A Selection of Reasonably-priced, Premium Wines

A Selection of Reasonably-priced, Premium Wines

Following is an eclectic selection of diverse wines from Argentina, California and New Zealand, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and a red meritage wine. They are highly recommended to outstanding, showing good richness, complexity and balance — premium wines offered at reasonable price points. Six are Best Buys. The wines were tasted with contributing editor, Ron Brown.

Recession Busters/Best Buys

Here are 28 wines, perfect for everyday drinking, and, priced at $10 or below, offering good value to the wallet or pocketbook and the palate. Eighteen of the wines are priced below $5. All are pleasant surprises, interesting, inviting and worthy of buying again. Until the last year or so, good wines in this price range were very difficult to find in the U.S., other than Two-Buck Chuck or wines found in stores’ bargain bins. These very affordable wines fill a vacuum in the American wine market: vin ordinaire and vino de tavola for the American table. Some are surprisingly good, some could benefit from additional aging and some are just nice, early-drinking quaffers. While quality and price are generally positively correlated, this is not always the case. You don’t need to be embarrassed to serve these wines to guests or to let them be the second wine served at a party. However, keep in mind that you can’t expect these wines to be perfectly balanced with great complexity and richness. While these wines may not interest a connoisseur, they are fruity and flavorful, perfectly quaffable on an everyday basis to the vast majority of the wine drinking public. Moreover, the wines are quite food friendly.

A Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective Tasting

A Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective Tasting

A retrospective tasting of Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon took place in July of last year at the Rancho Santa Fe home of former Vineyard 29 owners, Tom Paine and Teresa Norton. Christine Graham and Ron Brown were in attendance.

The tasting featured thirteen vintages from 1992, the debut vintage, to 2004.

Movies, Wine, Food and Drink

Wine and spirits in movies may be a central theme, a key plot element, a subplot or just a way to highlight a scene. Wine and spirits play a supporting role in some of the screen’s memorable moments. The films mentioned here range from enduring classics to ones with some cinematic merit to others that are less significant or even soap opera-ish, but wine legitimizes them, affording depth and breadth. Whiskey, for the most part, seems to be the main prop for tough guys and hard-boiled detectives

A Visit With Robert Lawrence Balzer — Grand Ambassador of American Wine Culture

Robert, the first serious wine journalist in the U.S., has been a wine writer for close to 70 years. I had not seen him since his birthday before last and he will be 98 in June. A true Renaissance man and an epicurean, Robert has been a retailer, an actor, a restaurateur, a Buddhist monk, a flight instructor during World War II, a wine instructor and the author of 11 books.

A Tasting of Grower Champagnes and Sparkling Wines

The Vienna Wine Company and WineWise Oakland, California presented a tasting of 89 Grower-Producer Champagne and 11 Sparkling Wines from Terry Theise Estate Selections and WineWise in November at Campanile Restaurant in Los Angeles.

Bargain Wines/Best Buys

Following is a selection of 11 inexpensive wines, which were purchased at $3.99 each. We did a search of comparative pricing and found that some can sell for as much as $7-10 and one was even found online on a business auction site with an entry bid of $15. Three other wines tasted were priced slightly higher, ranging from $5-8. All the wines tasted are nice, everyday quaffers, mostly designed for drinking now, although a couple could benefit from a little aging.

California and French Wines

Layer Cake Wines are a new project of Jayson Woodbridge, owner/winemaker, of cult wine Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon. Woodbridge, a former Canadian investment banker, retired in 1999 at 35, moved to Napa and became a farmer. From the start, his Hundred Acre, single vineyard Napa Cabernets, have been a great success, retailing for $200-300.

A Personal Recollection of the Days of Prohibition – Making Home-Brew, Moonshine and Bathtub Gin

During this period, I had some first-hand experience, having been a high school student during the later years. Wine was quite popular with the Italians, who made their own powerful, so-called “Dago Red.” For just everyday drinking, beer was the most popular. It was easily produced as home-brew which, if carefully made as my father did, resulted in a good brew, as attested to by his co-workers who often assembled at our home for a beer party, much to the chagrin of my mother. My brother and I had the responsibility for bottling the brew when father said it was ready

Maker’s Mark Bourbon and Bill Samuels, Jr.

Bourbon and Whiskey The consumption of fine spirits continues to grow as does the consumption of fine wines.  More and more people who enjoy quality wines and good food, are also learning the pleasures of great spirits.  Whisky refers to liquors distilled from grain, including Scotch, Irish, Bourbon, Tennesse, Rye and Canadian.  While Scotch spells […]