American bargains

Grape deals from the left coast

Uncorked by Thor Iverson

Wine lovers have been complaining about the inflated price of Bordeaux for years now, so it seems odd that the biggest price-gouging story of the year comes from California's Napa Valley. When well-known producer Caymus raised the price of its basic-level cabernet sauvignon (Napa appellation) from $36 to $65 in a single year, the wine world let loose a collective cry of disbelief, horror, and even scorn. Caymus is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection, which has a well-deserved track record for quality (though not, at well over $100 a bottle, for good value). The Napa cab has always been a more affordable alternative. Until this year, that is.

Is the Caymus Napa cab a good wine? Though it's way over-oaked for my taste, yes it is. Is it worth $65? I'd say no. But then, quite a few Bordeaux châteaux are charging a lot more than $65 per bottle for their not-yet-released '97s, wines that they themselves admit are not as good as the (cheaper) '95 and '96 versions. It all goes to prove that greed knows no nationality, I guess.

In this overheated market, where prices are driven more by rarity, hype, and ego than by quality, we wine drinkers need an alternative. And though there are a lot of unbeatable wine bargains out there from just about every winemaking country, this week I'm going to focus exclusively on California and Oregon.

I don't usually write all that much about American wine. Not out of bias, though I freely admit to a strong distaste for over-oaked liquid jam, a style that pervades West Coast winemaking. It's that for value and quality in the under-$20 range, America lags well behind Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and even France. These two factors conspire against the American consumer, who is all too often introduced to wine via the insipid sippers that litter retailers' shelves, and ends up either hating wine or (worse) thinking that wine doesn't get any better. Furthermore, since most store selections and restaurant wine lists are dominated by American wines, oftentimes we wine drinkers don't have many other choices. Hence my usual focus on values and well-made wines from places other than the US.

But there are American winemakers that buck the trend and make high-quality wine at a price that won't remind anyone of Bordeaux (or Caymus). If you're looking for an "everyday" wine that you can find in just about any wine shop, you can consider this column your shopping list. (With all of these wines, you can expect good wines every year despite the vagaries of vintage variation.)

Markham doesn't really seem a likely candidate for this list. After all, it makes the standard lineup of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chardonnay from the traditionally overpriced Napa Valley, and produces a couple of reserve bottlings that run in the $30-to-$40 range. But this winery has a commitment to reasonable prices despite its escalating popularity and a fairly large production. The star of the show has always been merlot, a highly structured and "serious" wine that makes all the trendy $10 crap out there taste like sugar water. But the winery's cabernet sauvignon is arguably even better, and, like the merlot, good for short-term drinking or some aging. I don't care for the rather light and oaky chardonnay, and the sauvignon blanc, though tasty in a fruity sort of way, is hardly mind-altering. However, if you ever see a bottle of Markham's zinfandel (lighter-styled, a very pure expression of the grape), petite sirah (neither overpowering nor abusively tannic, but absolutely delicious), or muscat (a fruity dessert wine with great citrusy acidity), snap it up -- these are among the greatest values in California. Prices run from $10 to $20.

Preston is another winery that sort of skips along on the cusp of public awareness. I think it's their labels; too cute for wine snobs, not compelling enough for novices (personally, I think they're great). Preston used to make some fairly innocuous wine, but it's pretty hard to find these days; what they're putting out now is very good, and occasionally extraordinary. Almost everything in their lineup is recommendable, though the syrah is a bit light for my taste. The zinfandel (very light-styled, but irresistibly delicious), viognier (diluted, but as well as California can do with this cranky grape), sémillon (restrained and minerally like many white Bordeaux made from the same grape), and the Rhône-styled blend Faux (tangy red fruit with high acidity) are worthy wines for everyday drinking, while the Cuvée de Fumé (a sauvignon blanc that evokes the grassy lime of Pouilly-Fumé and the herbal richness of New Zealand sauvignon), marsanne (a hedonistic off-dry flower and citrus fest), and barbera (cherries and high acidity in the best non-Italian bottling of this grape I've ever tasted) are tremendous, almost world-class wines. Prices hover around $15.

Blue bottles are usually a bad sign; wineries that resort to fluorescent glass usually have little other than neat packaging to show for their efforts. Not so with Bridgeview, an Oregon winery that manages to overcome somewhat cheesy presentation with excellent wines. The pinot gris (a uniquely smooth, creamy pastis-and-pear quaff), chardonnay (peaches and cream), pinot noir reserve (with firm tannins and strong acidity providing structure for the tasty red fruit), and merlot (spicy cassis and black cherries, like a young syrah) are all very well-made wines for short-term drinking. The pinot noir reserve is around $20, but the rest are $10 wines.

Don't overlook a few other value champions: Oregon's King Estate and Adelsheim (both particularly adept with pinot gris and chardonnay) and California's Napa Ridge (the pinot noir is a stunning bargain) are can't-miss choices in a wine shop, though they're rarely seen on restaurant lists. Who needs Caymus, anyway?

Thor Iverson can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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