Wine and Your Wallet

On the surface, the outlook for wine lovers in 1991 appears gloomy.

French wine prices are high and going higher, in part because of the weakness of the U.S. dollar. And prices for the best California wines are already in the stratosphere--$20 to $50 a bottle for most of the better-known Chardonnays and Cabernets.

Moreover, with implementation of a floor tax and a federal excise tax increase, wine prices will keep rising.

The excise tax alone will add about 35 cents to the price of a 750-milliliter bottle of wine, which equates to $1.40 on a three-liter bottle--even jug wine consumers will be asked to pay a lot more for their Chablis and Burgundy.

Yet I see little reason for wine lovers to be concerned. I don’t think prices for good wine will rise through the roof in the coming months. Here’s why.

As a starter, a huge amount of unsold wine remains in warehouses around the nation, a result of declining demand. Industry analysts say this lack of demand will keep prices for all but the most expensive wines level for the time being; prices may actually drop. And they feel many producers and importers will not kick prices up to reflect the new excise tax because to do so would reduce demand even further.

Moreover, discounts for older vintages of wines that haven’t yet sold will increase, analysts say. This means that some producers whose Chardonnays sold originally for a “suggested retail price” of $14 may well have to see that wine sold at $9.99--or less--to sell it in this recession.

It is true that prices for many top-name French wines are at an all-time high, due in part to high demand during the last three years as well as the fact that the last few vintages in France have been of exceptional quality.

No one is pleased, of course, that the best red Burgundies and Bordeaux cost $30 to $100 a bottle. However, the decline in consumption in the United States during the last few years has created an interesting situation. Warehouses are filled with good-quality, second-line imports that were supposed to sell at $10 to $20 and never did.

Include in that list a number of Bordeaux from the 1987 vintage, not considered the equal of 1988 or 1989 in terms of quality. As it turns out, that vintage wasn’t really that bad. Indeed, some 1987 Bordeaux are stunning values these days.

The longer these “forgotten wines” sit in warehouses, the more the sellers of these wines will be motivated to move them. Which means prices will come down, and savvy wine shops will get them.

The big beneficiaries of this glut of good wine is the consumer who (a) does homework to know which wines are worth trying, (b) keeps on the lookout for the wines that pop up periodically that represent great value and (c) are willing to buy a bottle of a wine, take it home and see how it tastes.

Better yet, truly savvy wine lovers find a couple of good wine merchants, stay in touch with them, and heed their advice about good values. And there are a lot of good values out there, judging from informal conversations I’ve had with merchants at the better wine shops in the Los Angeles area.

The following list of wines was assembled in about two hours last Thursday and was obtained by calling the shops listed here and asking the question: “What’s the best wine value you have in the shop today between $5 and $15.” Every person interviewed said he could name at least a dozen great wine values in that price range.

Most of the wines they chose are less than $9 a bottle; most of them should be available at most of the stores listed. The name of the person making the selection is listed in parentheses; the price is what the store was charging for the wine.

--Duke of Bourbon, Canoga Park: 1987 Tin Pony Cabernet, a second label of Iron Horse of Sonoma County. “A stunning wine, loaded with character. They tell me the wine is from young vines.” $8.99. (Dave Breitstein).

--Wally’s, West Los Angeles: 1987 San Lorenzo from Rosso Conero, a wine made by Umani Ronchi. “The wine is 85% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and 15% Sangiovese and it has a load of flavor for the price.” $7.99. (Gary Fishman).

--Northridge Hills Liquor: 1988 Domaine de Fresquet, a Vin de Pays from the south of France. “This wine is 100% Syrah, and it’s really gutsy, with a lot of richness and bright fruit.” $5.99. (Keith Perez).

--Los Angeles Wine Co.: 1985 Anfora from Portuguese producer Joao Pires. “This is an excellent red wine, rich and velvety and it tastes more mature than an ’85. We really love it.” $4.99. (Jeff Walker).

--Red Carpet Wine and Spirits: 1989 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay. “It’s very rich and complex, buttery, oaky, and in some ways you could compare it with French Burgundy.” $12.99 (David Dobbs).

--Wine House: 1988 Favelly Bourgogne Passetoutgrains. “This wine is a Burgundy that’s primarily made of Gamay. It has rich flavors, luscious fruit. We were surprised when we tasted it.” $6.99. (Christian Navarro).

--Bristol Farms: 1989 Rolling Hills Chardonnay. “It’s barrel fermented, with a nice combination of fruit and vanilla and great acidity.” $6.99 (Ed Masciana).

--Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego: 1987 Fetzer Barrel Select Cabernet. “Very forward fruit, with cherry and black current tones and nicely structured. It beat a lot of more expensive wines in a tasting we did.” $7.99. (John Lindsay).

--Manhattan Liquor, Manhattan Beach: 1988 Burgess Chardonnay. “Fruity, full flavors with a pear aroma.” $9.99 (Nick Kalayasilpin).

--Pioneer Boulangerie, Santa Monica: 1989 Falconer Chardonnay. “It’s a typical California style, with some oak for complexity and lovely fruit.” $9.99. (Bruce Gietzen).

--Fireside Liquor, Santa Monica: 1985 Palazzo Della Torre Valpolicella Classico Superiore from Allegrini. “Medium bodied but extremely smooth, the best Valpolicella we’ve ever had in the store.” $9.99 (Fred Claussen).

As an alternative to high-priced Cabernets, some buyers will re-discover Zinfandel in the $9 to $10 price range. A number of top producers of the variety have kept prices for this wine down to reasonable levels and the wines not only taste good, they age nicely for two or three years, giving them roundness.

Moreover, a number of the “new Rhone” wines will be released in 1991, such as those from Qupe, Phelps, Kendall-Jackson, Bonny Doon, Sean Thackery, Edmunds St. John, Meridian, Cline, Santino, William Wheeler and many others. It’s true, however, that the best of the new Rhone wines will be selling for $20 a bottle and above, but many will be $10 or less. But in that case, try Petite Sirah. It’s making a come back and is made better today than ever.

Wine lovers also will see a rebirth of Chianti Classico. Prices for the new releases rarely top $12 a bottle, and the values are excellent.

German Rieslings from the exceptional 1989 vintage also represent good value. German Rieslings haven’t been a hot seller in the United States recently, so prices are a bit depressed. But many of the 1989s are far better than their prices indicate.

Port, too, is an area overlooked by most American wine buyers. Though vintage Port prices are not inexpensive, some excellent tawny Ports are available at fair prices. And Quinto Do Noval has released an attractive Dry White Port that’s wonderful. It sells for $12 and is a special and unusual aperitif wine.

Prices for French Champagne are on the rise, too, and may increase as much as 30% by next spring. The increase is due to a disagreement between French wine growers and the organization that sets prices wineries pay for grapes.

The Comite Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), which was formed during World War II to act as a negotiator between producers and the German occupation forces, had been the go-between that prevented strife between growers and producers during the last few decades.

However, a 30-year contract between the CIVC and the growers ran out last year, and the parties couldn’t agree on terms of an agreement that suited all growers. This year, a number of major growers--more than 15% of all growers in the region--chose to sell their grapes at higher prices, throwing the Champagne market into turmoil.

Overall Champagne grape prices rose by an estimated 20%, and the producers said that because worldwide demand for Champagne has not slowed down, price increases averaging about 20% were inevitable. Some producers said increases could be even more and that a 30% increase wasn’t out of the question.

Add to that the weak U.S. dollar versus the French franc, and it could make for price increases that will put the price of Dom Perignon at more than $100 a bottle. (Suggested retail for it today is $83 a bottle.) Even non-vintage Champagnes should rise well above $20 a bottle, analysts said.

Meanwhile, declining sales of California sparkling wines in the last six months have held prices fairly steady, and interviews with wineries indicate that no price rises are anticipated for the next six months at least.

Wine of the Week

1987 Iron Horse Brut ($20)-- French Champagne prices are climbing through the roof, but with California making wines as sublime as this, bubble lovers needn’t cut back. This sparkling wine is the best yet produced by this top Sonoma County producer. The wine has a delicate, bread dough yeast aroma. It’s fruity and essentially bone dry. Still, the wine’s depth and character make it rich on the palate. Wonderful now, it will take on added depth in a year or two.