The Cheap Wino

… or at least a Boarding Pass.

I regularly loiter in the wine section of Costco because their price to performance ratio tends to be relatively high.  During my last stroll I crossed paths with the 2006 Boarding Pass Shiraz.  My first thoughts were of cheap gimmicky wine.  Its label is that of an airline boarding pass.  With a $15 price tag, no indications of “First Class” and a screw cap to top it off I nearly passed on this flight.  Then I noticed that The Wine Advocate had given this bottle a favorable review and decided to give it a chance.

Directly after opening the bottle the wine was a bit harsh and screamed Shiraz nouveau.  I suppose that I should have known the wine would need some air after opening, but still I tried.  After an hour the wine had mellowed significantly and transformed into somthing quite yummy.  My nose detected a well balanced combination of oak, and blueberry with a subtle hint of chocolate.  In the end my preconceptions of this wine were wrong and it turned out to be well worth the fifteen dollars paid.  If you’re a scorehound you might want to pick up a case.

I’ve long been a fan of Lava Cap Winery, ever since falling in love with their 1994 Reserve Zinfandel at a lovely dinner with family (at Ravenous in Healdsburg). Okay, “fan” is putting it too mildly, but we’ll leave that alone for the moment. Flash forward a few years and I find the Lava Cap label on a bottle called “American River Red”. It must have been a 1999 or 2000 vintage at the time, and it was simply delicious. Priced at around $10, I was floored by the value offered by the wine and I bought several bottles. Well, as often happens, I grabbed a bottle here and a bottle there and soon enough it was gone. No longer available, I moved on to other wines and kinda forgot about this gem.

A couple of months ago I found myself at BevMo after a long hiatus, and lo and behold, there’s a Lava Cap label in the “Other Reds” section. It’s the Amaricen River Red, 2004 vintage! The bottles are a bit dusty, but at $11 I think “What the heck!” and into my basket they go. Well, I’m here to tell you that this wine did not disappoint. A little brown sugar and vanilla on the nose, plus a little something like nutmeg; in the mouth, fruit flavors of plum and subtle blueberry flourish but peak gently, and trail off in a similar manner. I’ve barely set down my glass before deciding it’s time to have another swig sip.

I opted to have a glass of this wine with dinner; the main course was pan-fried coho salmon with a mesquite rub. The American River Red paired very well with this dish. I’m hard-pressed to come up with a more enjoyable blend; this marriage of Syrah, Zinfandel and Merlot (with a small amount of Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Charbono) is well-balanced and it certainly exceeds my price/performance threshold. At $11, how can you go wrong? Answer: you can’t, unless you’re looking for a nearly impossible value. And if so, might I suggest the lottery?