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Poor Economy: Bringing Wine Home For Dinner

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By TOM MARQUARDT and PATRICK DARR The Wine Guys

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 27, 2009

The economic recession gripping the country touches many businesses, but liquor retailers will tell you that business isn't bad. Perhaps consumers are sacrificing expensive clothes and jewelry just to save enough money for a bottle of wine.

Our pet theory is that consumers are spending less money in restaurants and instead enjoying a home-cooked meal and a nice bottle of wine. That can be done without spending a lot on wine.

We have been spending the last several weeks trying inexpensive wines to recommend to you. Some come at the recommendation of a local retailer - always a good person for consumers to ask - and others were selected because of our familiarity with the brand. The wines demonstrate good values.

What is a good value in wine? A price that is lower than what the wine seems to offer in quality.

As we have said in the past, it's not hard to make a good $50 wine; making a good $12 is another matter.

Columbia Crest's Two Vines series is a good example of a producer who makes quality, affordable wines across the board.

We recently tasted through its red and white wines and every one of them was well-made. We highly recommend this Washington state producer.
Wine producers can keep their prices low by not using expensive oak barrels or grapes from prime vineyards.

The fruit can be from young vines or areas not generally known for premium wines. Instead of a prized appellation like Howell Mountain, the producer uses the broad "California" or "Central Coast" labels to indicate a variety of sources.

The grapes for inexpensive wines are machine-harvested - only the best grapes are hand-picked for premium wines.

Winemakers take other short cuts to make large quantities of inexpensive wines.

Generally, these wines are fruity and not meant for cellar aging. The bad versions - and there are plenty - are often too ripe and unbalanced with raging acidity or off smells.

Here are a few that we think pass the grade:

Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red Wine 2006 ($8). We can't believe the price of this tantalizing blend of syrah, sangivose, zinfandel, barbera, mouvedre and dolcetto. This kind of blend defies logic, but if flavor is all that matters - you get it here. Raspberry aromas and cherry, strawberry flavors with long finish. It would be a good match with grilled foods and pasta. Columbia Crest also makes a very good merlot-cabernet blend for the same price.

Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Wine 2007 ($8). Big pear flavors come from this electic blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, semillon and other white grape varieties. Juicy apple, pear and melon flavors.

Cline California Syrah 2007 ($12). Cline Cellars is another label you can depend on for well-made, value wines. This syrah, one of several in its California series of simple wines, has copious raspberry and blackberry flavors with rich mouthfeel. Cline's Oakley "Five Reds" and "Five Whites" can be found for even less money and offer good value too.

Montecucco Rosso la Sassaia 2006 ($15). OK, tis is expensive in this category, but boy does it sport some big-time fruit. This is simply one of those wines we dare you to stop at one glass. Made from sangiovese grapes grown inthe Maremma region of Tuscany, it is rich in red berry fruit and sports a long finish. It improves after an hour in the decanter.

Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($10). This Washington state producer introduced its cabernet in 2004 after its merlot achieved good success. Both are good wines. The cabernet has oodles of blackberry fruit with hints of tobacco, cola and chocolate. Simple, yet quaffable.

Friday Monkey Shiraz 2007 ($10). Typical of Australian wines, this shiraz has lots of upfront fruit, jammy raspberry and strawberry flavors. No complexity, but quaffable fruit.

Feudo Arancio Pinot Noir 2006 ($10). Here's another pinot noir from a region you would least expect it: Sicily. Because good pinot noir is in such hot demand, it is hard to find anything cheap from California. Here's a decent alternative. Simple, but copious fruit, good acidity and black cherry fruit.

Dancing Bull Zinfandel 2006 ($12). Blended with an odd concoction of petite sirah, tempranillo, syrah and mixed red grapes, this soft and rich zinfandel has ripe raspberry and strawberry flavors with a big dose of spice. Very enjoyable.

Cecchi Bonizio ($10). Wow, what an enjoyable Italian wine from a respected producer. Made mostly of sangiovese, this excellent value has floral aromas and intense cherry flavors with an earthy, mushroom undertone. There aren't any noticeable tannins in this wine to distract from its soft, generous fruit. Great with barbecued foods and pasta.

Concannon Central Coast Syrah 2006 ($10). Ripe blackberry and raspberry flavors with a hint of chocolate typical of the grape variety.

Concannon Central Coast Chardonnay 2007 ($10). If you like chardonnay, this one is hard to beat. Planning a party? Order a case and you won't hear a complaint. Citrus and green apple notes abound with crisp acidity, good mouthfeel and a hint of mineral.

Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a wine column for 20 years and have traveled to the West Coast and Europe to meet wine luminaries. "Wine Guys" will guide you through the maze of intimidating jargon, introduce you to winemakers here and ab

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