Wine Currents
February 2005

Everyday Wines at Value Prices: To Your Good Health!

By Abby Nash of Cornell University

Quaff a.k.a. good, cheap wine. Every wine lover needs wines like these. Under $10, and I don’t mean $9.99. Here are a few old favorites and some new ones too. No numeric scores here. I’m very capable of making such distinctions, but what’s the point? Your preferences are your own, anyway. I’ve covered all 3 wine categories, sparkling, table, and fortified. None (save one) of these will improve with age nor are they supposed to. All are at their best in 2005. Prices are undiscounted retail in NYS (New York State).

Sparkling

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva NV $7.99

Very good example of Cava, Spain’s answer to the best of all sparklers, Champagne. Light body, fresh, clean, lively, neutralish flavors, high (but not too high) acidity. Good amount of fine sparkle. Almost fully dry, about 1% residual sweetness (truly dry wines are 0.5% or less). Good, forward, slightly yeasty/bready aromatics. Not a very complex wine, but you can buy 3 bottles for what one bottle of what top California sparklers costs. Its refreshing acidity and sparkle make it a very good aperitif choice, a wine to drink by itself. It goes well with vegetarian dishes, lightly spicy items, and delicate seafood and chicken preparations.

White

Torrontes, Lurton, Mendoza, Argentina, ’03 $6.99

The Lurtons, based in Bordeaux with operations in S. France, S. America, and Spain, have done it again. You could do a lot worse than try anything with their names on it. This grape is similar to gewürztraminer. The wine is like a gewürz lite, with classic litchi fruit, rose, and lime flavors but not as in-your-face and characterful as good examples of gewürz from its best source by far, Alsace, France. A hint of sweetness. Fresh, clean, light-bodied, soft acidity. The bottle I shared with a group of non-wine geeks was their favorite white by far. Good for aperitifs, casual drinking, picnics. A strong choice for drinking with a range of Asian foods, esp. spicy dishes; picnic wine.

Red

Chianti, Gabbiano, Tuscany, Italy, ’03 $5.99

Light-medium body, fresh, with typical bright, lively, red cherry fruit, and refreshing acidity. Some earth adds interest to me but may not to those of you used to Aussie and California wines. Excellent pizza wine. I’ve also enjoyed it with a range of Italian and American Italian dishes. Hats off to the Beringer people for bringing in a wine this good at this price point, esp. given weakness of the dollar against the euro. Restaurants can pour this by the glass, but hopefully they won’t overcharge for it, as they so often do.

Côtes du Rhône, Les Garrigues, France, ’03 $7.99

Light body, clean, pure, fresh, ripe, red fruit, mostly cherries, plums, and raspberries, and soft acidity. Here in the northeast US as I write this in January it is most definitely not picnic weather but when it is, go for this, lightly chilled. Meanwhile, a good choice for burgers of all sorts, vegetarian dishes, and other casual foods. Not the most compelling example from this region but at this price who cares?

Borsao, Campo de Borja, Spain, 2003 $5.99

My favorite value wine several years running. I love this wine! Light to medium body, a blast of very fresh, clean, pure, ripe mostly red fruits. Soft acidity and low tannin. Mostly Grenache (75%), the rest tempranillo, Spain’s great grape. From a cooperative in a centrally isolated region east of Rioja. So much fruit it even works well with spicy food, especially Chinese, Thai, etc., and by itself, which isn’t generally true of red wines. Pizza, burgers, picnics, roasted chicken, casual food of all sorts. Please leave some in the store for me.

Colosi Rosso, Sicily, 2002 $7.99

Simple name (actually, even the Rosso doesn’t appear on the label), fine wine! Almost full-bodied, rich, ripe, dark fruits, but soft tannins, reminiscent of one of my very favorite value wines, Salice Salentino from Taurino in Apulia (now usually around $10). This one may even age well for 5 or so years. This is my most exciting recent value wine discovery; I’m going to buy it by the case. Pairs well with a range of hearty Italian foods, especially those with tomatoes and/or meats of all sorts.

Fortified

Barbadillo Amontillado Sherry NV $8.99

At 1st glance this may not seem to quality from the price standpoint but at 17.5% alcohol this lasts almost half again as long as table wines. The label helpfully states “medium dry” although this vague term is more a matter of what the wine isn’t -- fully dry. Slight sweetness, about 2%. This is on my short list of top Sherry houses. Anything they sell in all their lines (this is their cheapest) is consistently good. Rich, very aromatic, medium-bodied, complex, fine, with toasted almond, raisin, and maple syrup flavors.

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 Professional biography of Abby Nash:

Since 1991 Abby Nash has been a Lecturer at the Cornell Hotel School (1997 promoted from Visiting Lecturer). He developed and teaches two Wine in Culture and History courses, the only courses of their kind in the United States. Nash also lectures in the other beverage management courses, teaches culinary arts courses, and has taught Restaurant Management, Beverage Management, and Food and Wine Pairing in the School's Professional Development Program, and teaches for Cornell Adult University.

Abby has conducted wine presentations for, among others, Meeting Planners International, the International Association of Assembly Managers, the Greek Food and Wine Institute, Cornell Clubs and Cornell Society of Hotelman chapters. He consults for restaurants for wine list development and training, is active in local wine tasting groups; and regularly attends conferences such as the New York Wine Experience and Monterey Wine Festival. He has judged for wine competitions on over a dozen occasions since 1986.

Previously he opened Abby's Restaurant & Catering as owner chef in 1984, which was sold in 1990. Nash also has taught cooking classes locally; taken classes with Marcella Hazan and others; cooked professionally from 1976-1990; written on wine for local newspapers; conducted televised cooking series; made guest appearances on syndicated radio programs; and attended La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, Cordon Bleu and L'Academie du Vin in Paris.

His hobbies include collecting wine, food and wine books, and wine antiques.