Date: Fri 05-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

wine-Small-Chardonnay-Burgundy

Full Text:

WINE WISDOM: Wines With Both Taste And Value

By Steve Small

I have had the enjoyable opportunity lately to taste quite a few new wines.

One of the most interesting aspects of writing about wine is how things change

from year to year.

It is always worth remembering that the most important factor in wine

production is the quality of the grapes. Grape quality will vary from vintage

to vintage. Variables like weather, demand for specific types of grapes, and

worldwide currency fluctuation also impact the wine market. As we exit the

second quarter of 1998, here are some wines I have recently enjoyed.

Burgundy is a renowned wine region in eastern France. Because Burgundy's wines

are generally not produced in huge quantities and the region's wines have been

praised for centuries, prices are high. Although the 1995 and 1996 vintages

were both good years for wines from Burgundy, I had resigned myself to not

drinking them because the prices were just too high for my wine budget.

Then I tasted the 1996 Faiveley Bourgogne. This wine is 100 percent Pinot Noir

and delicious. It has a beautiful balance between earthy flavors and the black

cherry fruit flavors. At $12.99, it is a rare value from Burgundy.

Gallo is a wine name everyone knows. For the last 50 years they have been the

giants of the jug wine business in America. For the last eight years they have

been getting into the fine wine business with varietal wines like Chardonnay,

Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. California's Sonoma County is one of the

world's best wine-producing areas.

Gallo is one of the largest and oldest vineyard owners in Sonoma. They also

have contracts to buy grapes from many of Sonoma's other top vineyards. Their

access to the best grapes led to the production of three terrific wines. Gallo

Sonoma Cabernet Barelli Vineyard and Gallo Sonoma Cabernet Frei Ranch are

full-bodied, agreeable red wines that sell for around $20 a bottle. In this

era of incredible price inflation on collectible California wines, these wines

are a great value. Gallo Sonoma Chardonnay Stefani Vineyard is also a classy

bottle of white wine. It is dry with loads of complex flavors and once again a

price of around $16 makes it a great value.

As certain fine wines have become brand names, they have raised their prices

because of the public's familiarity with the name. Unfortunately, some prices

have risen to the point where many of us cannot afford to drink them.

Fortunately, each new vintage brings us new wines that offer both taste and

value.

(Steve Small is the proprietor of Steve's Liquor Store, at 71 Main Street

South/Route 25 in Newtown.)