Tout - Cheap Sangiovese

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
If anyone is interested, a top Italian restaurant owner highly recommended and served me the Primaterra Sicilia Sangiovese '10. He said he thought it cost around $17.

I found it for $7.19.

And, yes, based on my one sampling, I liked it as much as he does...especially at this price point.

Just FYI!

. . . . . . Pete
 
What is the point of seeking out a $7 wine? What sets this particular wine apart from, say, any Spanish wine for the same price at my local gourmet market?

Not trying to be a dick or a snob, I’m seriously interested in what people here think about this. Is there any merit besides the obvious doesn’t suck and gets you drunk to this segment of the wine market?
 
Todd, It's hard to understand where you are coming from with your comments.

My answer to your questions! Finding an enjoyable house-type wine for ~$7 is of interest to a lot of people (but maybe not here) and to a lot of wine service establishments (some of which I consult with). Such wines can be fun.

The fact that a top restaurateur of a VERY upscale (read: expensive) restaurant found this wine noteworthy is persuasive.

. . . . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Todd, It's hard to understand where you are coming from with your comments.

My answer to your questions! Finding an enjoyable house-type wine for ~$7 is of interest to a lot of people (but maybe not here) and to a lot of wine service establishments (some of which I consult with). Such wines can be fun.

The fact that a top restaurateur of a VERY upscale (read: expensive) restaurant found this wine noteworthy is persuasive.

. . . . . . . Pete
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At what price was he selling it on his list?
 
originally posted by kirk wallace: At what price was he selling it on his list?
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Kirk, I'm quite sure it will never appear on his nationally acclaimed wine list. He apparently bought a bunch of it just to have around and have fun with (and perhaps even cook with).

. . . . . . Pete
 
I guess my point is that it’s easy to find a wine for this price that is enjoyable in the sense that it’s not an outright chore to drink. The benefits of a wine like this to establishments serving a general audience are obvious.

Given that, why should I care about this wine in particular? Would it be worth it to me to order this from a retailer in New Jersey?

And the larger question to the board: Is there any merit to wine at this price other than what we’ve already mentioned? Have you purchased a $7 wine in the past five years that was anything but commodity juice?
 
Todd, You have a different perspective on things than I (and others I know) do.

We drink wine with dinner every day.

I can't think of too many (any?) "fine wines" (like you apparently prefer) that go with, for example, a strongly tomato dish or, for another example, taco salad, and there are many other similar examples.

When "fine wines" would simply not work, this is the type of wine we enjoy... especially given how easy it is on the pocketbook.

Moving on!

. . . . . . . Pete

P.S. [EDITED TO ADD] I wouldn't have mentioned the wine here if I thought it was "commodity juice".
 
todd--time for you to become a seeker. the price to quality relationship is less than hard and fast. for instance, i've had delicious loire valley cab franc in that price range that spoke unmistakably of the place and grape. totally uncommoditised.
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Todd, You have a different perspective on things than I (and others I know) do.

We drink wine with dinner every day.

I can't think of too many (any?) "fine wines" (like you apparently prefer) that go with, for example, a strongly tomato dish or, for another example, taco salad, and there are many other similar examples.

When "fine wines" would simply not work, this is the type of wine we enjoy... especially given how easy it is on the pocketbook.

Moving on!

. . . . . . . Pete

P.S. [EDITED TO ADD] I wouldn't have mentioned the wine here if I thought it was "commodity juice".
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I hardly drink fine wine every day. I am genuinely curious here, Pete. I’m not trying to offend you. This is a discussion board, right? There is a lot of knowledge on this board, both in drinking wine and selling wine, and I’m interested in opinions that might change the way that I think about a $7 bottle of wine. That’s all.
 
originally posted by robert ames:
todd--time for you to become a seeker. the price to quality relationship is less than hard and fast. for instance, i've had delicious loire valley cab franc in that price range that spoke unmistakably of the place and grape. totally uncommoditised.
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I don’t doubt that these things exist. One of my every day wines has been De La Fruitiere Chardonnay that’s grown in Muscadet. It’s $10 and as rich and minerally as you could ever expect for that price. I’ve bought fantastic Tue Boeuf gamay for $10.50. I regularly drink Les Heretiques $11 and carbonic macerated Austrian Zweigelt in a liter bottle with a crown cap $14.

I’ve never found anything for $7 though. Not even a mistake.
 
Am I being the overly-aggressive “new” guy here? I’ve been off discussion boards for awhile so perhaps I don’t quite fully understand the Wine Disorder dynamic.

Apologies for any apparent offenses.
 
Todd, Thanks for your interest and follow up.

You are fine. No offense was taken. And hopefully you took all the responses in the same vein.

. . . . . . Pete
 
I'm old enough to remember when CRB and Pepiere were around $8 so I have no prejudice regarding price point. Currently I really like the la Vielle Ferme white wine which can be found in that price range.
 
In the U.S., I share Todd's prejudice. Wines below $10 are generally acceptable, but not much more. Even Vielle Ferme, which I am very happy to get on an airplane, wouldn't make me go out of my way. But I'm always willing to find out I'm wrong. The only real value to a prejudice is to have it overturned. Around where I stay in France, I'm constantly running into quite delightful Cotes de Rhone for 5 or 6 Euros, even as the going price for even Vacqueyras and Cairanne has climbed north of 10. So I don't see the laws of nature contravened by Pete's post, and I'd be interested to taste the wine.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
So I don't see the laws of nature contravened by Pete's post, and I'd be interested to taste the wine.
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I think the particular law of nature is what Oliver pointed out above, the growing of sangiovese in Sicily. Now I am far from a purist but I could be easily convinced that a wine made from a grape that is well known from a different part of the country is going to violate of a law of nature. If it were a nerello or something more typically Sicilian I would be less skeptical (though I admit my sense of what is Sicilian is informed by the market and not by extensive travel to Sicily).
 
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