Drink Wine on a Budget

Crowd favorite, expensive wine Murray's cash-sav- ing suggestion Because it's Great with Blanchard's cash- WINE TRICK OF THE TRADE saving suggestion TASTING NOTES FOOD PAIRING *Forgotten Vintages. "Keep your eye out for the vintages no one every mentions," says Murray. "For example, many people don't look at 2002 wines out of Italy because it was a very rainy year. But there were a number of producers that made great wines that year and had a hard time selling them, which drove the price down. On the flip side, 2003 was a very hot year in Europe and some lower level red burgundies developed unusual richness and ended up as great values." A Napa Valley Cabernet with structure Red meats, red-wine- based stews, and char- coal-grilled items Caymus Napa Valley 2002 Cabernet Saunignon Chappellet Moun- tain Napa Valley 2004 Cuvee Sirita Napa Valley 2003 Cabernet Sau- vignon $30* S75 $28*** Full of Chocolate and cherries with a back- bone Pork, salm- on, cooked mushrooms, and pasta ** Lesser-known Regions. Go to the South of Italy, Spain and Argentina for some of the greatest values on the market right now. Albarino and Godello from Northern Spain continually impress Murray. Shafer Napa Valley 2005 Merlot Columbia Crest Washington 1997 Merlot Terre di Balbia Bal- bium Calabria, Italy 2006 Rosso $45 $8 *** $18** Nicely struc- Tarts, fish, tured and brimming with lighter meats beautiful, deli- cate cherry fruit chicken, and DRINK *** Unfamiliar Vineyards Our wine sleuths agree that you should always look out for certain undervalued producers. Murray enjoys Saratoga Cuvees and Estate wines from Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz mountains. Blanchard likes almost anything out of Colombia Crest in Washington. "Restaurants will often mark up a popular producer such as Rombauer three times, whereas they'll only mark up an unknown producer such as Auteur two and a half times," remarks Blanchard. Mont Eden Vine- Flowers Sonoma Acacia Carneros 2006 Pinot Noir GREAT WINE ON A BUDGET yards Saratoga Pi- not Noir 2006 Cuvee $21*** Coast 2007 Pinot $48 $22 *** Our Master Sommelier wine sleuths sug- gest some of their favorite inexpensive doppelgangers for well-known, wonder- ful wines. Then they reveal some of the tricks they use to find these affordable substitutes; so you can navigate your lo- cal wine store like a pro. Marked by intense fruit, baked apple, buttered toast, pasta and acidity Lobster, sea- food, cream sauces and Ramey Carneros, Napa Valley, "Hud- son Vineyard" Louis Latour Bour- Artesa Carneros 2006 Chardonnay gogne Blanc 2007 Chardonnay mint.com Infographics:RAJ $60 $18* $18*** Images of some bottles do not belong to the right vintage ALAN MURRAY fell in love with wine while tasting in Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, Australia. He moved to San Francisco in 1998 to work with acclaimed Master Sommelier Larry Stone at Rubicon. Encouraged by Stone, Murray worked towards his Master Sommelier diploma, which he received in 2005, making him the first Australian to receive this honor. He currently works as Wine Director at San Fran- cisco's Masa's restaurant and is studying for his Master of Wine Certification. To unwind, he enjoys cycling in the Oakland hills near his home and avoids two-wheeled California wine country excursions - for obvious reasons. Chris Blanchard produced a rap CD that rose to #13 on the UK club charts in 1987 before moving on to launch a career in the wine industry. In 2008, Blanchard's wine list at REDD restaurant in Yountville, CA was voted one of the "World's Top Wine Lists" by Forbes magazine. Now, as consulting Wine Director at San Francisco's Zaré at Fly Trap restaurant, Blanchard shows off his knack for uncovering "totally crazy wines" from undiscovered wine regions such as Lebanon and the country of Georgia.