RANT: QPR in CA was French Plonk

Tom S

East Coast perspective???? Howzat, Tom? Aside from my 5 years in grad school in NYC, I've spent no time at all on the East Coast. Perhaps you mean Midwest perspective? Though I'd still probably dispute that since the 15 years I've lived in Indiana pale before the 26 years I've lived in CA. No, I am Californicated through and through, but that doesn't stop me from calling a spade a spade -- and in this case I cannot help but lament the lack of quality in CA wine retailing for under $20. Where are the CalCabs that compete directly with B'dx from the Satellite appellations? Where are the light reds from CA that compete with Beaujolais? Where are the Chardonnays that compete price-wise with Chablis, the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote Maconnais? Where are the Pinots that compete with the Cote Chalonnaise? Where are the Zins that compete with wines from the Languedoc and the Cotes du Rhone?

Sure, there are some great values to be found in CA, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Whereas in the regions I cite above you have dozens or even more quality producers making wines of character that retail for under $20 (including shipping costs), when I stroll among the "fighting varietals" in Safeway's aisles, I am singularly unimpressed. For every HRM Rex Goliath or Bogle you have 20 Woodbridge, Turning Leaf and Vendange brands that offer bland stuff with little to no varietal character. When you factor in the bargain wines arriving from Australia, NZ, S. America and Spain, CA looks even worse by comparison.

When I started buying wine, I could get Caymus Cab for $9 a bottle, Ridge Zins for $4-5, etc -- and they were my "splurge" wines. I still buy some of my favorite CA wines on a regular basis, but in truth their numbers have dwindled as so many producers have priced themselves out of my cellar. Even the Rhone Rangers, who used to be a reliable source of reasonably priced wines, have become too pricey to compete with the wines they try to emulate.

So much for my rant, Mark Lipton