Hello! & A New Old World Favorite

Welcome! to "Wine for Your $20's" - a reference for everyone who desires to have a small bit of luxury, for a layman's price. However, the world of "value wines" can be daunting to navigate as many large wineries choose to funnel their money into their marketing campaigns & not into what ends up in the bottle. So what is a frugal "wineista" to do???

That is where I come in - a 23 year old Certified Sommelier and restaurant industry professional, with a growing desire to delve ever deeper into the world of wine. I also have a good chunk of student loans, which doesn't leave much from my first job paycheck to drop on a top line Bordeaux. Thus, I am on a mission to find the best wines out there for under $20.

So whether you are in your 20's, loved your 20's, or just got a couple $20's to "liquidate", Cheers! and lets get sipping.

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My first wine I am bringing to you is something unexpected for the daily drinker, but is an excellent example of the amazing wines you can find from some of the lesser marketed wine regions.

This white comes from a famed French estate, Moulin de Gassac whose property started the quality revolution in the 1970's within the Languedoc [Lang gwah doc] region, an area of Southern France. The "Midi" as this area is commonly known, produced the 1970's versions of Franzia (sans box).

 
Despite the odds the Guibert family forged on, enlisting the top French wine scientists of the time and in 1982 they produced a wine which was critically acclaimed as the first Languedoc "Grand Cru."
 
The Languedoc is now the home of many young and eager winemakers and is really pushing the boundary of quality wines from France, making it a "go-to" region to find some excellent wines for the dollar.
 
The Guilem is the entry level brand from this fabled producer, and at between $9-12 is an budget friendly buy. The white (pictured above) is 40% Grenache Blanc 30% Sauvignon Blanc, & 30% Clairette and has a nose somewhere between an unoaked California Chardonnay & an old world Sauvignon Blanc - yellow apple, nectarine, & some mineral and wax notes. Due to the blend, this wine covers a lot of bases, some body, some fruit, some mineral & acidity, making it an excellent wine to always have chilled in your refrigerator as it will go with a large variety of homecooked meals including chicken, white fish (sole to swordfish), and even a simply grilled porkchop.

I hope you enjoy! Feel free to share your thoughts and what meals you drank it with :)