Tom S wrote:

> IME, it's actually far easier to
>
>>get a quality wine from Europe for under $20 than it is from the US.
>
>
> Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say _that_! I'd say that quality wise in
> that price range the value is close to equal between France and California.
> Of course Mark's view is from an East Coast perspective, so that may account
> for the difference in perception.

East Coast perspective???? Howzat, Tom? Aside from my 5 years in grad
school in NYC, I've spent no time at all on the East Coast. Perhaps you
mean Midwest perspective? Though I'd still probably dispute that since
the 15 years I've lived in Indiana pale before the 26 years I've lived
in CA. No, I am Californicated through and through, but that doesn't
stop me from calling a spade a spade -- and in this case I cannot help
but lament the lack of quality in CA wine retailing for under $20.
Where are the CalCabs that compete directly with B'dx from the Satellite
appellations? Where are the light reds from CA that compete with
Beaujolais? Where are the Chardonnays that compete price-wise with
Chablis, the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote Maconnais? Where are the Pinots
that compete with the Cote Chalonnaise? Where are the Zins that compete
with wines from the Languedoc and the Cotes du Rhone?

Sure, there are some great values to be found in CA, but they are the
exception rather than the rule. Whereas in the regions I cite above you
have dozens or even more quality producers making wines of character
that retail for under $20 (including shipping costs), when I stroll
among the "fighting varietals" in Safeway's aisles, I am singularly
unimpressed. For every HRM Rex Goliath or Bogle you have 20 Woodbridge,
Turning Leaf and Vendange brands that offer bland stuff with little to
no varietal character. When you factor in the bargain wines arriving
from Australia, NZ, S. America and Spain, CA looks even worse by comparison.

When I started buying wine, I could get Caymus Cab for $9 a bottle,
Ridge Zins for $4-5, etc -- and they were my "splurge" wines. I still
buy some of my favorite CA wines on a regular basis, but in truth their
numbers have dwindled as so many producers have priced themselves out of
my cellar. Even the Rhone Rangers, who used to be a reliable source of
reasonably priced wines, have become too pricey to compete with the
wines they try to emulate.

So much for my rant,
Mark Lipton