A New Wine Order Begins With Affordable Wine

Whether it is on the deck at home or the patio of a restaurant, it really doesn't matter as long as we are outside and in the sunshine.

Today we look at a number of very affordable wines because, despite what we may hear about the recession coming to an end, it's hard to convince anyone they need to spend more than $30 or $40 for any bottle of wine in a restaurant, and by default half as much at home. I'm convinced there will be a whole new order of wine pricing when the recession is really over, and it will be years before we see the free-wheeling kind of spending that marked the decade before the markets went south.

Earlier this week, a prominent local restaurateur told me his people stopped buying wine in January with a view to selling some of the millions of dollars of wine they have sitting in inventory in the wine cellar. They have started buying again, but only because they ran out of all of their moderately priced wines. Translation: the $40-dollar wines are selling well, but most of the stock above that is sitting, especially the $1,000 bottles.

There will always be people with big money who will buy the world's greatest wines and pay for them, but the days of diners shelling out for $300 and $400 wines most every week are gone.

Today we look at some new releases featured prominently in government wine stores this month and next, that are anything but expensive. It appears $15 is more or less the mark government buyers are focusing on at the moment, and we can live with that.

No. 8 Wire Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Marlborough has that typically intense classic Marlborough sauvignon style that opens with a big aromatic nose of capsicum, tinned asparagus, passion fruit and melons. The palate is similarly charged with bits of gooseberry and citrus and nettle notes lingering in the finish. This is fresh, crisp, belligerent New Zealand sauvignon best served with a plate of steaming fresh mussels. The No. 8 reference points to the type or gauge of the wire used to tie the vines to the trellis in the vineyard.

I was excited to try the latest Serame Viognier Reserve 2007 from the Languedoc area in the south of France. This wine has been consistently good over the years but the nose was a bit odd on the bottle I sampled. I chalked it up to being cork-finished and perhaps suffering from some malady, but the palate is solid. Lemon oil, pine, citrus, honey, herbal aromas preview a round, dry and elegant white with fine viscosity or texture with honey, orange, mineral, ginger, butter and guava flavours. This wine needs a screwcap to really excel, but for now it will do. Try it with halibut.

Still in France, dried herbs, tobacco and raspberry leaf mixes with rooty, minty, peppery notes and a touch of black cherry to mark the nose of the Paul Mas Grenache Noir 2007. The entry is dry with a dusting of tannins and more mineral, black cherry, tobacco, herbal flavours. Should be perfect around the barbecue all summer with grilled meats and poultry, and we like the price.

Shot in the Dark Shiraz Petite-Sirah 2008 is a big friendly red from Oz that dials down the acidity and revs up the rich, smoky, ripe fruit flavours. Round warm, glossy and a touch on the sweet, New World side it will resonate with steak eaters and those who prefer their reds big. Good value and a statement that not all cheap Australian red wine need be so sweet and sour in the finish. Another red at a fine price.

If you haven't notice the pattern, the Languedoc region is doing just fine this week. The Three Winds Syrah 2007 ($14) is a Vin de Pays d'Oc from Languedoc made with grapes grown just outside of the ancient Roman city of Carcassonne. Look for a spicy, smoked meat, sausage, peppery, savoury, garrigue nose with a touch of tar and black-cherry jam. The palate is youthful with some tannin and plenty of mocha, peppery, meaty and spicy, black cherry, plum and licorice root flavours. A well-made, slightly rustic, syrah that should easily work with grilled entrees off the stove or barbecue.

Our final pick is the Stork's Tower Tempranillo - Shiraz 2006 from the Castilla-Leon region of Spain. The nose is quite expressive offering meaty, tobacco leaf, green bean, caraway, peppery, coffee aromas. The entry is round and slightly sweet with light tannins and vibrant acidity. The flavours mix plum, black cherry, meaty, coffee, peppery, tobacco leaf with bits of dried herbs and vanilla. An easy-sipping, commercial red that should have broad appeal.

Price: $16

UPC: 00621926300014

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Fresh, crisp, belligerent New Zealand sauvignon best served with mussels.

SERAME VIOGNIER RESERVE 2007, LANGUEDOC, SOUTH OF FRANCE

Price: $15

UPC: 3258691345253

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Honey, orange, mineral, ginger, butter and guava flavours.

PAUL MAS GRENACHE NOIR 2007, SOUTH OF FRANCE

Price: $14

UPC: 03760040423517

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Perfect for around the barbecue all summer and we like the price.

SHOT IN THE DARK SHIRAZ PETITE SIRAH 2008, SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA

Price: $14

UPC: 009337739000287

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Smoky, ripe, glossy fruit flavours. Good value.

THREE WINDS SYRAH 2007, VIN DE PAYS D'OC, LANGUEDOC, SOUTH OF FRANCE

Price: $14

UPC: 3760143270353

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Rustic hamburger or spaghetti-style red.

STORK'S TOWER TEMPRANILLO - SHIRAZ 2006, CASTILLA-LEON, SPAIN

Price: $15

UPC: 0084159002139

Score: 85/100

Remarks: Plum, black cherry, meaty, coffee, easy sipping style.