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$4 for gas, and under $5 for wine
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Gas has topped $4 per gallon. Food prices are off the charts. The price of everything is creeping up and everyone is scrutinizing their discretionary spending.
For some, wine is considered a necessity. In some households in Italy, people won’t eat supper if they don’t have wine. They go to bed hungry.
Financial times are tough, but some wines — good wines — can be purchased cheaply. Wine has this image as an expensive, exclusive drink. The fact is, the world is full of tasty, inexpensive wine. You don’t have to spend a lot to drink well.
Substitution is survival for wine drinkers in a harsh financial environment. You can swap the $30 bottle for a $15, or a $15 for a $10. Sure, that Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon is great, but with the bear market, $45 is too steep. How about a South American malbec or cabernet sauvignon for a third of the price?
There’s nothing exactly like the real Champagne, but some U.S. sparklers come close without the sticker shock. That alone might be something worth celebrating.
To prove the point that you don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy wine, I went looking for wines that are under $5 a bottle, about the price for a gallon of gas.
I limited my search to bottles, but let’s not forget box wines. Three liters, or four bottles, costs $16 on sale. That’s $4 per bottle. The five-liter boxes are cheaper, but much lower quality. The 1.5-liter “double bottles” are a deal, too. If a single bottle costs $8, the double bottle may cost $12. A magnum from Australia or a brand such as Barefoot Cellars usually won’t steer you wrong.
The state system has “Power Purchase” wines under $10, but they can be a gamble. These are often unsold, past-their-prime wines dumped into the state system. So-called “Sommelier Selections” and “Chairman Selections” offer better value and quality, but cost more.
The extreme value wines I tried were drinkable and worthwhile, particularly with food. But none are $20 wine hiding behind a $5 label.
Redwood Creek 2006 California Chardonnay has pleasant smells of fresh apples and peaches. It gets simple after that, with generic lemon/lime in the mouth with a smooth, but flat finish. This is similar to many chardonnays out there. This fun, adventurous bargain label of Frei Brothers grew on me. $12 for a 1.5-liter bottle.
Enter Australia: home of inexpensive, easy drinking wines. Lindemans Bin 75 Riesling smells like candied peaches, chalk and confectioners’ sugar. Some lime comes through in the taste and it feels watery. The wine is dry — not sweet as the smell seems to indicate. While it doesn’t compare to rieslings from Finger Lakes or Washington, it’s worth a try for $4.49.
There’s nothing petite about the taste of Clay Station 2005 Lodi Petite Sirah. This rich, overripe wine tastes like raisin, prune, fig and butterscotch and a hint of cinnamon. I picked this one, usually a $10 or more wine, as a Power Purchase for $5 a few months ago. Four stars.
Woodbridge does a passable job making budget wines. The 2006 Zinfandel is spicy and smells of smoke, mesquite and cedar. It’s medium bodied and full-flavored, dominated by black cherry. $5. Three and a half stars.
When Kmart wine won’t do, you can turn to Oak Leaf, a wine brand developed by Wal-Mart. You can only enjoy this super cheap wine outside of Pennsylvania where the government doesn’t monopolize alcohol sales. Unlike most of the stuff in Wal-Mart, Oak Leaf is from the U.S.of A. You can’t expect much more for $2. Three stars.
Raise a glass of inexpensive wine until happy days return.
(Falchek, a Times-Shamrock business writer, reviews wines each week)
For some, wine is considered a necessity. In some households in Italy, people won’t eat supper if they don’t have wine. They go to bed hungry.
Financial times are tough, but some wines — good wines — can be purchased cheaply. Wine has this image as an expensive, exclusive drink. The fact is, the world is full of tasty, inexpensive wine. You don’t have to spend a lot to drink well.
Substitution is survival for wine drinkers in a harsh financial environment. You can swap the $30 bottle for a $15, or a $15 for a $10. Sure, that Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon is great, but with the bear market, $45 is too steep. How about a South American malbec or cabernet sauvignon for a third of the price?
There’s nothing exactly like the real Champagne, but some U.S. sparklers come close without the sticker shock. That alone might be something worth celebrating.
To prove the point that you don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy wine, I went looking for wines that are under $5 a bottle, about the price for a gallon of gas.
I limited my search to bottles, but let’s not forget box wines. Three liters, or four bottles, costs $16 on sale. That’s $4 per bottle. The five-liter boxes are cheaper, but much lower quality. The 1.5-liter “double bottles” are a deal, too. If a single bottle costs $8, the double bottle may cost $12. A magnum from Australia or a brand such as Barefoot Cellars usually won’t steer you wrong.
The state system has “Power Purchase” wines under $10, but they can be a gamble. These are often unsold, past-their-prime wines dumped into the state system. So-called “Sommelier Selections” and “Chairman Selections” offer better value and quality, but cost more.
The extreme value wines I tried were drinkable and worthwhile, particularly with food. But none are $20 wine hiding behind a $5 label.
Redwood Creek 2006 California Chardonnay has pleasant smells of fresh apples and peaches. It gets simple after that, with generic lemon/lime in the mouth with a smooth, but flat finish. This is similar to many chardonnays out there. This fun, adventurous bargain label of Frei Brothers grew on me. $12 for a 1.5-liter bottle.
Enter Australia: home of inexpensive, easy drinking wines. Lindemans Bin 75 Riesling smells like candied peaches, chalk and confectioners’ sugar. Some lime comes through in the taste and it feels watery. The wine is dry — not sweet as the smell seems to indicate. While it doesn’t compare to rieslings from Finger Lakes or Washington, it’s worth a try for $4.49.
There’s nothing petite about the taste of Clay Station 2005 Lodi Petite Sirah. This rich, overripe wine tastes like raisin, prune, fig and butterscotch and a hint of cinnamon. I picked this one, usually a $10 or more wine, as a Power Purchase for $5 a few months ago. Four stars.
Woodbridge does a passable job making budget wines. The 2006 Zinfandel is spicy and smells of smoke, mesquite and cedar. It’s medium bodied and full-flavored, dominated by black cherry. $5. Three and a half stars.
When Kmart wine won’t do, you can turn to Oak Leaf, a wine brand developed by Wal-Mart. You can only enjoy this super cheap wine outside of Pennsylvania where the government doesn’t monopolize alcohol sales. Unlike most of the stuff in Wal-Mart, Oak Leaf is from the U.S.of A. You can’t expect much more for $2. Three stars.
Raise a glass of inexpensive wine until happy days return.
(Falchek, a Times-Shamrock business writer, reviews wines each week)
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