Best Buy

I have been telling people that the best buy in last Friday's tasting was the last bottle on the table, the 2010 Ezio Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Donati Family Vineyards.  What strikes me as peculiar is that it was the most expensive bottle on the table at $29.99, yet bang for your buck, it was the one to buy.  That still seems strange.  I guess I assume "best buy" means cheap. 

The night before, we tasted Monthuys Brut Reserve Champagne and that one too was the one to buy from that tasting lineup but it was $36.99 and not even the most expensive on the table and, honestly, I think it was just the best because I liked it...a whole lot. 

We have, of course, been celebrating our twentieth anniversary here at ol' V&C and we've been doing it with wine tastings to the tune of five tastings in the last ten days.  Whew!  Frankly, I haven't even been tasting all of the wines.  Sensory overload, ya know.

In no particular order, here are some of our best buys extending back to the beginning of October, aside from those already mentioned above:

October 11th:  Carlin de Paolo Italian Barbera d'Asti 2011 @ $16.99
October 18th:  Torres Ibericos Rioja Tempranillo Crianza 2009 @ $14.99
October 30th:  Chateaur Grissac Red Bordeaux 2010 @ $12.99
November 5th:  Pueblo del Sol Uruguayan Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, and Tannat @ $10.99

The Coto de Hayas Fagus and Centennaria ($21.99) from November 1st both sold out before I could taste them so they probably deserve mentioning and we had Croft Pink Port ($19.99) open over the course of a week and sold a couple cases during that time so that one too performed exceedingly well.

So were all of these wines "best buys"?  Probably not.  Best buys connote value for your dollar.  In that light Donati Ezio, Grissac, and the Pueblos were probably the best buys for the last couple months.  Now with Thanksgiving dinner looming on the horizon our selections have to be seen in a different light.  The value of "best buys" have to transcend dollar prices and brand identification and instead relate directly to our appreciation of the holiday.  In fact just toss out the idea of a "best buy" holiday wine entirely and pick up the one that is special to you.

Stop in ol' V&C for just that wine and then know you have what is appropriate for your Thanksgiving table.

Join us Friday for a tasting of some combination of: Queulat Chilean Sauvignon Blanc 2011,  William Hill Central Coast Chardonnay 2012, and then some combination of La Cacciatora Italians, Red Bordeaux , and Argentine Malbecs.  Then on the 22nd of November join us for David Rimmer's presentation of more top flight Italians and French wines.