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Divine Wines For $9.99

Tribune photo by JEFF HOUCK

David Mela, owner of Vintage Wine Cellars in Tampa, says the best wine values are coming from South America.

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By JEFF HOUCK | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 29, 2009

The simplest way to say it is this:

You're in love with wine.

Dinner isn't the same without sipping and savoring a little grape. Weekends are made for wine. Weeknights are too, for that matter.

You're the type who feels like Columbus when you discover a great new label. You get jazzed by trying new styles and flavors and exploring vintages from different countries. A thrill runs through you after finding a bottle from a little-known winery. You drop not-so-subtle hints to friends and family about a vintage that you wouldn't mind adding to your collection.

Being a wine adventurer, though, is more difficult in rough financial times, when every penny matters. The goal then becomes finding labels that drink expensive but leave your wallet free of sticker shock. The $10 bottle is the new $20 bottle.

With that in mind, we asked local experts and wine dealers to suggest wines under a ten-spot that give good quality and reward the drinker for broadening his or her horizons.

Most leaned toward South American and Spanish varieties. Chilean wines are similar to California flavors because of the similar climates and conditions under which the grapes are grown. Wines from Argentina are inexpensive because their dollar is pegged to the value of U.S. currency. As a result, price fluctuations are rare, unlike similar wines produced in Europe.

So, go grab a glass and get ready. You'll be pouring soon.

TRADING DOWN, NOT OUT

Certified sommelier and wine merchant Kevin Pelley of Berns Fine Wines & Spirits says he sees aficionados heading downmarket for less-expensive wines. The industry as a whole is rushing to meet that demand. But, he says, people are still drinking.

"There's not a rash of sobriety going on," Pelley says. "They're just trading down."

Ten-dollar bottles are rare in the extensive stock at Bern's - selection is much better under the $20 barrier for wines from Spain and Argentina, which are hot at the moment.

His suggestion: A 2006 Emperador de Barros tempranillo from Spain. "I would call it a pure expression of the fruit." There is no oak influence, but it has bright and red-fruited hints of cherry and blackberry and spice. It retails for $9.95. "It's far off the beaten path," Pelley says. "It's a value appellation."

ADVENTURE ON A BUDGET

Cecelia Messina, a sommelier and co-owner of Uncorked Fine Wines & Accessories on Fourth Street in St. Petersburg, says her customers are very loyal wine drinkers. They're not giving up on their passion, just shifting priorities.

"The ones who used to buy wines $25 and over are now buying $15 and $25 bottles," Messina says. "They're pretty adventuresome here. They just want to be adventuresome on a budget."

She suggests wines by Casa Diego, a Chilean winery that offers five different varietals for $6.50: cabernet, merlot, carmenere, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

"The flavors are all pretty true to their varietals," Messina says. "The cab has all the traditional characteristics. The carmenere is spicy. The merlot has the dark fruits."

GOOD VALUE, GOOD WINE

Kerry Ritrievi, manager of Vino 100 on Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg, says he usually stocks very small wine producers that are generally not very familiar to anyone but his regular customers. Those winemakers produce good values for buyers, though, so he's looking to bring in more in the range between $8 and $12.

Chilean winemaker Mars & Venus produces a chardonnay and cabernet for $9 a bottle.

"They're both very easy drinking," Ritrievi says. "Great fruit. Light-to-medium body. Good value wines."

He also features the Chilean winery Paso Del Sol, which makes a sauvignon blanc, a carmenere and a cabernet for $10 a bottle.

"They're not going to blow your socks off, but they're still very good wines and we do well with them," Ritrievi says. "People give them a go because of budget. Then they find out they're a nice value of wine."

POLISH AND PRICE

David Mela, owner of Vintage Wine Cellars on Henderson Boulevard in Tampa, says he thinks the best wine values are coming from South America. Argentina is maybe a leg up on Chile.

"Their wines seem to be a bit more bright, light and forward in style," Mela says. "Chilean wines still have an Old World-style. The cabs especially."

He likes the Tilia label, which is produced by the Catana winery for $9.99. It's a "great, full-bodied wine," he says. "The malbec is the one they do the best job with."

Mela also is a fan of the merlot-like reds made on the Italian Adriatic coast by Monte Pulciano d'Abruzzo for between $7.99 and $10.99 a bottle. "They produce a soft wine with roundness to it," he says. "Definitely more of a quaffing wine."

He also stocks Borsao, a Spanish line that blends temperanillo and garnacha grapes for a $7.99 bottle. The wine is ruby in color. "It's very contemporary and new, but the ones I've mentioned are New World wines with fruit flavors that are polished and round."

Need more suggestions? Go online to Jeff Houck's food blog, The Stew, at TBO.com, keyword: Stew.

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