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Drinking Good Wines During Rough Economic Times

Posted by Deb Harkness, August 5, 2008 at 10:25 AM

With the media full of advice on how to “recession proof” your wine drinking habits, entering “recession proofing wines” into a search engine yields pages and pages of tips. People keep asking me if the recession has changed what I am drinking or how often I am drinking it.

But the answer is no.

I drink like it’s a recession all the time.

The Three Golden Rules

Tightening your belt and cutting back on your wine budget during economic hard times doesn’t have to be a curse or an unpleasant chore—it can be a blessing and an adventure. There are three golden rules for drinking good wine regardless of the economy: don’t get sucked into the lemming-like hysteria surrounding wines awarded 90 points or more by big wine magazines; think twice before you buy wine from pricey appellations with big reputations; and look for grapes less traveled.

To follow these three rules, look past the blasted scorecards festooning the wine aisles under the innocuous name of “shelf talkers.” They play on our inherent, childish desire to be an "A" wine student, not a "B" wine student.

Points Can Be Misleading

In a straight-to-the point, no-nonsense article that appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, veteran wine journalist and voice of reason Dan Berger pointed out that wines getting shelf talkers and high points are unlikely to come from unusual places or be made with unusual grapes, and they’re likely to cost a pretty penny. Why?

Berger believes that all kinds of biases click into place when you see a wine is from Temecula, or made with a grape like Chasselas Doré, or costs under $30. Critics award them 86 points, and you steer straight to a 90 point Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley you can’t afford. When you do, you miss out on great wines with unexpected, delicious flavors—and much lower price tags.

Testing Dan Berger's Theory

To put Berger’s theories to the test, I visited my local grocery store and plucked a bottle that was specifically mentioned in his article; the 2006 Berthoud Vineyards Chasselas Doré from the Sonoma Valley appellation.

For around $20, I got a wine unlike anything I’ve ever had. Made from one of the world’s most ancient cultivated grapes, this is not a powerful wine. But it is purity in a bottle, and as light on its feet as a ballerina.

Crisp aromas and flavors of orchard pears and bread dough make you feel comfortable and comforted, with clean hints of wet beach stones and salt spray in the aftertaste. When you drink this wine, you can close your eyes and imagine living in a simpler time when everyday pleasures like a ripe, sun-warmed piece of fruit, a fresh loaf of bread, or sunshine on your face, mattered more than points and power.

What Does 20 Bucks Buy You These Days?

In this economic climate, $20 may still exceed your wine budget. That’s OK. My advice still stands.

Stay away from the shelf talkers, the well-known appellations, and the trendy grapes. Try a Nero d’Avola from Sicily rather than a Tuscan Chianti. Or a Gamay from the Beaujolais instead of a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. Both will set you back around $10, and with that caliber of taste and affordability, you'll be chuckling all the way to the bank. If you're looking for particular suggestions on which sub-90 point wines to buy, check out the new 89 Project blog, a collaborative effort from international wine bloggers that spotlights highly recommended, largely overlooked wines.

To find a Chasselas Doré at a store near you, check an online wine search engine like Vinquire or Wine-Searcher.

About the author: Deb Harkness lives in Los Angeles under the motto that good wine doesn't have to cost as much as a car payment. She blogs about everyday wine culture at Good Wine Under $20, and her writing has appeared in publications such as Wine & Spirits. Deb is the winner of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards for Best Wine Review Blog and Best Single Subject Wine Blog.

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Tags: economy, wine

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