Bargain Bottles

It could be the proximity to Bay Street and the doom and gloom emanating from the towers that line Toronto's financial district but clearly, for the moment, the air appears to be out of the luxury wine market in the east.

The mood is sullen among distributors. Many think bargain wine is set to become the rage in Ontario as the heartland of Canada hunkers down for a fall and winter of financial discontent. From what I can see moving to inexpensive labels shouldn't be all that much of a stretch for Ontario consumers given the large core list of cheap, commercial brands sold in Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) outlets across the province.

I'm not sure who is driving the wine bus in Ontario but today's LCBO may well be home to the largest collection of down-market brands sold anywhere in the world. With Air Miles easier to find than appellations in regular, run-of-the-mill, monopoly shops, it's difficult to know what the strategy could be. A small amount of high-end wines are flushed through a handful of Vintages stores but those listings disappear so fast they have little or no attraction for regular wine drinkers or wineries hoping to establish some sort of shelf identity for their winery.

Keep in mind that in Ontario there are no private wine shops selling import wine so the breadth of selection is highly restricted. Frankly, spending more than 10 minutes in any regular LCBO outlet is of no particular interest to someone with a modicum of wine interest. I mention all this only because there is some evidence in British Columbia that our in-store experience is moving along the same lines of what's going on in Ontario.

Personally, I think we should avoid the Ontario experience like the plague. The strength of our stores, albeit under constant barrage by the largest wine producers in the world, is the diversity of wines we can offer consumers. That's what brings us back to the store, incites a culture of wine, and, if you were unaware, drives restaurant buys and interest in B.C. wine, too. The system is far from perfect, but the strategy to put quality bottles in a wide range of stores has paid dividends in the type of wine we can buy and the experience open to us in government and private stores.

If anything, we need to expand selection. It could easily be done by shortening the space afforded the huge multinational wine companies whose only interest is their stock price. Consumers need to remain vigilant especially in these uncertain economic times where the natural tendency of retailers is to trade down to cheap, and not necessarily, cheaper wine. To point out how easy it is to find inexpensive well-made wine, I search my current database at gismondionwine.com this week for high scoring inexpensive wines. I then checked them against the BCLDB database. I found several matches and decided on the following six bargains all available in large numbers around the province.

We begin with Cono Sur Chardonnay 2007. A vineyard in transition, this almost organic chardonnay will please with its fresh and crisp fruit styling packed with green apple, floral, peach pit, mineral and lime flavours. It has excellent finesse for the price. Light, zesty, eco-friendly and very good value.

Across the mountains the Finca Flichman Malbec Oak Aged 2007 has hit the mark. This is certainly one the best efforts in recent vintages. Look for earthy, smoky, red fruit flavours with bits of licorice. A fine-value red you can serve liberally around the barbecue or with pizza, chicken or spaghetti.

Spain is home to the Valcanto Syrah 2005 made with 100-per-cent syrah that gets four months aging in American oak barrels. The textures are super soft and slippery with plummy, black olive, dried herb, meaty, chocolate aromas and flavours. It is super ripe and ready to drink.

It's back to Chile for the Santa Rita Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2007 and its grapefruit and cassis aromas and flavours. A true Casablanca style with its ripe fruit and gooseberry undercurrent. Serve with grilled seafood.

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2005 is a good example of the new California chardonnay. It has all the ripeness, honey and spicy tropical fruit notes but with better acidity and verve. It's an affordable fun white wine that will have broad appeal.

Finally a plea for Dourthe No 1 Sauvignon Blanc 20th Anniversary 2007 from Bordeaux. Dourthe has done a fine job with its Numero One for more than a decade, even if it lives in obscurity under the white Bordeaux label. We love its restrained, lightly smoky, fruit flavours flecked with minerals, ripe grapefruit and just a dash of lees or oatmeal. Cool calm and sophisticated, it is the ultimate pre-dinner wine or try it with grilled chicken or fish dishes.

Price: $14.50

UPC: 7804320242699

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Excellent finesse, light, zesty and very good value.

FINCA FLICHMAN MALBEC OAK AGED 2007, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

Price: $10

UPC: 7790470080222

Score: 86/100

Remarks: The best of recent vintages.

VALCANTO SYRAH 2005, ALMANSA, CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, SPAIN

Price: $14

UPC: 8414837030130

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Super-ripe and ready to drink.

SANTA RITA SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVA 2007, VALLE DE CASABLANCA, CHILE

Price: $15

UPC: 089419007138

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Grilled prawns and a very reasonable price make this a winner.

WENTE MORNING FOG CHARDONNAY 2005, LIVERMORE, SAN FRANCISCO BAY, CALIFORNIA

Price: $18

UPC: 00089636190002

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Affordable fun white wine that will have broad appeal.

DOURTHE NO 1 SAUVIGNON BLANC 20TH ANNIVERSARY 2007, BORDEAUX, FRANCE

Price: $18

UPC: 3258691241067

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Cool calm and sophisticated, it is the perfect aperitif wine.