With our troubled times I very frequently asked “Where are the values?” While the world is awash in both inexpensive swill and expensive fine wine the trick, more important today than ever, is to find the wines that skirt the edges of both: those inexpensive fine wines.

While I know that $30 for a bottle of wine is not an inconsequential amount I think it remains an affordable luxury for many people. There are certainly many wines that even at $30 are woefully over-priced, but one of the real joys of drinking wine is discovering the gems under $30 that perform like more expensive wines.

I have written before about the premium people pay for the ageability of fine wine. We, as people who cellar wine, expect great things to occur in the bottle while our wines age. Sometime these things happen, sometimes not, but we certainly pay a premium for wines that are expected to age well.

So when looking for values we have two options, we can look for wines that will age well and yet are undervalued, or we can look for wines that deliver more immediate appeal and thus are overlooked by many with the collector’s mentality.

One way to approach this problem is to identify the great wines of the world and then see what an alternative or two might look like. A brief rundown might look something like this.

Instead of Bordeaux - try Chinon
http://www.snooth.com/wines/chinon/#chinon:1:1:0:15:sr
Instead of Burgundy - try Cru Beaujolais
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Cru+Beaujolais/#Beaujolais:1:1:8:15:sr
Instead of Hermitage, Cote Rotie or Cornas - try St. Joseph
http://www.snooth.com/wines/St.+Joseph/#St.+Joseph:1:1:0:15:sr
Instead of Chateauneuf du Pape - try wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Languedoc-Roussillon/#Languedoc-Roussillon:1:1:0:15:sr

Instead of Barolo - try Nebbiolo d’Alba
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Nebbiolo+d%27Alba/#Nebbiolo+dAlba:1:1:0:15:sr
Instead of Brunello di Montalcino - try Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Vino+Nobile+di+Montepulciano/#Vino+Nobile+di+Montepulciano:1:1:0:15:sr
Instead of Super Tuscans - try Chianti Classico Riserva
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Chianti+Classico+Riserva/#Chianti+Classico+Riserva:1:1:0:15:sr

Instead of Napa Cabernet - try Paso Robles Cabernet
http://www.snooth.com/wines/Paso+Robles+Cabernet/#Paso+Robles+Cabernet:1:1:0:15:sr

On the other hand a few great value wines really have to be assessed on their own, though it would be easy to recommend them to specific groups. These wines may have more immediate appeal, though most will age well for up to a decade anyway, and are great wines from, for the most part, lesser known regions

From France:
Bandol: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Bandol/#Bandol:1:1:0:15:sr
Madiran: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Madiran/#Madiran:1:1:0:15:sr
Buzet: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Buzet/#Buzet:1:1:0:15:sr

From Italy:
Lagrein: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Lagrein/#Lagrein:1:1:0:15:sr
Aglianico: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Aglianico/#Aglianico:1:1:0:15:sr
Nero d’Avola: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Nero+d%27Avola/#Nero+dAvola:1:1:0:15:sr

From California:
Zinfandel: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Zinfandel/#Zinfandel:1:1:0:15:sr
Rhone Rangers: http://www.snooth.com/wines/syrah+grenache+california/#syrah+grenache+california:1:1:0:15:sr
Petit Sirah: http://www.snooth.com/wines/Petit+Sirah/#Petit+Sirah:1:1:0:15:sr

And from the emerging wine markets:


Carmenere from Chile: http://www.snooth.com/wines/carmenere+chile/#carmenere+chile:1:1:0:15:sr
Tannat from Uruguay: http://www.snooth.com/wines/tannat+uruguay/#tannat+uruguay:1:1:0:15:sr
Shiraz from Australia: http://www.snooth.com/wines/shiraz+australia/#shiraz+australia:1:1:0:15:sr

And of course,
Malbec from Argentina: http://www.snooth.com/wines/malbec+argentina/#malbec+argentina:1:1:0:15:sr
which we recently tasted:http://www.snooth.com/talk/topic/snooth-panel-tasting-program-takes-on-argentine-malbec/

Enough ideas for today? I would think so, and while this is just a list to get you thinking about how broad the world of wine realty is it is, unfortunately, just a list. Fear not though as I am starting to plan tastings for these groups and will be posting notes on some of the real super stars here really soon!