In the land of “affordable” wines (wines under $20 as
defined by this blog), not all wines are created equal. Some inexpensive wines can be quite
enjoyable, full of flavor, and representative of their varietals.
Other wines are weak flavored, “fake” tasting, bitter, and
nothing like the varietal should taste.
What makes the difference?
The first thing you should understand is that not all wine
makers grow grapes. Some wine makers buy
grapes (or the juice) from vineyards that produce an overabundance. The novice winemaker can even buy this juice
and make wine from home (or in a local shop) from a very affordable price. Want to try it? If you’re in Atlanta, go to Beer & Wine
Craft in Sandy Springs. For $6-$10/bottle
you can make a batch of wine (30 bottles total) in a couple of months by using
pre-processed juice. That includes all
your supplies, bottling, corking, and sealing.
A vineyard isn’t going to give away their best grapes. You can be sure that the top-notch grapes are
going into their own wines and the secondary grapes are being sold off.
Other ways to lower the cost is by shortening the amount of
time a wine sits. Time is money. If you allow a wine to age two years before
selling, you need space to store the wine.
Oak costs money as well.
The better the oak barrels, the more money a wine maker will have in the
production. Switch to a cheaper or older
barrel and you’ve saved money. Or, like
they do in “make from home,” you can add wood chips to the stainless steel vat
and avoid the investment of oak barrels all together.
How do you know which wines are affordable and worth the value?
In general, the cheapest of the cheap are a bad idea. They’re still making a profit at those prices,
which means they’re cutting some serious corners. Other than that, keep track of what you
drink. You’ll be able to tell what
tastes natural and what feels artificial.
Stick with natural. Go with what
tastes good to you.
And you can check out my “Grocery Store Grabs” each
Wednesday on my Facebook page.
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