Tag Archives: Osborne Solaz

Is it possible? Are we near the return of the legendary Osborne Solaz?

Osborne Solaz
Can it be? A bottle of Solaz just across the border?

The Osborne Solaz, one of the great cheap wines of all time, has been spotted in Canada. And if Canada, why not a little farther south?

Can it be possible? The Wine Curmudgeon is not sure, given the wine vagaries of the 21st century. But as the cheap wine gods as my witness, I’ll do what I can to bring back one of the greatest $10 wines ever, the Osborne Solaz.

That’s because the Spanish wine has been spotted in Canada, in provincial stores and Costco. An astute reader sent the picture that accompanies this post, and which leads to the question: If a Costco in Calgary, why not on this side of the border?

Hence, my efforts to convince Osborne, which makes Solaz, to bring it back. I contacted an importer who works with Osborne. I emailed the company’s one-time marketing contact in the U.S. My message: Let’s make this happen!

Some of you might wonder why all the fuss. Ah, if you had only tasted Solaz. Regular visitors here have heard the story many times. In 2009, the Osborne company said it would stop selling Solaz in the U.S. Oh, the gnashing of teeth, the rending of garments. The Osborne Solaz was one of the great cheap wines of all time, ranking with California’s Big House Red under Bonny Doon; the French Jaja de Jau, and the Hogue family’s original sauvignon blanc.

Or, as I wrote in 2010, when I drank what might have been the last bottle in the U.S.: “I don’t remember when I first tasted the Solaz, but I remember what I did. I went out and bought more, and I have been buying more for at least a decade.”

Having written all this, I am a realist. Why should Osborne, which didn’t listen to me when it discontinued the wine 10 years ago (and I did some wailing then), listen now? How do we know it’s as tasty today as it was in 2010? But I am also cranky and stubborn. And the Osborne Solaz is worth the effort, and especially in today’s cheap wine wasteland.

Wine of the week: Vina Cumbrero 2010

Vina CumbreroThe Vina Cumbrero isn’t quite the legendary Osborne Solaz, but it’s a $10 Spanish red wine well worth drinking

Imagine the Wine Curmudgeon’s joy when he looked at the back label of the Vina Cumbrero and saw the name Osborne. Because Osborne produced perhaps the greatest cheap wine in my almost three decades of doing this – the legendary Solaz.

Solaz went away in 2009 for some reason no one was ever able to figure out, and cheap wine was that much less fun. So that the Vina Cumbrero is made by Osborne made me jump – literally – in the store.

The good news? That the Vina Cumbrero ($10, purchased, 13.5%) is a decent enough $10 wine that reminds us we don’t have to put up with insipid, focus group plonk. For one thing, it tastes like tempranillo from the Rioja region in Spain, with tart cherry fruit and a hint of an orange something or other flavor. In other words, real wine.

The bad news? That it’s not quite the Solaz. It’s not as interesting or as well made, and it could use a little less red fruit and a little more earthiness. But in these days of insipid, focus group plonk, who’s complaining?

There are two other things to know about this wine. First, it’s not new to the U.S., but to Dallas. That means those of you in other parts of the country may be able to find it more easily. Second, I have a feeling it showed up here on a closeout, because the vintage is so old. So more current vintages may be more interesting to drink.