It is a place of mystery, of confusion, of hope. Sometimes it's a place of soul-shuddering, ego-crushing fear. I give you – cue the scary organ music – the supermarket wine aisle.
Or maybe it's just me. This is how I sometimes buy an everyday wine. Tell me if it sounds familiar.
I'm looking for a decent chardonnay. I'm figuring in the $10 range, give or take a couple of bucks. I move up and down the aisle. I stare for a while. More moving. More staring. I'm hoping to shift into a Zen state and simply know what to buy. Possibly a bottle will speak up and say, "Buy me. I'm really good."
Eventually, I'll get the chard that's listed as the most expensive and has the biggest markdown to get to $10.99.
This may actually be one of the dumbest ways to buy wine, but it's also pretty common. That partly explains all those wines that seem perpetually marked down in the supermarket.
Why so dumb? In part because, for midrange wines in particular, higher price doesn't always mean better quality. There are real reasons why some wines cost $40 and some cost $4, but that's for another column. Today, we're talking everyday, midpack wines, $7 to $15, which are a major chunk of supermarket sales. The difference between $12.99 and $9.99 might be huge, or it might be nothing.
And there's this: "If you look at some of the starting prices, the stores would never, ever really charge that," said Hank Beal, the wine buyer for Nugget Markets.
I trust Hank for lots of reasons. He's a smart pro who oversees terrific wine departments. He's also my best friend and co-author of my wine book, "A Moveable Thirst" – so right off, you know he's got some patience. Hank's always my first choice for guidance.
His base advice applies to buying wine anywhere: Ask for help if it's available. Nugget, for instance, has wine stewards in every store. Lots of other supermarkets also have wine pros handy. Hank says it's likely the store chefs know a lot about wine, too, if you can't find anyone else.
But there are plenty of markets where there won't be professional help. So here are a few of Hank's tips for surviving the wine aisle.
• Read the label. Not the back labels, though. Those say every bottle is lovingly handcrafted – popular word; means nothing – using the finest grapes picked by sprites, fairies and pixies.
But there's a ton of useful info on the bottle, and it starts with the basics. The midpriced wines in a supermarket are often not the wines you sampled when you went wine tasting at the big wineries.
"Most of the biggies have multiple tiers," Hank said, "and the labels look very similar."
Beaulieu Vineyards, for instance, has a bunch of cabernets, ranging from the commonly found BV Coastal ($7 to $10) to Napa Valley ($17), Rutherford ($25) and the high-end Georges de Latour ($95). You may have tried the Rutherford in the tasting room. That will have little connection to whether you like the BV Coastal. Just pay attention, Hank says.
• Look at the appellation. That tells you where the grapes were grown. Generally, the smaller the area, the better the quality.
So, if the chardonnay says "California," the grapes could come from anywhere in the state, including some high-yield, just-OK vineyards. If it says "Sonoma" or "Napa Valley," it's probably better. If it says "Carneros," a subregion of Napa and the valley's premier chardonnay area, now you know something.
"If you're looking for value, a $7.99 California appellation may be expensive," Hank said. "If it's a Napa appellation, it could be a pretty good deal."
This point comes with a massive asterisk: It's just a guideline. Lots of good wines have broader appellations. Kendall Jackson's Vintner's Reserve California Chardonnay ($14) won a silver medal at the California State Fair and is a generally well- regarded midpriced chard.
Or at a higher tier, ZD Wines has a high-quality $30 chardonnay that's a California appellation.
"For them, it's not a marketing choice, it's a winemaking choice. They feel they get better wine sourcing from around the state," Hank said. "But those are still good guidelines, just as long as you know they're not foolproof ."
Call The Bee's Rick Kushman, (916) 321-1187. Listen to him Thursdays at 8:40 a.m. on NewsTalk 1530 (KFBK) and 8:50 a.m. on Armstrong & Getty, Talk 650 KSTE.
