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.

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.

Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Retrospective Dinner

The Ridge Vineyards Retrospective Dinner with Paul Draper took place at the elegant Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara on April 4, 2009.  The dinner was presented on behalf of the 2008 Central Coast Wine Classic by wine collectors John and Laurie Tilson of Montecito who contributed the wines from their collection.  This great event, […]

THE UNDERGROUND IS BACK!

Some 40 years ago, I started my pursuit of learning about wine.  It had never been a part of my life until after Laurie and I were married in 1967.  At that time, I said to her that there has to be something better than “Red Mountain,” a jug wine that sold for a few […]