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Europe on $25 a day
Try something new from a fine selection of Old World wines
By Anthony Gismondi
Illustration By Karen Klassen
Photography By David Dean
With Okanagan wine prices spiralling out of control and California vintners and their distributors somehow refusing to pass on the strength of the loonie to Canadian wine drinkers, consumers have to be wondering where the value resides in the current wine market.
Europe is my choice this month and while you may have to work a bit harder to understand the wines of the Old World, you will be pleasantly surprised by the level of quality you can buy for $25. In any event, the failure of the New World to, well, do something “new,” is giving adventurous sippers the green light to explore other options, such as the Old World.
Keep in mind the European tendency is to associate a wine with its appellation or the place that it comes from rather than any single grape name. Hence varietal names like chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot give way to names like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rioja, Barolo, Port and many more.
Perhaps the single greatest difference is the structure and style of European wine. To best understand it, you must adjust your palate and your thinking. The normally higher acids, tighter structure and lower alcohol levels make European wines eminently more food-friendly, but it makes sipping them before dinner or on the patio a little less appealing, unless they are perfectly paired with food.
White wine plays into the wealth of choices in seafood and Pan Asian/Indian cuisine today, and that makes Germany a good place to start. My suggestion here is the delicious St. Urbans-Hof Riesling 2006 ($25) from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region. Low in alcohol and big in flavour, it’s difficult to think of any New World wine that can match this price/quality ratio.
Northern Italian bianco is equally charming with light seafood dishes, grilled chicken and pastas, and few if any will break the budget. Such is the case with the Bollini 2005 Pinot Grigio ($17), from Trentino,
with its juicy, pear and honey flavours with bits of baked apple mineral and citrus notes. The red wines of Europe are plentiful, and for the bored-out-of-your-mind merlot- or cabernet sauvignon-drinker they can be a much needed tonic.
Still in France, and now the RhÔne Valley, we suggest the Perrin & Fils 2006 Cotes du Rhône Villages Cairanne ($22) to illustrate the European appellation. Cairanne is a village in the Cotes du RhÔne sub-region of the (southern) RhÔne Valley. By law, the village blend has to be a minimum 50 per cent grenache, and a minimum 20 per cent syrah and/or mourvèdre. The result is a delicious smoky red with spicy, garrigue undercurrents.
From Spain, the soft, easy-sipping Monastrell (Mourvèdre) is all the rage with young people, and why not? The price is right and the fruit is even better: Casa de la Ermita 2005 Jumilla (Purple Capsule) ($17). The blend is a hefty mix of mourvèdre, merlot, tempranillo, syrah and cabernet sauvignon that offers robust, plummy, chewy red flavours with bits of mineral and chocolate.
Italy is a treasure trove of red wine, especially for the adventurous drinker who heads south to the likes of Apulia and Sicily. The classic northern pick is Frescobaldi Castello di Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina 2004 ($23) with its black fruit, orange peel and spicy, coffee, licorice and cardamom flavours that age gracefully. 
From the south, make the Cusumano 2005 Nero d’Avola ($17) your upscale barbecue red for the grilling season. Nero d’Avola is a Sicilian treasure and its fragrant fruit minerality and touch of acidity keep it fresh and food-friendly.
Finally, your travels should also lead you to Portugal’s Douro Valley. Dry Douro reds are often a blend of five or six grapes, and in some cases the wine is made from a field blend of 50 or 60 different grapes. The Quinta do Crasto 2005 Douro Valley, Portugal ($21) blends touriga nacional, touriga francesca and tinto roriz, and the result is a peppery, licorice, earthy, black plum red with a chocolate pudding note.
Suddenly, Europe on $25 a day seems not only doable, but sensible.