D. Gerasimatos wrote:
> I don't know about in England, but in the USA it does seem that there is
> an awful lot of French plonk in the low price ranges. I had a really good
> white from the Maconaisse today for $11 US, but that is the exception
> rather than the rule. Mostly, if the bottle is under $30 US I've learned
> not to expect much.

Dimitri,
Frankly, I'm surprised by that last statement. Of course, what you
get for your $ depends on where you live, where you shop and what your
tastes are. However, in Berkeley, Kermit Lynch, Vino! and Solano
Cellars all make a point of stocking some excellent French (and other)
wines that retail for well below $30. IME, it's actually far easier to
get a quality wine from Europe for under $20 than it is from the US.
Right now, I'd look for the following "budget" wines from France:

White:
'02 Cote Chalonnaise and Cote Maconnais
'02 Chablis (regular, not 1er or GC)*
'02 Muscadet, Vouvray**, Sancerre** and Pouilly-Fumé**

Red:
'01 Cotes du Rhone
'01 Bandol
'02 Bourgogne from selected producers***
'01 Costieres de Nimes
'01 Coteaux du Langeudoc
'02 Cru Beaujolais

*Kermit Lynch is selling Roland Lavantereux's Chablis for $16.
** There is an ocean of plonk from these Loire AOCs that reaches the US;
good advice from an honest retaier is required here
*** I've had good experiences recently with the Bourgognes of Robert
Chevillon and Anne Gros, but both are not easily found.

HTH
Mark Lipton