Buying the cheap stuff

If you find a bottle of wine that you love for less than $10, buy it up, at least as much as you think you will drink in the next few months. The logic behind this is that while a good cheap wine isn’t hard to find, there is a good chance that from pressing to pressing something about that wine will be different. The vintage may have changed and you may find yourself with a completely different wine than the one that you fell in love with. The label looks just like the old one except for one minor detail: there’s a new year on it. This isn’t a call to go bankrupt stocking a 200-bottle impromptu wine cellar at 5 to 10 bucks a pop. Just buy what you can afford and remember that if it’s cheap, it’s not meant for long-term storage.
 
The secret to cheap wine

Unfortunately there’s no magic formula for finding a great bottle of cheap wine. There are hundreds of different of bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay available for the budget-conscious, and most of these wines are going to give you what you pay for. They’re safe bets, the wine world’s equivalent of a cheeseburger. People are going to buy them no matter what they taste like.
Most wine from California in this price range, for example, will be ripe, fruity and easy to drink, but rather boring. You also can’t rely completely on a particular brand. Just because a producer’s inexpensive Chardonnay is pretty good doesn’t mean its inexpensive Merlot will be. Conversely, you shouldn’t write off a brand after tasting just one of its wines; another variety might be much better.

Less popular varieties tend to be where the real value and diversity is. Try Gewurztraminer (the de facto best type of wine for spicy Asian dishes), Sauvingon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Zinfandel, Chianti and Syrah (or Shiraz, as it’s called in Australia). Pinot Grigio and Syrah/Shiraz are becoming somewhat ubiquitous but there are still some good values in each category.
Oxford Landing Shiraz from South Australia should cost $8 or less. It has a tiny touch of pepper and soft plumy fruit, a great wine for anything thrown on the grill in the middle of the week.

Placido Pinot Grigio ($8.49) is just what an inexpensive white wine should be: clean, fresh, dry and lemony.

Piccini Chianti ($8) is a classic example of the most famous of all Italian red wines. If only all Chianti was this cheap and unpretentious. You could drink this earthy little red with anything from Spaghetti O’s to veal parmesan.

Don’t just drink your dinner

Bear in mind that there are a lot of cheap wines that beg to be served with food. Sauvignon Blanc is a great example of a white wine that is sometimes a little overbearing on its own. This is a wine that should be refreshing and crisp, but some people find it too dry. Sauvignon Blanc’s flavor attributes can be described as anything from grapefruit and gooseberry to cat pee and asparagus (critics actually use the phrase cat pee with a positive connotation). But Sauvignon Blanc’s real appeal is its acidity. Therefore, it can be served with any salad with a vinaigrette, white fish, or other food with some acidity.
Wines based on the red Carmenere grape from Chile can also be good values. They tend to have an intense herbal spiciness and hearty body that pairs perfectly with red meat, especially meats seasoned with pepper.

La Playa Sauvignon Blanc ($8) from the Colchaugua Valley in Chile has a scent reminiscent of fresh squeezed grapefruit and a brisk crisp finish.
Casillero del Diablo Carmenere ($9.49) is budget version of the spicy red wine for which Chile is slowly becoming known.
 
In the end, there’s no “cheap-wine magic.” The winery’s objective when making inexpensive wines is to minimize cost. The wine isn’t coming from the top vineyards, and the worlds most talented winemakers probably aren’t making it. But if you’re willing to experiment a little, you’ll be amazed at what great values are out there. VS

Nathan Norfolk is the wine steward at Downer Wine and Spirits, 2638 N. Downer Ave.