Tag Archives: inexpensive wine

Wine of the week: Vinho verde 2022

Four women drinking wine
“Did you see what the WC said about vinho verde? We need to get some.”

There’s lots and lots of vinho verde available, but prices have gone up and quality is inconsistent

Vinho verde, the much maligned Portuguese white wine (and sometimes rose) with a little sweetness that usually doesn’t cost more than $8 or $9, has made the big time. How do I know this?

First, my local Total Wine carries eight private label vinhos. Say what you will about Total, the chain knows what sells. And if it has eight private labels, it must be selling lots and lots of vinho verde.

Second, this year’s version of the Casal Garcia got 90 points from a big-time member of the Winestream Media. It almost doesn’t matter if the wine is that well-made (it isn’t); what matters is that the Winestream Media is taking vinho seriously after years of lumping it with the rest of the cheap wine they ignore.

Neither of those, unfortunately, is good news. All that attention means prices are higher – I’ve seen $15 vinho verde, which would have been unheard of before the pandemic. And this year’s quality was disappointingly inconsistent. There was some old-fashioned 7Up fizz wine out there, something I haven’t tasted in several years.

The blog’s vinho verde primer is here. The wines are usually non-vintage, with slightly sweet lemon-lime or apple fruit, low alcohol, and a little fizz — all of which makes it ideal for hot weather. Most of the cheapest wines, like Santola, Famega, Casal Garcia, and Gazela (and that often have a crab on the label), are made by the same couple of companies but sold under different names to different retailers.

The three most dependable vinho verdes are the Broadbent ($9, 9%), which has been a little softer the past couple of years but still sets the standard; and the Faisao white and rose ($8/1-liter bottle, 10%). The rose remains Hall of Fame quality, somehow sweet, tart, and refreshing at the same time, while the white is only slightly less impressive.

Check out these other vinho verdes:

• Nobilis Vinho Verde NV ($9, purchased, 9%): Total Wine knockoff of the Broadbent (but that may be available elsewhere) that isn’t as full or as interesting. Having said that, still enjoyable (spritzy, lemon-lime fruit). And it comes with a nutrition facts label – just 87 calories and 2 grams of carbs. Who knew? Worth buying just for that. Imported by Evaton

• Vera Vinho Verde Rose 2021 ($12, sample, 12.5%): More complex pink vinho verde, with fresh strawberry fruit and almost pleasing sweetness. Would that California wines that pass themselves off as dry (and you know who you are) handle sweetness this well. Highly recommended. Imported by Ole & Obrigado

• Casal Garcia Vinho Verde NV ($6, purchased, 9.5%): This is as old-fashioned as vinho gets – the 7Up fizz, obviously sweet, and a hint of citrus fruit. Bring on the 100-degree days. Imported by Avelada

More about vinho verde:
• Vinho verde review 2021
• Vinho verde review 2020
• Vinho verde review 2019
• Why aren’t we drinking more Portuguese wine?

Photo: “21 Leaders 2012 Honoree Robin Read and Women’s eNews Board Member June Cross” by WeNews is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Wine of the week: La Vieille Ferme Rose 2021

La Vieille Ferme rose
La Vieille Ferme Rose 2021/$6-$15

Once again, the La Vielle reminds us that wine doesn’t have to be expensive, snotty, or stupid

What better way to kick off the blog’s 15h annual rose extravaganza than with this French pink, which delivers stunning quality for oh so little money? And has done so for years and years and years.

So buy a case – or even the 3-liter box, if it’s available where you live – and thank the Perrin family that runs La Vieille for their skill and professionalism, as well as their decision not to dumb down or focus group the wine. Because it certainly must be tempting to do so in a rose world where very, very ordinary pink costs $18 (and you know who you are) and isn’t nearly as well made as this.

First and foremost, know that the La Vieille ($8, sample, 13%) is dry, and not the faux dry that shows up in too many California roses when the wise guys leave in a touch of residual sugar because they’re smarter than we are. In addition, it’s clean, crispy, and stony, with barely ripe strawberry fruit. In other words, rose the way French rose should be.

One sign that the Perrin family knows what it’s doing: This vintage isn’t labeled Ventoux, the appellation that the wine has carried for years. Instead, it’s merely labeled France, which I assume was done to keep prices down but to keep up the quality.

Highly recommended, and should return to the Hall of Fame next January. And why not, when something this well made costs this little?

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020

Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay
Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020/$9-$15

This $10 French chardonnay is a revelation – even for those of us who have all but given up cheap chardonnay

The Wine Curmudgeon has all but given up on chardonnay that costs less than $15 a bottle. It’s either sweet or crammed full of fake oak or undergone the buttered popcorn treatment – or, shudder, features some combination of all three.

So know that the Domaine de Bernier chardonnay is a revelation, a stunning French wine that is a reminder of what cheap wine should be – professional, varietally correct, and devoid of focus group shenanigans.

That means the Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay 2020 ($10, purchased, 12%) combines the best the best qualities of French chardonnay (round and full and green apple and pear fruit) at an unbelievable price. It’s not even especially simple, which is usually about the best we can hope for in this kind of wine these days. There’s a fair amount of subtlety going on, if I can mix my adjectives, and the finish is especially long and crisp.

So how is this wine this cheap? The grapes come from the Loire, hardly known for chardonnay, which helps keep the price down. In addition, the producer and importer understand pricing in a way too many others don’t. Price it right, sell it out, and enjoy the results.

Highly recommended, and almost certain to show up in the 2023 Hall of Fame and to make the shortlist for the 2023 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Wine of the week: Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018

Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018/$8-$12

Once more, Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region yields quality and value – this time from Masciarelli

Count ’em – red wines from Italy’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo region have been been the wine of the week 10 times and several have made the hall of Fame. What does that say about the quality and value these wines deliver?

A lot, of course, as the Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 ($11, purchased, 13.5%) demonstrates. These wines, made in a less known region with a less known grape, are textbook examples of how to find quality cheap wine, because lesser known tends to equal value.

The Masciarelli is simple and straightforward – a trattoria wine, says the marketing blurb, and that’s spot on. Look for tart cherry fruit and maybe some berries, and even a little smokiness stuck down in the middle somewhere. It’s also more full in the mouth than many similar wines, though there is the same longish finish.

And a tip of the WC’s fedora to my old pal Carmen Castorina for reminding me about this one.

Pair this with sausages and peppers on the grill as the weather warms up, or even bratwurst and sauerkraut. I’m also thinking about chicken braised in red wine, using this as the braising liquid.

Imported by Vintus

Mother’s Day wine 2022

mother's day
“Yes, honey. We’ll buy some of the WC’s Mother’s Day wine suggestions.”

Four suggestions — white, sparkling, rose, and red — for Mother’s Day 2022

The blog’s 16th annual Mother’s Day wine post speaks to how far we’ve come in making it OK to buy cheap wine, despite all the obstacles over the years.  So, as always, the emphasis is on value and quality — and with the reminder that we should buy Mom something she will enjoy and not something we think she should drink.

These Mother’s Day wine suggestions should get you started:

• Calcu Rosé Reserva Especial 2021 ($13, sample, 12.5%): Much more going on with this Chilean pink (a blend of malbec and petit verdot) than it would seem. Crisp, tart, stony, and barely ripe berry fruit. Highly recommended. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

• Duquesa de Valladolid Verdejo 2020 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Solid, professional Spanish white from the Rueda region. That means very bright lemon fruit, as well as very fresh and very crisp. What more can one ask for in $10 wine? Imported by Monsieur Touton Selections

• Paula Kornell Brut NV ($18, purchased, 12%): Quality California bubbly for less than $20 is almost unheard of, so the Kornell has gotten a lot of attention. Look for some sweet stone fruit, maybe some lemon, and lots and lots of bubbles.

• Castillo del Barón Monastrell 2019 ($9, purchased, 14.2%): I’ve been buying this Spanish red for several years, and it has never disappointed. It’s not too big and not too rough, as some can be, and it has not too noticeable tannins and just enough black fruit —  drink with a hearty weeknight dinner or Mother’s Day barbecue. Imported by Europvin

Photo: CarolinaJG, via MorgueFile

More about Mother’s Day wine:
• Mother’s Day wine 2021
• Mother’s Day wine 2020
• Mother’s Day wine 2019
• Expensive wine 151: Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvee Brut
• Wine of the week: Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Petit 2019

Wine of the week: Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020

Domaine Duffour Côtes de Gascogne 2020
Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020/$9-$12

Once again, a Gascon white wine that delivers value and quality for about $10

During the recent podcast with wine editor Felicity Carter, we discussed whether consumers really want different wines, or if that’s just a wine writer thing.

Here on the blog, I’d like to think it’s more than the WC pushing his Gascon white wines, and that there truly is demand for them. Because the wines are infinitely more interesting than another chardonnay, buttery or otherwise.

The Domaine Duffour Cotes de Gascogne 2020 ($10, purchased, 12%) is one more example of why that’s true. It’s unmistakably, wonderfully Gascon – tart, crisp, and refreshing, and made with all those weird grapes that we’re not supposed to know about.

In this case, the Duffour is mostly colombard, so it sits somewhere between the white grapey Domaine Tariquet, which includes ugni blanc, and the others that blend colombard and sauvignon blanc and taste more citrusy.. So the Duffour has bit of that white grapey flavor and less of the lemon and lime flavors.

So another simple, but not stupid, wine – the kind that is made and priced to drink with dinner, to enjoy with food, with conversation, and with those we’re eating with. Frankly, I can’t think of too many higher compliments.

Imported by Skurnick Wines

It’s official: Cheap wine is irrelevant, part II

wine snob
“Frankly, $30 is cheap wine. Even the WC should know that.”

Can’t afford expensive wine in our “post-pandemic, world is a mess” era? Never fear. There’s plenty of $30 wine out there

Just when the WC thinks the wine business can’t get any more foolish, it does. Witness this, which I got from a PR agency the other day:

“Inflation seems to be hitting consumers across a broad range of everyday items from Kleenex tissues to the bottles of wine. With prices on the rise, savvy shoppers should be seeking out and stocking up on values over the coming months to offset the pressures of inflation. In the wine world, there are still a number of secret bargains available. …”

Those secret bargains? Wines costing $20 and $30, since they don’t cost $45 and $250. Honest.

It’s just as bizarre as the previous cheap wine is irrelevant post, which said $10 wine was only good for cooking and getting drunk.

Let’s count everything that’s wrong about that email and its pitch for coverage:

• Most Americans will never pay more than $20 for a bottle of wine. Really.

• So Kleenex is more expensive. What does that have to do with the price of wine?

• Secret bargains? This is a secret bargain, not a $30 bottle of wine.

• The following phrase appeared in the email: The wines “provide some serious QPR points for those who want to drink like a King, but on a Prince’s budget.” If I ever wrote anything like that, Dick Hainey would get out of his grave, smack me in the head, and tell me to never darken professional writing again.

All together now: “Is it any wonder we worry about the future of the wine business?”

Photo: Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels