Not your “everyday” wine

With the proliferation of value wines from around the globe, it’s challenging to find one that is not just a “fruity and fresh” everyday wine.  This weekend, I discovered an inexpensive red wine that was a departure from your standard fruit-driven wines by simply staying true to tradition.  What a novel idea.

The wine was a Fronton rouge from the South West of France.  The South West of France is a large region south of Bordeaux comprised of unique red wine appelations such as Madiran (tannic reds from …

With today’s value-oriented consumers, everyday wines are nouveau chic.  But the New World didn’t invent inexpensive, everyday wine.  Some of the best values come from Italy and the northern region of the Veneto.  The Veneto is Italy’s largest wine region by production and exports, flying high with inexpensive but absolutely classic and well-made wines such as the white Soave, red Valpolicella and sparkling Prosecco.
The Soave appellation is located just east of the beautiful city of Verona.   The white wines are made principally from the garganega grape which produces a crisp, light- to medium-bodied wine with citrus …

Americans are appreciating Beaujolais more than ever for its fresh, fruit-driven and lower alcohol red wines at an attractive average price of $9.  And consumers are discovering Beaujolais beyond the tutti-frutti “Nouveau” style with basic Beaujolais now representing 49% of U.S. sales vs. 28% for Nouveau.  The remainder are top of line Beaujolais-Villages which sells for around $13 and the Beaujolais Crus averaging $17.  These are tremendous values given the high cost of mandatory hand-harvesting – the only appellation outside of Champagne to require this – and low authorized yields …

There are scores of white varietals from around the world for Americans to discover, but in a restaurant or for a crowd, sauvignon blanc is usually the go-to wine that seems to please everyone.  It is a classic grape variety that has distinct characteristics such as citrus flavors and crisp acidity, but each wine’s personality will be influenced by regional climate, winemaking technique or blending (such as with semillon in Bordeaux).
This week I’ve been tasting Chilean sauvignon blancs in the $10-13 range that are fresh and fruity wines ideal for everyday enjoyment.  In Chile, the most notable …

At this point, everyone seems to know about the high quality and value proposition of Argentine wines.  Exports of bottled Argentine wines increased 10% by value and 8% by volume from 2008 to 2009, with exports to the US growing 30% and 32%  respectively.  Stats for the first four months of 2010 show no abatement.  This is no small feat given that exports of wine from most major wine regions declined by value during this economically-challenging time.  The US is by far Argentina’s largest export market with a  39% market share by value at …

The Leyda Valley in Chile is less than ten miles from the icy Pacific ocean and a little over 25 miles south of Casablanca, well known for its cool climate grapes.   It’s no surprise that cool climate pinot noir can do well in this relatively young appellation of Leyda Valley, and in fact its one of the three regions  - along with Casablanca to the north and Bio Bio to the deep south – that are increasingly known for their pinot noir wines.
The winery credited for securing the denominacion de origen (official …

The good news is that inexpensive, everyday Bordeaux wines are widely available in the US, ranging from under $10 to $25.  The major names to look for on the label are: 

Basic Bordeaux red, rose, white, semi-sweet and sparkling wines, from the greater Bordeaux region.  Reds predominantly merlot and whites predominantly sauvignon blanc.  Bordeaux  and Bordeaux Superieure appellations represent about half of the 60 million or so cases the region produces each year.  Bordeaux Superieure requires slightly higher minimum potential alcohol, slightly lower yields/hectare and for the red wines, longer minimum ageing of …

Today’s global wine is market is in net oversupply, but in specific markets, it is still growing.  The US is the world’s leading wine consumer by value and growing.  According to the 2009 Impact Databank, Americans are buying more of the big “brands” – the everyday, fruit-driven, easy-drinking and inexpensive wines.  In Germany, demand exceeds supply by 2 to 1, at average prices of a meager €2.00/liter primarily purchased at discount chains.  Over the past 25 years, demand has shifted from sweeter whites to red wines.  Asia is the fastest growing market and the major …

Chardonnay is the world’s most beloved wine.  While technically a cool climate grape, chardonnay can be, and is, grown everywhere, taking on the personality of the terroir where it is grown.  Amongst all the international grape varietals, chardonnay can be a relatively neutral grape in flavor, acidity and body, which is one of the reasons winemakers use the toolbox to add their own signature to the wine.  One of the main styles of chardonnay made in New World wine regions are those which go through full malolactic fermentation and aged in a percentage …

For someone who grew up in California and spent a certain amount of time in Berkeley, the word “co-op” always had that granola cache for me - one shopped at a cooperative to serve the higher purpose of helping the members, not necessarily for finding quality.  In Europe, where the majority of vines are tended by small growers, cooperatives are an economic necessity and an important part of the industry business structure.   In France and Italy, coops represent more than 50% of production, in Germany about 1/3 and in Spain over 2/3 rd’s (although for the latter you would rarely see much …