Liquid Assets

With school back in session, and too many good choices for restaurants, music, and general jollity, along with astronomical gas prices, we all need some good quaffing red wines at righteous prices. I spent the summer combing through the possibilities for a few great wines under $15. Here are the best of the lot.

Gallo, which already owns a good deal of the wine world, has recently set its sights on taking over a large portion of the French wine industry. Their approach has been to aim at the cheaper grapes of Southern France, put the wine in cute bottles, and market the hell out it. I've tasted all of them, and while all have merit, the Red Bicyclette Syrah ($9) is a stunner. This is exactly what we always hope to see in a cheap Côtes du Rhône, but frequently miss. Nice spicy nose with pepper and cherries, rich flavors, and a finish that makes you want to take another gulp. This is great wine for conversation or with any food you can imagine having next to a French baguette. This wine has to be scaring the French winemakers, many of whom are already using government subsidies to convert their wine to fuel because no one is buying it!

Moving a little southeast, Italy is sending us great gobs of impersonal wine at extraordinary prices, but if you sift like a miner searching for gold, there are a few fascinating bargains. No. 1 on my list this summer is from a winery called Masi. This is a house that has been making superlative wines since the 18th century. Their best known wines are their Amarones, handmade marvels that are stratospheric in price and as elegant as Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The wine I recommend for our bruised bank accounts is Masi Campofiorin ($14), a wonderful blend of Valpolicella juice laid to rest over Amarone grape skins in a process called ripasso. The result is a young, fruity wine like a good Valpolicella with the backbone of Amarone intensity. At the price, it's a steal.

Argentina's Bodega Escorihuela Gascón is exporting two labels to the U.S., and both have exceptional bargains. Their High Altitude Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon ($12) is very complex, with a worldly amount of sweet vanilla aromas from good quality oak to pair up with the massive structure of the Malbec. What sets this wine apart from other Malbecs is a smoky character that really goes nicely with charcoal grilling. Take this wine to your next steak cookout. If you are more interested in Malbec's fruit-forward side, the voluptuous blackberry jam persona, try the Don Miguel Gascón Malbec ($11). Still a great bargain, but a Paul McCartney to High Altitude's John Lennon.