Stocking your wine cellar: Value wines

The Back Label

One of my tricks to holding on to certain wines long enough to drink them at their peak is having a healthy supply of affordable wines to drink throughout the week and when we have guests over.  These are wines from lesser known appellations or producers or from regions that may not be that well known yet.  These wines drink like wines that cost more and are the perfect buffer between me and a more expensive and harder to replace wine in my cellar that still needs time to age.  The good news for anyone looking to buy some of these “house wines’ is that there are more of them and they are of better quality today then ever before.

I admit to having a very old world palate and you’ll find all of my suggestions for these affordable quaffers are wines from France, Spain and Italy.  There are plenty of affordable quality wines from the new world and in particular California and I’m sure there is a blog out there that can steer you in the right direction…get Googling.  The good news for us is that French consumption of wine has been plummeting downward for years now.  The humble Vin de Pays and Vin de Tables that accompanied almost every meal on the French Table are finding a smaller and less thirsty crowd at home.

Even ten years ago seeing an importer bring in a Vin de Pays (a step down in quality designation from A.O.C. wines) was uncommon.  Since the consumption has gone down in France these wines have to go somewhere and we are the beneficiaries.  Vin de Pays aren’t always from lower quality vineyards.  In fact some producers don’t agree with the regulations they’d have to follow to make an A.O.C. wine and would rather do their own thing and make a Vin du Pay that they are proud of.

There are so many great and affordable wines from the Languedoc region of France that I’ll be discovering new ones 30 years from now.  I’m currently drinking a lot of Pinot Noir Vin du Pays from Limoux in the heart of the Languedoc.  The Rhone is another large region that you find great value and there is still plenty of delicious Cotes du Rhone for not much more than Vin du Pays.  2007 is such a great vintage in these two regions that the even these entry level wines show the classic nature of the vintage.

Spanish wines have gained a foothold in the U.S. but there are still plenty of values to be found.  While regions like Rioja and Priorat along with others are on the tips of people’s tongues many other regions in Spain are still relatively unknown and very affordable.  La Mancha, Toro, Calatayud are all still far enough off the radar and present great value.  There are also more examples of Tierra de Castilla, the Spanish equivalent of Vin du Pays.  Find a wine shop with a Spanish section and start digging and remember ask for help at the wine shop.

At least once a month I taste an Italian grape variety that I’d never heard of before and I believe that will be the case for the rest of my life.  Of the thousands of wines made in Italy only a few handful are really well known here in the states.  The great expensive wines of Italy are as fiercely collected and horded by connoisseurs as any top French wine.  I believe Italy makes more great affordable white wine than any other country and from more and different varietals than anywhere else.  Just the letter V allows for Verdicchio, Verdello, Verduzzo, Vermentio, Vernaccia, Vespaiola, and Vespolina plus others I’m sure I’ve yet to try.  Again find a wine shop with a good selection, ask for help and find something that works for you.

Another great place to do research is at one of the City’s great restaurants.  At your next lunch spring for an inexpensive bottle of wine and ask to talk to the person behind the wine list about your tastes.  They’ll probably have something you’ve never had before and will even help point you in the direction of where you could buy it in town.  Happy hunting everyone and feel free to email any questions or comments at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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