What do you think is the single best value in CA wine?

What do you think is single best value in CA wine? (Choose one)

  • 1. CA Cabernet
  • 2. CA PN
  • 3. CA Chardonnay
  • 4. CA Rhone varieties
  • 5. CA Sparkling
  • 6. CA Chenin / Chenin blends
  • 7. CA Sauvignon Blanc
  • 8. CA Zin
  • 9. You forgot the most obvious grape
  • 10. All of CA wines are the best value
  • 11. Nothing from CA is a great wine value

0 voters

This is just one man’s unscientific opinion. Basic sparkling “Champagne” is one of CA best values when you measure quality vs price.

I go mostly France & Italy for everything else when seeking great value. Plus I prefer lower Alc and more zip in my wines in general. I drink very little CDP though:). For chardonnay, I go with AOC & Ler Cru Chablis. For excellent value in PN I go with Bourgogne or village level Burgundy. If I want one of the best values in versatile bigger table reds I’ll go with Rosso di Montalcino or even Brunello. But if I want a nice “Champagne” like fix for under $30 I go with CA “Champagne” Ok sparkling :slight_smile:. They lack the finesse and tend to be a little bigger & richer but dam are tasty and easy on the pocket book. I easily went though a couple cases of Roederer Anderson Valley Brut Rose’ this past year.

Here are my favs…

  1. Roederer Anderson Valley Brut Rose’ - I buy it regularly for $25 ( French Rose Champagne is hard to find for under $50)
  2. Roederer Anderson Valley Brut - I buy this regularly for $17
  3. Mumm Brut Prestige - I buy this routinely for $15
  4. Domaine Careneros - they’re closer to French is some aspects and still a nice value at around $25 for the blanc.

All three of these require 10 seconds decision to open for any occasion.

That said, if I want to up my game I reach for R&L Legras BdB at $30, Vilmart Brut Reserve for $40 & Bollinger SC for $50. Then oddly, the next great “value” in French Champagne is Taittinger Comte Tete Cuvee for $120.

CA not known for great value always, but both Zins and Rhone varieties seem to be the best bang for the buck here.

Tough for me. If comparing CA wines only to other CA wines, I might actually say Cabernet, because CA cab offers something unique, so, although I rarely drink it, there is value in that. This is particularly true since for me it needn’t be the huge wines or cults in order to scratch that itch. I suppose Zinfandel does the same, but I just don’t really drink any and can’t comment on its value. But I can also say “none” because the OP then compares to European wines and for me I find each of those categories of CA wine a poor value proposition compared to European counterparts.

For sparklers I’d rather have Cava than the cheapest CA offerings, rather have Loire or Jura at $20-30, and at $30+ I’m always going for Champagne.

For best value compared to other California varieties: Zinfandel.

For best value compared to the same variety in other countries: Rhône varieties.

How should I vote? Again proving one of life’s certainties: there is always a response that won’t fit into the available choices for even the most carefully constructed poll.

What’s the assumption on tariffs, 25%, 100%?
I voted Rhône varieties, bit unfair to compare multiple varieties to single varieties that are usually vinified as varietals. Consider Grenache versus Syrah.
Note, I seldom drink Cabernet.

I would vote for Zin. For the one single wine, I would choose Ridge Geyserville, with the Roederer Brut Sparkling Wine next. Both are frequently purchased and enjoyed here!

Ed

Zin and sparkling as Cali values, for me.

If this were one of those strange life scenario questions, I would say A Rafanelli and Ultramarine could be my ‘dessert island’ wineries to get through life.

A very interesting poll indeed - and I’m sure the answers will be all over the place. I agree with with what David Glasser said above - there are multiple ways to look at this, but relative to the same varieties produced elsewhere, I would say CA Rhones offer tremendous value. There are certainly plenty of caveats - yep, you can get quality CdR’s quite cheap, and there are some ever-increasing pricing on some CA Rhones. All things considered, though, it’s quite possible to get ‘world class’ CA Rhones for under $50, and often under $40 - and I would say that’s a pretty good QPR . . .

Cheers

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Agree with you on the Roederer Rose, once I discovered that, it became my go-to bubbly.

i VOTED FOR Zinfandel because I feel it can be a really great wine but the price is very low compared to other varieties. If the same wine came in from Italy and it was called something like Pellaverga everyone would be all over it.

On the other hand, compared to Burgundy Pinot Noir here can be a real deal, and many of these wines age really well. Just ask Blake!

Re sparkling wines: it’s really ‘a chacun son egout’ here…

Sonoma County cabs can offer real value as do Monterey and Santa Barbara Chards.

When I was able to buy N.V. Schramsberg Vineyards Mirabelle Brut Rose at Costco for $16.99 a bottle…that was an incredible value.

Bedrock OV Zin has to be up there too.

If the OP question is intended to be about classes or varieties of wine (not specific labels), then sparklers win every time. Zinfandel definitely second, with some Syrahs being worth consideration.

Edmunds St John Syrahs. Part of quality for me is the ability to improve with age. ESJ Syrahs can improve for 20+ years, turning into something truly special (far more than almost anything else in their price range), and they’re still very inexpensive on release.

Birichino Besson Vineyard Grenache.

CA Rhône’s are WAY underrated, both red & white.

Tremendous value across the board.

Zin.

A no-brainer for me.

As far as a whole class goes, I have to agree with the OP. Sparkling wines are pretty good deals compared with some of those from Champagne. However, Spain is also producing some pretty good Cava these days, so it’s maybe not a slam dunk for CA.

Of the others, CA Cabs that are good are really pricey. There are a lot that are sweet and gloopey from places like Paso Robles, but oddly enough, Bordeaux is a pretty good place to look for inexpensive Cab/Merlot blends. However, since we’re only talking monovarietal wines, don’t overlook CA Merlot.

There’s not enough Chenin Blanc in CA anymore for it to be a real contender, and I’m thinking that’s a grape best suited for the east coast. Rhone varieties are hit or miss. There’s some outstanding Syrah produced in CA nowadays. Grenache unfortunately still lags - you can beat most of it at lower price points from Spain and France. Mourvedre is interesting - there’s some pretty good stuff out of CA, (just not as much as some of us would like). Cinsault? Not enough to have much data, although I’ve quite liked those that I’ve had. Mondeuse? Even fewer but ditto.

As to Rhone whites - Rousanne? Marsanne? Viognier? Grenache Blanc? Picpoul? Clairette? Ugni Blanc? The first two are promising, Viognier is hard to get right most places because in spite of the wonderful aromatics, it often fails to follow through on the palate, although I’ve had a few surprisingly bright ones from CA. Grenache Blanc is hard to get right anywhere in the world, and I don’t believe I’ve had any of the last three from CA, so it’s hard to talk about white Rhone grapes.

Zin used to be a good value, these days I’m not so sure any more. And Chardonnay is all over the place with some really good stuff in CA, but as long as you can buy Mâconnais, it’s hard to compete value-wise.

Zin and Rhone are the contenders but Zin comes out on top (even though I drink little of it).

Pinot and Chard would contend only if you’re very choosy.

For me its Zinfandel and it’s not even close. So many producers crafting well structured, fairly age-worthy zin/field blends at a fraction of the price point that other varietals command at similar quality levels.

Not to mention the fact that they’re freaking delicious