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It’s human nature. How many of us enjoy uncovering a great wine at a bargain price? Nothing gets the juices flowing like finding that “unknown” sublime find, which tastes like $100, but only costs $10. Unfortunately, the chance of finding this kind of bargain is becoming ever more remote. In a wired world, the best wines often remain “top secret” until the insiders scoop up all that’s available. Every winewriter tries to get something special for their readers. On August 9th Globe & Mail columnist Beppi Crosariol triumphed Argentina’s Fuzion 2007 Shiraz Malbec at $7.45 in an article entitled: “Run, don’t walk, to taste this under-$8 treasure.” Sadly, there was no LCBO stock at the time and, due to this temporary outage, consumers have been lining up ever since. Thankfully, this stampede in a teapot is bound to dissipate in the near future as huge quantities start to arrive. While Fuzion is a huge success that offers fine drinkability at an extremely low price, I simply don’t agree that producers of $15 Australian Shiraz and $20 California Merlot should be “very afraid”. While there may well be too many wines of questionable value in this price range, the fault lies with the LCBO not the producer. The LCBO has worked hard to have ever-higher-priced listings so as to increase their profits. Despite the rising Canadian dollar, the LCBO apparently encouraged suppliers to maintain or even raise prices and then have them pump these higher profits back into LCBO marketing programs. While I have often complained about these higher LCBO prices in the National Post, it was only the recent avalanche of criticism from the Toronto Star and Globe & Mail that caught the LCBO by surprise. Thankfully, Javier Santos, the LCBO's director of wine, knew what to do – get cheaper wines. Getting back to Fuzion, at last the LCBO has thrown a bone to consumers. Of course, this new breakthrough low-cost wine has ironically been doing gangbusters in Quebec for quite some time. Also note that its presence is going to hurt the sale of other slightly higher priced, albeit better quality, Argentine reds. Why? Because better values might well be ignored by consumers who are transfixed by a new low price.
In the realm of under $10 wines, Drostdy-Hof is truly terrific – definitely a gold medal wine value award winner. For my taste, it’s better than Fuzion and well-worth the extra $2.50. It is also superior to some wines in the $10-20 range. Ready to drink, it’s a versatile match for my upcoming Thanksgiving turkey dinner. In the press kit, I was informed that Drostdy-Hof also rated well in the recent Wine Access International Value Wine Awards (aka IWVA), which is now in its third year. Mysteriously, its supposed “killer value” status never materialized. Indeed, I was surprised by the relatively low 86-point score. In fact, the IVWA had lots of surprises. For instance, Drostdy-Hof was beaten out by Black Tower 2007 Dornfelder Pinot Noir, which the IVWA rated as an 87-point “killer value” red at $11.75. I was amazed by the Wine Access top scoring value wine in Canada - Blue Nun 2007 Riesling - the number one IVWA competition “killer value”. An obvious problem with all competitions is that group scores don’t always work. Also, many worthwhile wines are not assessed. Perhaps it was the hefty Wine Access $100 fee per entry that discouraged agents/producers from submitting a wider array of wines. Another concern is that many awarded wines may no longer be available because of the six-month delay between submission of samples and publication of results. It is very challenging to interpret the Wine Access results. Is, for instance, an 87-point $12 German blend better value than an 86-point $10 South African Merlot? These were some of the issues we addressed in the Canadian International Wine Challenge, which I organized annually for a number of years. Our competition ensured that all awarded wines were actually available at the LCBO – same lot number and same vintage. Second, all award-winning wines were put into gold, silver and bronze classifications according to various price groupings. This was much more user-friendly for buyers. To see how it worked, look at the 2003 CIWC Judging Results. It was hugely successful with some 100,000 printed hard copies being distributed to Ontario readers.
Recognizing that value is extremely important, we have just launched the Wine Value Awards. It provides readers with the inside scoop on real value. It is free of any entry fee, only awards wines that are available and is without any commercial bias. We have devised a special formula that takes into account quality emphasizing fruit and harmony along with intrinsic style; drinkability; and the point score weighted against price. To make results comprehensible, awarded wines receive medals – bronze, silver or gold. There is even a gold plus category for the super buys. Our www.WineValueAwards.com will be a free to all exclusively on our website each and every week. Continuously updated, our wine database of dynamite values will help you connect with the best buys actually available.
Worth Buying & ISD Avalanche
So here it is, yet another Vintages release. It has a Burgundy thematic, which should get the juices flowing. It features 19 selections – 11 whites (2 being ISDs which the media were not permitted to taste) plus another 7 reds. First, let me admit to being a great Burgundy fan, so much so, that I was inducted into the elite Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin at Clos Vougeot decades ago. Back in the 1970s I co-founded the Canadian Chapter with Brigadier W. Preston Gilbride. After being elevated to Commandeur, I acted as Chambellan (keeper/buyer of the wines) for the Toronto contingent. When I started my seafood distribution biz, I ran out of time and threw in the towel. Of course, prices have continued to spiral out of control. Finding well-priced Burgundy is not an easy task. I have to admit that somehow Burgundy seemed to be better then. Perhaps it was the onslaught of disappointing 2004s that were recently foisted on the public by Vintages. While 2005 and 2006 were far superior vintages, it would seem that once again LCBO buyers failed in bringing home an outstanding collection.
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Thankfully,
there are lots of other fine new wine values out there. And that’s
what excited me this week when I tasted South Africa’s new 
Coming
Up: Madeira Trade Tasting on Monday, October 6 there, which will
be held at the University Club - 380 University Avenue, from 3:00
to 6:00 pm. For information contact William Delgado at 416-921-0259
or email 
In terms of value, today’s release doesn’t have any startling bargains, although in general the whites are much better than the reds. Perhaps the best value is 
Cheap and cheerful is 
As for the reds, there is really only one worth considering and it ain’t cheap. 
The highest scoring/lowest priced Pinot Noir on release comes from Santa Barbara. 
Chardonnay fans will enjoy 
A big Aussi worth laying down is the very deep intense purple coloured 
The best value red of the release is the South African 
One of the best consistent sweet wine buys from Ontario is 
Capping off the release is 