When cheap wine tastes cheap

cheap wine tastes cheapThe quality of cheap wine is better than ever, but that doesn’t mean that all cheap wine is worth drinking. Or, as the erudite Lew Perdue has noted: “Crappy wine holds back the wine market far more than any other factor.”

So how can you tell when cheap wine tastes cheap?

? Quality is not about style. Sweet wines should taste sweet; that’s their style, and whether they’re poorly made has nothing to do with whether they’re sweet. Dry wines that taste sweet are poorly made, no matter how many cases they sell. The Wine Curmudgeon doesn’t like alcoholic, over-the-top zinfandels, but that’s a style preference, not a reflection of quality.

? Bitterness, off-flavors, and green or unripe fruit, in both red and white wine. This is not nearly as common as it used to be, and is rarely seen in California anymore. But it still happens with imported wine.

? Missing tannins in red wine. The winemaker uses technology to remove tannins to make the wine “smooth,” because a focus group said smooth was a desirable quality without actually defining it. In this, tannins and tannic acid are perhaps the most misunderstood part of cheap wine. Quality red wine, at any price, needs tannic acid for structure and balance, and when the tannins are right you may not even notice them. But it’s usually too expensive or too much trouble to deal with tannins properly in $10 wine, which is why so much of it is astringent. So the winemaker takes the tannins out, and you get a flabby, boring wine.

? Fake oak. Again, this is not a style preference, but a winemaking decision, sometimes used to cover up poor quality grapes. If your chardonnay smells like Adams Best vanilla, then the oak is there because something else isn’t. Also, be wary of red wines that promise chocolate cherry flavors, also an oak trick. If producers could make $10 wine with those flavors, why would anyone need to buy $100 wine?

? Sweetness for sweetness’ sake. The best sweet wines have something to balance the sweetness, in the way that iced tea with lemon and sugar is balanced. They’re not supposed to taste like Coke. What made this $7 Sara Bee moscato so enjoyable was not that it was sweet, but that it had a little orange fruit and some bubbles to complement the sweetness. Sweet wine that is just sweet is as about as cynical as winemaking gets.

Image courtesy of Cheap Wine Records, using a Creative Commons license

4 thoughts on “When cheap wine tastes cheap

  • By Sarah|Pickled Capers -

    Very informative article. I am particularly intrigued by your point about smooth/tannins. Can you give an example of a wine that is “smooth” and well-balanced? Would love to taste the benchmark, as it were.

    • By Wine Curmudgeon -

      Thanks for the kind words, Sarah. One of the best examples of a cheap red wine with correct tannins is the Chateau Bonnet red. The Bogle cabernet does a good job for a $10 California wine.

      Understand, though, that it’s not going to be smooth like velvet. There is going to be something at the back that you’ll notice, but it needs to be there to balance the fruitiness.

  • By Jim Heyer -

    I have enjoyed your information and rely on your recommendations. I find it really difficult to get suggestions/information from my suppliers which is meaningful and of use to me except in one instance. The wine rep is knowledgable and on top of products and has very credible recommendations which pays off in exceptional guest satisfaction and bottom line profit. My wine list conservatively features Bogle chard and tops out with ARGIANO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, 2007 Italy (not a big seller but a must with several guests). Thank you again for your most valued information.

    • By Wine Curmudgeon -

      Thank you for the kind words. The WC is blushing. Though it is quite depressing that you get better information from me than from people who are paid to give it to you.

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