A reporter for
U.S. News and World Report, Alex Markels, forwarded me an article that he just wrote called “
Uncork the lowest prices: A global glut of wine grapes has connoisseurs and bargain hunters stocking their cellars.”
It’s not news that there’s a lot of undifferentiated wine made worldwide that producers can’t sell and whose suppliers might be “desperate” to unload. This is the normal state of affairs. Therefore, statements like “markdowns nationwide have made this the best time to stock up in more than a decade” are a bit overreaching. Most of this wine is low-priced “plonk” and certainly not worth cellaring with any expectation of improvement.
Even the comment that “prized vintages once available only to restaurants and collectors are suddenly in plentiful supply (albeit still at relatively high prices)” doesn’t fit our experience. We have to press suppliers constantly for larger allocations of desirable wines (or be forced to consider “parcels” of undesired wine to get what we really want – usually we just pass).
I suspect the Cakebread Vine Hill Cabernet mentioned in the article (which retails for $90-$100) was “tied” to Applejack Wine & Spirits' purchases of other Cakebread wines. Or maybe it’s just hard to sell a $90-$100 cab without a critic’s review (the last published review I could find was an 87 from Wine Spectator for the 2000 vintage).
Bottom line: The “bargains” in lower-priced wine will never disappear. Take your time and fill your cellar with high quality selections.
