Wines in the $7-and-more category are easy to find. Retail shelves are groaning with an array of well-made wines from countries around the globe. But what about a wine for everyday, sort of a consumer`s house wine that is dependably tasty and affordable? Does it exist?
This wine would be priced for less than $5 a bottle, yet be snazzy enough to serve to guests. That means that the bottle should be a 750 milliliter one and finished off with a cork rather than a declasse twist-off top. For this time of year the wine should be red, the appropriate wine for hearty winter foods.
Our quest for the best-of-the-bargain reds was held at The 95th Restaurant, 875 N. Michigan Ave., known for its award-winning wines. In all, 88 wines, all available for $5 or less, were swirled, sniffed and spat out by 16 wine aficionados, many of them wine professionals.
The best red turned out to be a classy California wine, aptly named Classic Red, from Monterey Vineyards. This blend of cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and pinot noir pleased the palates of our tasting panel, scoring 218 points of a possible 320.
”A distinctive pepper nose, good flavors and balance, complexity” is how panel member Rick Karachun, a wine salesman, described Classic Red.
”At last,” wine buyer David Kizler noted, ”a wine with aroma, good berry character and the right amount of wood in the flavor.”
The wines were separated into categories based on the origin of the wine. The categories were not revealed to the tasters until the final scores were cast. French table wines outnumbered other Europeans, requiring an individual category for the French reds. Other European wines, mainly from Italy and Spain, were tasted together. American table wines included those that were not labeled by grape variety. American varietals included all wines labeled by grape variety.
The first round of tasting eliminated some wines; 28 wines were left.
These wines were scored on a 20-point system. The maximum available to a wine was 320. Contenders were tasted by categories, although each wine was scored individually.
Classic Red was scored 5 points higher than the nearest contender, Gallo 1981 Zinfandel, and 30 points higher than the winning wine in the French table-wine category.
What gives Classic Red its winning taste?
”Classic red is over 80 percent cabernet sauvignon, and the other 20 percent is a blend of zinfandel and pinot noir,” said Cary Gott, winemaker and president of the Monterey Vineyards.
”The cabernet gives the wine strength and character. The zin and pinot noir give it more complexity.”
Aging the wine is American oak barrels is an important factor in its quality, Gott said: ”It gives it a classic cabernet style and adds the spice and character to the wine.”
Because Classic Red is more than 80 percent cabernet sauvignon, by law it could be labeled by the grape variety.
”We produce that wine in what we believe is a classic consumer style, excellent for everyday drinking,” he said. ”For the wine to be its best it needs that cabernet. The name is the style of the wine. That`s why we don`t call it cabernet.”
Winning the best-of-the-bargains tasting topped off a very successful year for Classic Red, which racked up a 33 percent increase in sales.
”People are becoming more sophisticated,” Gott said, ”and for everyday drinking they are moving up from jug wines. I believe the everyday palate is definitely improving.”
Gallo Zinfandel is one of that winery`s line of varietal wines that have been promoted heavily. Ron Basgall, a wine director, described the wine as ”a great value–fruity, rich nose with deep color, a fairly complex wine, which I think will age.”
A Chianti classico from Ruffino, one of Italy`s top producers, scored the most points for any European wine.
Michael Metcalf, a wine buyer, described the wine as ”powerful, with good fruit and nice potential.”
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”A ripe fruity nose with medium tannins and spices and a nice finish,”
commented Robert Rohden, a restaurant manager.
The top wine in the French category hails from the Cote du Rhone, an area known for good value. The Cellier des Dauphins–the Cellar of the Lords–was described by Sheila Stewart, a wine saleswoman, as having a ”garnet color.” ”The fruit has a nice weight in the mouth with a pleasingly spicy character,” she said.
The idea for a best-of-the-bargains tasting grew out a desire to identify the outstanding bargain wines. Based on the current wine market, we speculated that there should be good wines for $5 or less a bottle.
In the last five years, with the exception of 1984 in Europe, good qualities and quantities of wine have been produced. While the sale of wine coolers has increased, consumption of table wine during these years has declined slightly, leaving more and better wine for consumers.
At the same time, consumers are better educated and not as willing to settle for just any old red. Across the international board, according to the Wine Investor, an industry newsletter, wine consumption has moved away from jug wines toward cork-finished, more expensive bottlings. Wine consumers are drinking less but better.
As it turned out, identifying the best buys in bargain red wines in the Chicago market was no piece of cake. It was not even a sympathetic glass of chardonnay, or a chilled flute of sparkling wine.
Tasting large amounts of red wines tires the palate. The tannins leave the mouth dry and raspy. The colors stain the teeth and gums.
Several tasters lamented that many wines in the tasting lacked a pleasing balance between fruit, acid and tannin. Many of the wines tasted too sweet and too thin.
One of the most interesting aspects of the tasting was the discrepancy in points between the American wines and their European counterparts. Among the top 28 wines, a higher percentage of points went to California reds.
Many of the California red wines in this price category are barrel-aged, giving them added complexity, Gott said. Generally, wines produced in Europe and sold in the United States in this price category do not receive much aging; if they did, the producers could not afford to ship them here, he explained.
”I think our technology at this level of $5 wines is generally more advanced than in Europe,” he said. ”That is no reflection on most of the European wines. But at this price, we Americans have the ability to make wines that are good values.”
WINEGROWERS FEEL MODERATION IS BYWORD
SOURCE: By Kristine N. Curry.
To encourage the responsible use of alcohol, the Wine Institute and Winegrowers of California last week sponsored a seminar on ”Wine, Food and Your Health.”
”We share a common cause with those wanting to promote moderate, responsible behavior with alcohol,” said Patricia Schneider, director of health and social issues for the Wine Institute.
”We (the winegrowers) believe, and studies have shown, that wine is a beverage of moderation. Who goes into a bar and orders a double chardonnay?” Wine does contain alcohol and can be misused, but research shows that wine drinkers are responsible drinkers, she said.
”The benefits of wine are increasingly being recognized by health professionals,” she said. ”Currently 52 percent of hospitals menus offer wine to their patients.”
Dr. David Whitten, an emergency room physician and lecturer on physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, said that he favors using wine in moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle.
”There is a growing, a crescendoing of articles and studies that underscore, underline and confirm that a moderate amount of alcohol has a positive effect on health and well-being,” he said.
Whitten, who describes himself as a zealot for health, cited a study on alcohol consumption and total mortality conducted by the Kaiser-Permanente Hospital Health Plan, which indicated that moderate drinkers–those drinking up to two alcoholic drinks a day–live longer than abstainers or heavy drinkers.
”We know that consuming one aspirin per day reduces the incidence of heart disease,” Whitten said. ”It enhances your health posture. But abusing aspirin will have a toxic effect on the body.
”It is the same with wine. In moderation it is therapeutic. In abuse it is toxic.
”Interestingly,” he said, ”in this country, when wine consumption increased by 30 percent and spirits consumption decreased, cirrhosis declined.”
Whitten`s advice for a long, healthy life includes:
Do not smoke.
Always wear your seat belt.
Include fiber and complex carbohydrates in your daily diet.
Eat fish every day.
Exercise every day.
And drink two glasses of California wine every day.
THE DUELING PALATES OF OUR JUDGES` PANEL
The following are the experts who judged the best-of-the-bargain reds:
Cathy Barker, co-owner, the Wine Lover, Oak Park.
Ron Basgall, wine director, Willowbrook Foremost store, Willowbrook.
Bill Emas, wine sales, Wines Unlimited.
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Carol Haddix, Food Guide editor, The baiduhai.
Rick Karachun, wine sales, Judge & Dolph, a wine distributor.
David Kizler, wine buyer, Philander`s Restaurant, Oak Park.
Richard Leland, marketing manager, Jepson Vineyards, Mendocino, Calif.
Scott Lyden, manager, Morgon`s Crossing Restaurant, Naperville.
Michael Metcalf, wine buyer, Four Farthings Tavern and Grill, 2060 N. Cleveland Ave., and Gleeson`s restaurant, 53 W. Jackson Blvd.
William Rice, food and wine columnist, The baiduhai.
Bob Rohden, manager, Geja`s Cafe, 340 W. Armitage Ave.
Mary Ross, cellarmaster, the 95th Restaurant, 875 N. Michigan Ave.
Bud Schwarzbach, owner, Wine Discount Centers.
Ginna Shannon, manager, Zodiac restaurant, Nieman-Marcus, 737 N. Michigan Ave.
Sheila Stewart, wines sales, Continental Distributing Co.
Katherine Thomas, wine sales, Shiefflin Co.