Inflation Busting Value Wines

Inflation is raging these days and we are all looking for ways to save some money to make our dollars go farther. Luckily, there are still some great wine values to be had out there, and I’m here to lead you to them!

Many of you let me know how much you liked one of my previous posts about value wines (thank you all for the feedback!), so I decided to make it a recurring post every other month or so to provide you with some help in searching out and finding wines that provide good value for the money!

There is nothing better than finding a great wine that you love at a bargain price – I’m constantly in search for those wines whenever I shop to refill my wine stock, especially now with the cost of wines going up along with everything else. In a previous post, I talked about value wines and the key factors (quality and price) that determine whether a particular wine falls into the “value wine” category.

So how do you find these wines, in addition to reading this blog on a regular basis of course?! First, visit your local wine stores and get to know the owner and staff – they have usually tasted most if not all of the wines they carry and can guide you to the ones that provide great value for the money. Also, when you visit wine stores make sure to check out the “shelf talkers”, those written notes on the shelves below the wines. They often include short tasting notes describing the wine, the price, and the ratings from well-regarded wine magazines like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast who use blind tastings (where the tasters don’t know what wines they are tasting) to ensure objectivity. The ratings provide a great way to assess value for the dollar – any wine less than $20 that receives a rating of 88 points or higher out of 100 points is likely a great value wine that you should give a try.

But one word of caution: check out the vintage of the wine that was rated on the shelf talker – they are often different from the vintage of the wine that’s for sale on the shelf. Vintages do make a difference, so it’s always good to at least check to see that the vintages are the same. If not, the shelf talker wine description and ratings might be somewhat different from the wine you are thinking about buying. In that case, you should still consider giving the wine a try since most wineries that make wines with higher ratings will likely be making consistently good wines from year-to-year, even during difficult vintages. But talk to the staff and ask them what the differences might be between the vintages if you see such a disparity.

I have selected five value wines for this month, all from the U.S., that I think you will love – two white wines and three red wines for your drinking pleasure! Give them a try and let me know what you think!

• 2019 Cambria Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard Santa Maria Valley ($15). This is my wine of the year for 2021 and probably 2022 as well – it’s one of the best Chardonnays I have ever tasted and one of the best value wines ever at $15 a bottle. In fact, I believe this wine would win many blind tastings against other classic Chardonnays made by premier Chardonnay makers such as Shafer, Ramey, Patz & Hall, and the like that are 3-4 times the cost of this one. Also, it consistently gets ratings of 91+ out of 100 in all of the major wine magazines so the wine world agrees that this one is a winner. This wine is a beautifully balanced Chardonnay that perfectly integrates bright fruit flavors (apple, peach, and citrus fruit) with soft acidity and a hint of butter on the finish from the oak barrel aging. Medium bodied, this wine is refreshing and will appeal to those who like less oak-forward wines. This wine would be a perfect match for a chicken Caesar salad or grilled halibut with lemon caper sauce.

• 2019 Robert Mondovi Private Selection Chardonnay California ($8). This is another great value Chardonnay wine from Mondovi. At less than $10 a bottle, you really can’t beat this price for the quality. Medium bodied, this wine is deep gold in color. I get tropical fruit and a hint of buttered popcorn on the nose. The wine tastes of pineapple, mandarin orange, and ripe melon in the mouth – it’s a bigger, richer style of Chardonnay that will appeal to those of you that like more oak flavors in your wine even though the oak treatment is restrained and not over-the-top. It’s a great match for richer dishes like carbonara, chicken alfredo, or cheddar and potato soup.

• 2018 Bogle Petite Sirah California ($10). Petit Syrah might be new to many of you – it’s a red grape grown in California (and also Australia) that is similar in many ways to a Zinfandel wine, with highly concentrated dark berry fruit flavors and lots of tannins that result from its small size which produces a high skin-to-fruit ratio. The high tannic nature of the wine also makes it an age-worthy wine. It is sometimes confused with wines made from the Syrah variety, but they are completely different grapes even though some of the characteristics of the two wines are similar. This value wine is big, bold, and brash – it’s perfect for those of you who like highly-concentrated, full-bodied red wines with rich dark berry fruit flavors and hefty tannins. The finish shows baking spices and a mouthcoating texture. Pair this monster with spicy baby back ribs or a nice grilled ribeye.

• 2019 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir Whole Cluster Fermented Willamette Valley Oregon ($22). Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned, finicky grape that is hard to grow and only thrives in certain environments (usually cooler climate areas with lower humidity), which makes it a more expensive wine, generally speaking, than some other varieties. It has a unique flavor profile that takes some getting used to for some and is often an acquired taste for many. But it’s also one of the most sought-after wines in the world with bottlings from some of the famous producers in Burgundy France like Domaine de la Romanee-Conti fetching prices of $4,000 and up per bottle. $22 a bottle sounds better to me, and this wine from the Willamette Valley in Oregon displays many of the classic characteristics of French Burgundy wines made with the Pinot Noir grape – dark cherry, clove, and cinnamon along with an earthy character and hints of tobacco leaf on the finish. Medium bodied, this wine has nice acidity and light tannins with a nice long finish as well. This wine is a great value for the price and is for those of you who want to venture out a bit and try something different and new to expand your wine drinking aperture!

• 2019 Montoya Pinot Noir Monterey California ($15). In contrast to the Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir mentioned above, this Pinot is made in a more traditional style that should appeal to those who prefer more fruit-forward, less complex styles of wine. Monterey provides a superb cool climate for growing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, and Montoya produces some great value wines using high quality fruit. This wine is medium bodied with notes of raspberry and cherry on the nose. In the mouth, this wine is smooth and sleek with bright acidity along with cherry and red berry fruit. Light spice and a long, lingering finish along with light tannins make for a great wine tasting experience. Pair this beauty with teriyaki glazed salmon and Bok choy.