For a Few Dollars Less: Great Wines Under $10

Thomas Jefferson considered wine “a necessity of life.” But as the recession continues, many Americans are placing wine on their personal endangered-species list.

This may be because wine has gotten so expensive; wine merchants say that when they offer particularly good values in the $6 to $8 range, their customers snap them up. So in my semiannual look at good values, I lowered the ante. Last spring our limit was $15, but when I called wine shops on Oct. 9, I asked, “What’s the best wine value you have under $10?”

Almost all of the merchants hesitated and said, in one way or another, “But I have so many right now.” They all agreed that the huge glut of wine in France and California, combined with good bargains coming from Chile, Spain and Australia, makes this a buyer’s market. “This business is feast or famine,” said one merchant, “and right now it’s a feast out there.”

Shops are listed alphabetically, with the name of the merchant who made the recommendation (wine is, after all, such a personal thing). You may notice that several of their phone numbers end with 9463; that spells “wine” on a telephone face.

Bel-Air Wine Merchant (Bob Golbahar) 1988 Cask One Cabernet Sauvignon ($6.99)-- “This is a Napa Valley wine that’s very soft and great to drink right now--not for the cellar. It was made by Bruce Shipman, who used to import wine but who now goes out and buys wine on the bulk market and ages it in French oak barrels. He also has a very nice Chardonnay at about the same price.”

10421 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles; (310) 474-9518.

Beverage Warehouse (Ed Masciana) 1991 Riverbreak Cabernet Franc, Santa Barbara Valley ($6.99)-- “Nice luscious cranberry fruit with cassis and a slightly herbal tang. Super bottle of wine, great with food.” Made by Babcock Vineyards.

4935 McConnell Ave., West Los Angeles; (310) 306-2822.

Bristol Farms (Jeff Nicoll) 1991 Domaine de Pouy (white) ($5.99)-- “A real clean, citrus-y, pineapple-y wine, kind of like an Italian Trebbiano, but it’s from Gascony. It’s got good viscous fruit.” Nicoll says he sells a lot of this wine and has a large supply of it, calling it “a real crowd pleaser.”

606 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena; (818) 441-5450.

Conejo Valley Wine and Provision (Tim Coles) 1990 Ravenswood Zinfandel, Sonoma, “Old Vines” ($9.99)-- “Another example of the great quality of the 1990 vintage. A nice touch of American oak, and plenty of raspberry fruit. Considering the price, this wine has an awful lot of character.”

1321 Thousand Oaks Blvd. (Northstar Plaza), Thousand Oaks; (805) 496-1324.

Duke of Bourbon (David Breitstein) 1989 Louis M. Martini Winery Cabernet Sauvignon “Duke’s 25th Anniversary Cuvee” ($9.99)-- “This blockbuster wine is evolving into one of the best Cabernets released this year, and we think it’s a steal. We were going to raise the price, but we still have quite a bit of it. The Martinis think it’s one of the finest Cabernets they’ve ever released.” Same wine recommended last May.

20908 Roscoe Blvd., Canoga Park; (818) 341-1234.

Greenblatt’s Deli (Jeff Kavin) 1986 Lauriol, Bordeaux-Cotes de Francs ($3.99)-- “Very approachable, medium-weight wine with a lot of flavor. It’s exceptional. You don’t expect to get a wine this good for this low a price.”

8017 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; (213) 656-0606.

Hi-Time Cellars (Chuck Hansen) 1989 Costello Vineyards Chardonnay ($9.99)-- “This wine has a light oak, vanillan aroma with a touch of Meursault toastiness. It’s quite delicate, but it finishes with plenty of flavor.”

250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa; (714) 650-8463.

Los Angeles Wine Co. (Ron Harling) 1990 Goode and Ready Cabernet Sauvignon ($6.99)-- “This is an indication of just how good the ’90 vintage is going to be for Cabernet. It has soft, round tannins, deep, rich fruit and layer after layer of complexity.” 4935 McConnell, Unit 8, Los Angeles; (310) 306-9463.

Montana Wine Co. (Robert Rogness) 1991 Preston Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, “Dry Creek Valley” ($5)-- “It’s partially barrel-fermented, but it has great citrus flavors. It’s a perfect aperitif and it’s a great food wine.”

625 Montana Ave., Suite B, Santa Monica; (310) 451-4553.

Northridge Hills Liquor and Wine Warehouse (Paul Smith) 1989 Montfort Bellevue, Medoc ($8.99)-- “I think this is typical of what the ’89 Bordeaux have to offer--lots of rich, round fruit and plenty of guts. It has a very long finish and we think it’s a pretty exciting find.”

11249 Tampa Ave., Northridge; (818) 368-7330.

Red Carpet Wine and Spirits (David Dobbs) Non-vintage Tivoli sparkling wine ($9.99)-- “This wine was made by S. Anderson, and it has a lot of crisp green-apple and pear flavors. It has the finish of an $18 sparkling wine.”

400 E. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale; (818) 247-5544.

Topline Wine & Spirit (Gene Bialek) 1990 Rodney Strong Vineyards Chardonnay “Chalk Hill Vineyard” ($7.99)-- “Full-bodied and elegant as well, with a vanilla/oak aroma, a great blend of oak and fruit.”

4718 San Fernando Road, Glendale; (818) 500-9670.

Trader Joe’s stores (Bob Berning) 1991 Napa Brook, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($2.99)-- “Lots of berry fruit with soft but prominent tannins, but no bitterness. It’s really quite drinkable. The only question is: ‘Do people like the flavor of Cabernet in a wine as young as this is?’ ” Berning says the wine was produced by a large Napa Valley grower and winery “who will probably market the same wine at $10 a bottle after it’s been aged in French oak.”

Locations throughout California.

Twenty-Twenty Wines (Ralph Noe) 1990 Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon ($6.99)-- “It’s very smooth, so you can drink it with or without food, and you can age it for a while if you like. It’s very well-balanced and not overly big.” This wine was made by Caymus Vineyards.

2020 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles; (310) 447-2020.

Vintage Wines Limited (John Lindsay) 1986 Ojai Vineyards, Ojai Red ($6.99)-- “Lots of full, fleshy fruit, very ripe and spicy. It’s a Mourvedre-Grenache-Syrah blend, and it’s fuller-bodied than a lot of wines at this price.”

6904 Miramar Road, Suite 101, San Diego; (619) 549-2112.

Wally’s (Steve Wallace) 1991 Acacia Winery Chardonnay, Napa Valley ($8.99)-- “This wine has a citrus and tropical fruit aroma with a full body. It’s slightly viscous and toasty. It’s really an attractive wine.”

2107 Westwood Blvd., Westwood; (310) 475-0606.

Wine Cask (Carl Zytowski) Non-vintage Wine Cask Red Table Wine ($4.95)-- “This is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir and it was made by Gainey. They released it as Recession Red, and we bought some of the same wine. It is soft and medium-bodied with some characteristics of all three grapes. It’s simple, tasty table wine with great flavor. We serve it bistro-style, at cellar temperature”--that is, about 55 degrees.

813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara; (805) 966-9463.

The Wine Club (Rich Smith) 1989 Merryvale Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.59)-- “Good forward fruit, enticing blend of chocolate and Napa mintiness; very drinkable now, but it will be excellent in the cellar for four to six years.”

2110 E. McFadden Ave., Suite E, Santa Ana; (714) 835-6485.

Wine Exchange (Steve Zanotti) 1989 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon ($5.59)-- “Big, ripe Cabernet with honest fruit. It’s very accessible and tasty, and it has everything you could want in a Cabernet. They have managed to keep it soft enough for most people but rich and meaty enough for the connoisseurs.”

2291 N. Tustin Ave., Orange; (714) 974-1454.

The Wine House (Larry Seibel) 1989 Alameda Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile ($4.19)-- “Unbelievable wine. It is intensely flavored with a little cedar, tons of fruit and complex flavors that linger quite a while. It is, without a doubt, the finest value I’ve seen in the last three years.”

2311 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles; (310) 479-3731.

The Wine Merchant (Dennis Overstreet) 1989 Domaine de la Gautiere, Vin de Pays (red) ($7.99)-- “It doesn’t come on with very much elegance, but it’s a bold statement in a California sense--dense and rich in fruit, with a rustic finish. This is the type of wine that you consume after you put on Sun Block 15 and go out on the patio to sip while you grill some meats.”

9701 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 278-7322.

Wine Reserve (Barry Herbst) 1991 Buttonwood Farms Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99)-- “No oak- or barrel-fermented qualities and not very grassy, but it has a lot of pears and spicy fruit. I think it’s worth twice the money. I compare it favorably with some of the best French white wines, including very good white Graves.”

929 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale; (818) 500-8400.

Winesellar and Brasserie (Gary Parker) 1989 Chateau Gaudrelle, Vouvray ($9.99)-- “Rich, full-bodied wine with a hint of sweetness. It’s great as a first-course wine or as an aperitif--or as you’re cooking dinner. It was made by Monmousseau, and it’s a reserve wine. It’s full-bodied, well-balanced and almost sweet.”

9550 Waples St., Suite 115, San Diego; (619) 450-9557.

The Wine Shop on Larchmont (Jay Crossley) 1989 Le Croix des Papes, Chateauneuf du Pape ($9.50)-- “This is a dark, rich, full-bodied Rhone that is surprisingly well-rounded for a wine of this price and youth. It’s a fantastic value.”

223 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 466-1621.

Wine of the Week

1990 Dry Creek Vineyards Zinfandel ($11)-- The 1990 vintage is turning out to be stupendous for Zinfandel. Among the best I’ve tasted this year are Ridge Vineyards (both the Geyserville and York Creek designations), Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Franciscan Vineyards, Nalle Winery, Gary Farrell wines and Kenwood Vineyard “Jack London Ranch.” This wine, which annually makes top-10 lists of Zinfandels, has splendid raspberry and violet spice aroma and warm, ripe berry fruit in the mouth. The taste is lush and the finish bright and crisp. It won three gold medals at major wine competitions this year. California winemakers are crafting Zinfandels with less tannin these days, and for those who are tired of harsh Cabernets that are too young to drink, this latest breed of Zinfandels is a wonderful change of pace.