The best wine bargains going. . .

Cafe Society
1

If you’re like me, and tend to spend your wine dollars in the $9-$12 range with the occasional foray up the ladder, I gotta say. . .start checking into the South American wines.

I don’t actually stay on top of the wine press, so maybe. . .

  1. This is a well-kept secret

  2. This isn’t a secret at all

  3. These wines actually suck and my tastes are totally out of whack with the rest of the world so there’s no real bargain at all.

But, as far as I’m concerned, any California Cabs under $20 are way more of a crap shoot than they should be. Some are good (I had something good from Rutherford Ranch this year).

I think that the $10 Cabernet’s of Chile are about similar in quality to the $15 California. Some miss. Many hit. And getting up into that $20 range gets you some nice juice. I would suggest exploring that region of your liquor store. For sure, there is some crap out there from Chile, but what I’m suspecting is that the region is pretty well suited for growing Cab.

In addition to that, I’ve also been into the Malbecs from Argentina over the last several months. “Spicy” and “woody” are more apt than “fruity” for the Malbecs, I’ve found. Closer to Cab than Pinot in body, but definitely full.

Anyway, I don’t like specific wine recs too much, but here’s a couple that I’ve enjoyed.

For my money, THIS is probably about the best $10 Cab I’ve ever had. I’ve been through about a case of it this summer and every time I pull one out of the rack, I’m looking forward to swilling it. Yup, that’s Chè on the label. Don’t let that dissuade you.

And, for a Malbec, I’ve found THIS to be a real beauty. Actually, a friend from Argentina turned me onto it. We went through 2 bottles of it eating a whole grilled beef tenderloin at his place one day this summer. It’s pricier, $20 or so, but you can find bargains.

Anyway, more important, than actually finding these two wines is just exploring the South America section of your wine store. I’ve found $8 Cabs from Chile that were good. Plenty of good Malbec in that $10 area. It all stands up well with strong, grilled foods and even big spicy dishes.

Also, if anyone has any other good wine recs from South America, let’s hear 'em.

2

Kid stuff.

Due to investors rushing in to plant vineyards when wine grapes were at their peak, Australia now has a glut of wine. Recently the major alcohol shop chains have started selling $2 “cleanskins” (wine without a proprietary label just an identification of variety and vintage).

People in the industry bemoaned this as the kiss of death for the wine industry, do-gooders worried that kiddies would buy bottles because of their cheapness. ABC radio did a segment about all this and had a wine judge on the show to taste the wines and tell the listeners how terrible they are. Unfortunately he reported that they were largely quite drinkable wines and most people would not be able to differentiate them from $10 bottles, so therefore they are a bargain.

3

I hope those Australian prices filter through.

US is still shitty for wine bargains. You can get drinkable wine in France for $4 a bottle. $4 here gets you grape juice that someone left in the sun too long.

Local wineries charge WAY too much for their product. . .presumably because “they’re small” or something. I’d rather spend my money on Reunite.

4

Argentina now, South Africa in a couple of years. Great wines at rock-bottom prices.

5

There’s always been a tendency for wines from non-well-known areas to be much better bargains than the well-known stuff. It’s not impossible to find good bargains in French wine, but it’s pretty damn hard.

I’ve recently decided to start a cellar, not so much to buy high end wines and store them for decades, but because my selection is so limited in my area that it just makes sense for me to ship it in and keep several cases in stock. I aim for a price average of $20/bottle. If I can find good bottles for $10, I’m thrilled, and I also have a few $35-$50 wines for special occasions.

Here’s my recent picks:

Argentinean Malbecs : GREAT bargains, yummy complex wines. Norton and Crios are the labels that come to mind.

Italians: I’ve found some great values in Italian wines lately. Falesco Vitiano is very easy to find even here in the middle of nowhere, and at ~$12/bottle is an incredible bargain. Their white and rose are also good.

Argiolas Costera Isola dei Nuraghi (red) and Argiolas Vermentino di Sardegna Costamolino (white) are both around $12-$13/bottle and are lovely and complex.

Anything from 2 Hands (Australia) has been good. I think their lower price wines are a better quality-price ratio than their $30+ bottles.

For those of you on the west coast, check out Mollydooker if you can find it locally. I haven’t tried it yet, but at ~$20/bottle it’s gotten incredible reviews. I have some on order but haven’t received it yet.

A great resource is www.cellartracker.com. It’s a web site designed for people to track their own wine cellars, but it also has a searchable tasting note DB that anyone can access. I like reading reviews from real people, and have had great luck finding good wines using it.

6

I know little about wine (I don’t touch the stuff, and my wife is a big fan of Sutter Home white zin), but the folks over at woot.com now have their Woot Wine page – aficionados might find a bargain there.

7

As an Australian (from the Hunter Region, which is one of the great wine-growing areas of the world) living in the US, I tend to go in the supermarket for what I know best, and buy a range of Australian wines in the $7-$10 per bottle range. It may be that I just like what I’m used to drinking, but I’ve never been disappointed in any of the Australian brands that are sold here.

8

Can’t recommend any South American wines since I’ve never had any I was impressed by, but I have heard Argentina’s stuff is up and coming.

For bargains, you really can’t beat Australia or Spain. There are some very nice Grenaches (aka Garanacha in Spanish) coming out of the Rioja region, all between $6 and $15 a bottle. The Vinos Sin-Ley “G” series wines are bursting with flavor and and quite interesting.

As has also been mentioned - South Africa has a nice selection of good inexpensive wines. I like the Long Neck label (and the fact that many of the South African producers use animals on their labels appeals to the graphic artist in me, too :slight_smile: ).

Portuguese wines have long been a favorite of mine, as well - they are always inexpensive and they make some great summer wines - I’ve loved Mateus and Lancer’s for years, and I’ve never had a vinho verde I didn’t like.

9

We’re flipped then romans.

I’ve heard time and again what a great bargain the spanish wines are, but I haven’t found it. Of course, I’m not a big grenache fan either.

I’ve had vinho-verde’s I didn’t like. Tasted like a stem of grass that had been soaking in urine.

10

And how do you know what THAT tastes like, hm? :dubious: :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

11

There is good value to be had from southwest France. I’ve had good luck with wine (including luscious Malbec, Mourvèdre grapes) from the Languedoc region.

12

Well, if he’s had wheatgrass at some point, then I’d understand how the comparison could be made.

13

There are tons of great bargains to be found from just about all wine growing regions out there now. It really is just a matter of finding them. To me personally a bargain is any wine I (actually we) like under $25/bottle which is about what we average.

As for South American wines and the ‘wine press’, option 2 would be the answer. It’s not a secret; both Chile and Argentina are big players in the New World regions.
I can give you a little background as to why, and though I won’t give any label recs, I can give you region recs that might help you get more ‘hits’ than ‘misses’ for particular varietals.

Chile is fortunate enough to have many European vine cuttings that date back to the mid-1800s. This is significant because just before those cuttings were brought over, Europe was devastated by outbreaks of phylloxera (a root louse) and powdery mildew. Most vineyards in Europe were uprooted and new plantings were grafted onto rootstock native to North America, as it’s resistant to phylloxera. Chile remains the only wine growing country never touched by phylloxera, thanks to its geographic isolation. Most of those European vines are still there today, on their original rootstock.

There are great Cabs coming from all over Chile, but the majority of it is planted in the Central Valley, especially Maipo and Rapel. And Chile is well regarded for its Carmenere, a Bordeaux varietal that was initially thought to be Merlot. Since it has been correctly identified it’s become Chile’s ‘signature’ varietal, since Bordeaux growers didn’t replant it after the phylloxera outbreak and it’s just not grown much anywhere else.

Look to the Aconcagua Valley for Chilean Chards, especially Casablanca and Valparaiso. Casablanca is also becoming known for Pinot Noir (Pinot and Chard tend to do well in the same type of climate, cool.)
And in the southern Central Valley, Curico has most of Chile’s Sauvignon Blanc planted.

Malbec is definitely king in Argentina, with most of it (actually much of Argentina’s better wines) coming from Mendoza. It too was brought over from France, but Argentina has its large population of Italian immigrants and their grape growing and winemaking skills to thank for its ranking as third largest wine consuming country and fifth largest producing.
I’ve found most Malbec that I’ve tasted to be rather simple, but they are great bargains, and they are even better with food. Perfect wine to go along with a steak thrown on the grill. Other reds from Argentina making news include Bonarda (similar to Barbera), Sangiovese, and Cab Sauv as well as others.

For another uniquely Argentinean wine look for Torrontes, a light-bodied white similar to Muscat, with floral and spice notes. Actually one of my favorite whites, and almost always a fantastic bargain.

That was much longer than I intended it to be. Yeesh.

14

There’s an Australian Shiraz that I really like. It runs about $10-12. The name escapes me and I don’t have a bottle here, so I’ll try to find it later.

15

Thanks for the interesting post psycat. (and everyone else)

16

Years ago, Pepsi Co. imported a huge quantity of Bulgarian wine (cabernet mostly), which they marketed in the USA under the name “Trakia”. It was sold very cheaply-you could buy a bottle for as little as $3.50! It was a very good wine.
I’m told the deal was because Pepsi wanted to sell into bulgaria, but the Bulgarians had no hard currency-hence the deal with the wine.
i’d buy it again-anybody know where it is marketed?

17

Was this the early 90s? Though wasn’t it Merlot, rather than Cabernet? The Bulgarian wines were superb for the price. Then they got popular and the quality dropped through the floor.

I like New World wines, and the South American wines have really improved in the past 5 years, but I find Old World wines - particularly French - vastly more interesting. I find that New World wines are vinted to a taste whereas French wines are vinted to a quality.

18

See, I’m the exact opposite.

I’d happily spend the rest of my life drinking wines produced outside of Europe. I’d really miss my favorite Italian and Spanish wines, but I would find solace in Argentina, South Africa, and my new fixation, the Santa Ynes Valley and surrounding areas in California. I haven’t touched a drop of French wine in over 20 years and haven’t even been tempted in nearly as long. I find them over-priced, over-hyped, and just plain inferior to wines produced elsewhere. Of course, my wallet doesn’t extend to Chateau Petrus, either. :smiley:

19

Sure thing, Trunk.

That Pepsi/Trakia story is pretty interesting. (For anyone interested there’s a little more detailed background on this site.
I’d never heard of it before today, but it looks like you can still buy it, there’s a bottle listed near the bottom of this page for just under $10.

Bulgarian wine has been in the news lately. Since Russia has blocked wines from Georgia and Moldova, Bulgaria and a few other countires have been called upon to fill the shelves there.
I don’t recall ever having a Bulgarian wine. I’ll have to check the local wine shop to see what they have, or beg Miss Kyla to bring one home for me whenever she’s back out this way.

20

I’m no expert, but I really like Australian shiraz/cabernet blends, particularly the one from Rosemount Estates that costs about $10 per bottle at Publix. It seems to be pretty inoffensive, as everyone I’ve ever offered it to either loves it or likes it. How would you wine aficionados describe the taste and qualities, and what else might I like if I like that one?