruit-driven. But that gap has narrowed. The wines coming from Europe are cleaner and more fruit-forward (than before). That largely has to do with better viticultural practices, and cleaner and better winemaking. That's where Europe lagged."
-- Many buyers think Spain is the current hot spot for good values.
"Traditionally all Spanish wines are aged a lot longer before release," says Bi-Rite Market wine buyer Josh Adler. "The youngest bottles coming out of Spain are aged at least 18 months."
-- Wine shop buyers are usually concerned with food matching, and enjoy being asked what will go with their dinner.
After tasting all of their recommendations, a few more themes emerged.
-- A good $10 wine is much easier to find than a good $7 wine. For $10, if you choose well, you can get varietal correctness, great fruit flavors, complexity and a long finish -- all desirable characteristics of a $50 wine. For $7 or less, you'd better settle for drinkability.
"Most of our customers who want bargain wines come here looking for things at $13.99 or less," says K & L Wine Merchant wine buyer Mulan Chan. "If people are really looking for $7 wines, they're usually shopping at Trader Joe's."
-- America's five favorite wines are Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel and Pinot Grigio in that order, according to ACNielsen. Wine buyers recommend almost none of them.
The reasons differ. Many wine buyers look down on White Zinfandel and say there are more interesting whites than Pinot Grigio. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are challenging to make well for $10 or less.
As for Chardonnay, which accounts for about 20 percent of all wine sold in the United States, according to ACNielsen, wine buyers seem to enjoy talking their customers out of it and into other whites.
-- Bargain white wines have greater economic value than reds for two reasons. You can chill them to disguise flaws, and they can be refrigerated at near-serving temperature, keeping them drinkable for a few days longer than bargain reds.
-- Sauvignon Blancs may be the safest bargain wines of all, with fewer undrinkable duds than almost any other varietal.
"Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best values out there," says Miller, who points out that it's also made well in more countries than almost any other varietal.
-- White wines in general and Sauvignon Blanc specifically may be better at this price point because of the way cheap wines are made. Corners must be cut to get the price under $10 for red wines. In particular, aging in oak barrels -- an expected part of the process for top reds -- is simply too expensive. However, many of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world, as well as many other high-quality white wines, are fermented in large stainless-steel tanks.
-- Whites from France's Gascony region are a revelation. They're often super-cheap, at $7 or so, because the region is best known for Armagnac brandy and has no real flagship wines to boost its reputation and prices. And speaking of cheap production, the whites are made from prolific grapes usually used in brandy production and often deliver wonderful mouthfeel and food-friendly flavors. Try them with fish and vegetarian dishes.
-- Similarly, food-friendly Italian reds from underappreciated regions like Abruzzo and Marche are often great values, with plenty of fruit and vibrant acidity.
-- Big red wines are extremely popular and delicious when done correctly, but they're hazardous to choose. It's easy to go wrong in this direction, so if you find one you like, stick to it.
-- Different stores focus on different factors in buying wines. Whole Foods seeks wines made from organically grown grapes. Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant seeks out small family-run wineries. Oddlots prefers wines nobody else has. Pick a wine shop that shares your values.
-- My favorite choices overall came from Bi-Rite Market, a small food shop in San Francisco's Mission District.
"This is a grocery store, so I'm a big fan of wines that go well with food," Adler says.
So am I.
That leads me to conclude with a few general tips on finding delicious Bargain Wines.
-- Downsize your expectations. For $10 or less, you're looking for a nice wine to have with dinner, not a 90-point "experience."
"Many people buy wines because they get 90 points but I don't know if that's what they really like -- these thick, sweet, syrupy wines," Chan says. "We have wines that are really different from that style, and people will come back and buy more of those, more than with the 90-point wines."
-- There aren't enough good Bargain Wines in the world to have a different one every night. Believe me -- I tasted more than 600 wines under $12 this year. When you find one that's special, buy it by the case.
-- Mea culpa: My suggestions aren't better than a passionate wine buyer's just because they're printed in the newspaper. If you can find a local wine shop whose recommendations you trust, follow them. In that case,use the Bargain Wines column as you should use online video poker: for entertainment purposes only.
The winners: The 31 best bargains
SPARKLING WINES
NV
Ca' Berti Tipico Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro ($9) This earthy, deeply flavored sparkling red wine is the driest of four versions made by this producer, a family named Vandelli who were the first to bottle Lambrusco Grasparossa, which is now considered the fullest, most alcoholic (this one's 11.5 percent) and perhaps most serious Lambrusco. K & L Wine Merchants wine buyer Mulan Chan suggests it as an answer to difficult food pairings like Mexican mole or Vietnamese dishes that combine pork and shrimp. Or see page F4 for a classic pairing.
NV Presto Prosecco Brut ($9) Just in time for the New Year, Whole Foods offers this exclusive version of Italy's lovable simple pleasure. Prosecco has three meanings: It's a grape, a region and a style of wine. In Italy, many people start their meal with a glass because it's light, frothy and fun. That makes it ideal for toasting the turning of the calendar.
NV Veuve Ambal France Blanc de Blanc Brut ($9) Most wineries in Burgundy specialize in still Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but Veuve Ambal makes bubbly, albeit not always from those famous grapes of Champagne. This wine is a blend of white grapes; it's simple and somewhat sweet, but has plenty of lemon-lime flavor and is perfectly fine for New Year's toasts.
WHITES
2004 Chateau de Vallagon Touraine Sauvignon Blanc ($8) If you like tart wines, you'll enjoy this passion fruit-tasting white wine from France's Loire region. The acidity is spine-tingling.
2005 Domaine de Poyane Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne ($7) The round mouthfeel of this good-value white wine makes it a pleasure to drink, and its flavors of green apple and green leafy lettuce with some pepper make it a perfect accompaniment to salads and vegetarian cuisine.
2005 Domaine Duffour Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne ($8) This good food wine has plenty of green fruit (underripe pineapple, green mango) and an interesting hint of green onion. Like most white wines from Gascogne, it's made from white grapes that are usually grown in large quantities to make Armagnac. Weimax wine buyer Gerald Weisl says he was visiting proprietor Michel Duffour when somebody asked about reducing the yield of the vines for this wine. "He said, 'What's the point? It's still (French) Colombard and Ugni Blanc,' " Weisl says. Even with large yields, it's still a good wine with plenty of character.
2005 Domaine La Hitaire Hors Saison Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne ($10) Armagnac producer La Hitaire also makes wine, and this is a smooth one. The round mouthfeel is its outstanding feature; the flavors are mostly underripe pineapple (not a bad thing) with a little white pepper on the finish.
2005 Erbacher Honigberg Rheingau Riesling ($10 for 1 liter) What a deal: one-third more wine than the typical 750 ml bottle, and tremendously food-friendly to boot. Bi-Rite wine buyer Josh Adler says it sells slowly in part because customers are put off by the size, which they fear connotes cheap, mass production. But this is a well-made, refreshing wine with nice green apple and pear flavors. The slight sweetness and low alcohol level (11 percent) make it a great choice for spicy food.
2005 Jean-Pierre et Jean-Francois Quenard Chignin Vin de Savoie ($10) White wines of France's alpine Savoy region, on the border of Switzerland, are unique in that they combine citrusy, herbal and minerally characteristics with occasional red fruit notes usually expected only in red wines. This wine is like that; there's a lot going on in the aroma, and the secondary note of cherry on the palate is unexpected. It lends itself to fusion food pairings: Vietnamese dishes that combine fish with pork come to mind, though Weisl says it's perfect with a plate of fried small fish.
2005 Joel Gott California Sauvignon Blanc ($10) Joel Gott is one of the founders of Three Thieves, and he co-owns Taylor's Automatic Refresher burger joints in St. Helena and San Francisco. This good-value wine delivers plenty of green apple fruit with some pineapple and a little pepper; try it with an ahi burger.
2006 Oyster Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($10) It's a mystery why this wine is still so affordable, because in 1991 this brand helped start the price escalation of Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand's Marlborough region when it won its category in the 22nd International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. This is what people expect in a $20 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: It's potent, with plenty of passion- fruit flavor, some grassiness, a little minerality and a long finish. Overall, it's the best white wine on this list.
2005 Tamas Estates Monterey Pinot Grigio ($8.50) Livermore Valley's Tamas Estates produces a consistently easy-drinking food-friendly wine out of Pinot Grigio from Monterey, where co-founder Steve Mirassou has deep family roots. It's a one-note wine of clean, pink grapefruit, but that note's a nice one.
2006 Vida Organica Mendoza Torrontes ($8) The Zuccari family is best known in Argentina for its irrigation company. They bought their first vineyard near the city of Mendoza to demonstrate their irrigation system and the next thing you know, they're in the wine business. They farm all their vineyards organically, making this a natural fit for Whole Foods' clientele. This is an extremely spicy wine, with flavors of ginger, apricot and clove, and will be an interesting complement to vegetarian casseroles.
REDS
2004 Artazuri Navarra ($9) Artazu is a Spanish producer that makes a $35 wine from century-old Grenache vines on the hills of the Navarra region. The fruit from the company's younger Grenache vines goes into this wine, which has slightly sweet red fruit flavors and a strong, appealing spiciness.
2004 Aveleda Charamba Douro ($4.79) This is the best under-$5 bottle I've had this year. It's made by Aveleda, a large Portuguese company best known for Vinho Verde. Weimax wine buyer Weisl says it's a store favorite, and no wonder, with its flavors of cherry, berry, earth and spice. Consider buying this one by the case.
2003 Bodega Inurrieta Sur Navarra ($10) Wine has been produced on a large scale for more than 2,000 years in the Spanish town of Falces, near this bodega, but this is very much a New World-style wine with plenty of spicy, red raspberry flavors that just keep coming on the medium-long finish. It's a blend of 65 percent Grenache and 35 percent Graciano.
2004 Chateau Saint Martin de la Garrigue Cuvee Tradition Coteaux du Languedoc ($10) "Garrigue" refers to the aromas of wild lavender, rosemary, scrub oak and other plants that grow on southern France's arid limestone hillsides. Wine grapes grown nearby take on those aromas, few more so than this wine, which smells like red plums in an herb basket. Few wines are more expressive of their terroir than this.
2004 Craneford Private Selection South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) It's hard to find a well-balanced, varietally correct Cabernet Sauvignon for $10, but this wine from Barossa Valley delivers, with flavors of cherry, mint, earth and mineral. With only 13 percent alcohol, this is a Cab that will go well with dinner.
2001 Domaine du Silene des Peyrals L'Esprit du Silene Coteaux du Languedoc ($10) If you like aged Bordeaux but can't afford it, this wine is a reasonable substitute, though it's made from different grapes. But the primary, mature aromas and flavors of leather, orange peel and dried cherry may remind you of more expensive wines, and unlike with a 2001 Bordeaux, this wine is meant to drink right away. Give it 30 minutes or more of air first.
2003 Forca Cotes du Roussillon ($9) Miller says he likes the "guts" of wines from this region on the Spanish border. This wine comes from a 750-year-old domaine that was restored in the 1980s. The blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre tastes of fresh cherry and raspberry, with a medium-long finish.
2004 Greenstone Point South Island New Zealand Pinot Noir ($10) This is like finding a diamond in your backyard: a $10 Pinot Noir that actually tastes like Pinot Noir should, with flavors of raspberry and soy sauce and a little spiciness. Bi-Rite wine buyer Josh Adler said he did a blind tasting of Pinot Noirs in his home and this one came in second overall against wines costing three times as much. It's one of the best wines on this list.
2004 Les Traverses de Fontanes Vin de Pays d'Oc Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) This wine is actually from France's Pic-St-Loup region, a great source of value wines, but French laws forbid the winery from putting that on the label because it's 100 percent Cabernet, which is not allowed in Pic-St-Loup's wines. If that keeps the price low for this wine, lucky for us. It can use 30 minutes or more of air and is one of the rare bargain wines that might improve with bottle age.
2003 Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo ($7) Weisl says the fine quality of this wine is due to the diligence of the Masciarelli family, which he says has upgraded its vineyards and tried with limited success to persuade its neighbors to do the same in order to lift up the quality of the region. An unoaked wine, this pizza- and pasta-friendly red is light-bodied with all high notes of bright cherry, leather and earth.
2004 Protocolo Vino de la Tierra de Castilla ($6) Vintage Wine & Spirits wine buyer Richard Leland says, "If you were in Europe, it's the sort of wine they'd pour into a tumbler." For $6, you can't expect profundity, but you will get cheerful, spicy flavors of raspberry and chile. This wine has been on Bay Area budget shelves for years, and seems to have taken a sharp uptick in quality.
2005 Quattro Mani Montepulciano d'Abruzzo ($9) This wine is the first of an ambitious project from a New York importer who plans to source second-label wines from four famous European winemakers. This one is made by Italian consulting winemaker Attilio Pagli. It's a great food wine because of its light-medium body and vibrant acidity, yet it's also interesting because its flavors of red and black fruit and earth keep evolving in the glass. Overall, it's the best wine on this list.
NV Ramblin' Red Cuvee One California Red Wine ($10) American Canyon-based winery owner Jon Ruth wanted to create an easygoing wine for travelers, and this blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel does the trick. It's extremely smooth and easy to drink, tasting of blueberry with a floral note. It's made by Cartlidge & Browne winemaker Paul Moser.
2003 Ramon Bilbao Rioja Crianza Tempranillo ($10) Here's a wine that bridges Rioja's traditional mature-tasting style and the modern ripe-fruit flavors that are taking over the region. This wine tastes of dried red fruit (cherries and plums) with a smoky note, and is made by a family-owned company founded in 1924.
NV Rosenblum Cellars Vintner's Cuvee XXIX California Zinfandel ($9) The entry-level blend from Alameda's Rosenblum Cellars remains popular for its juicy fruit flavors. It's balanced well enough that it's hard to detect the 15.5 percent alcohol.
2002 Salomon Estate Bin 4 Baan South Australia Shiraz-Petit Verdot ($10) Bert Salomon is from an Austrian wine-producing family known for white wines; he moved to the other side of the world both geographically and enologically with wines like this one. The earthy, spicy, red-fruit flavors will appeal to fans of Amador County Zinfandel.
2005 Ten Mile California Red Wine ($10) This brand is from two Canadians who moved to Stags Leap to produce high-end wines; this is their budget entry. It's a blend of Petite Sirah, Barbera, Zinfandel and Carignane. It's a wine of restraint, with raspberry, floral and earthy notes and 13.5 percent alcohol.
2003 Ursa El Dorado Merlot ($10) The husband and wife winemaking team of Greg Stokes and Deborah Elissagaray worked together at David Bruce Winery for several years before moving to El Dorado County to open their own winery, making just 2,500 cases annually. This is a very Petite Sirah-like Merlot: It's an intense, rich, cherry-fruit bomb for lovers of the type. You can taste the 15.3 percent alcohol, but the tannins are pleasingly soft.
-- W. Blake Gray
Where to find the wines
Here are the 11 stores that participated in this story.
All recommended wines are available in at least one store, but most can be found at several of them.
Beltramo's Wine & Spirits, 1540 El Camino Real (at Encinal), Menlo Park, (650) 325-2806; beltramos.com
Beverages & More, many Bay Area locations, (877) 772-3866; bevmo.com
Bi-Rite Market, 3639 18th St. (at Guererro), San Francisco, (415) 241-9760; biritemarket.com.
D & M Wines & Liquors, 2200 Fillmore St. (at Sacramento), San Francisco, (415) 346-1325; dandm.com
K & L Wine Merchants, Redwood City and San Francisco, (877) 559-4637; klwines.com
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, 1605 San Pablo Ave. (at Cedar), Berkeley, (510) 524-1524; kermitlynch.com
Oddlots Wine Shop, 1025 San Pablo Ave. (at Marin), Albany, (510) 526-0522.
Vintage Wine & Spirits,
67 Throckmorton Ave.,
Mill Valley, (415) 388-1626; vintagewines.biz
Weimax Wines & Spirits, 1178 Broadway, (near Laguna Ave.), Burlingame, (650) 343-0182; weimax.com
Whole Foods Market, many Bay Area locations, (510) 428-7400; wholefoodsmarket.com
The Wine Steward, 641 Main St., Pleasanton,
(925) 600-9463; thewinesteward.com
-- W.B.G.
E-mail W. Blake Gray with any questions other than "Where can I buy this wine?" at
[email protected].
