S.W. and Rich Hermansen
Guest Writers
wine@lbknews.com
Smart shopping will help you find the best values consistent with your wine shopping 
budget. Remember these tips whether buying wine in a supermarket, a favorite wine shop, or a fine restaurant.
Look for good alternatives to the prestigious brand name. Yes, a highly rated French Champagne really does have the tastes that you would hope to find in a sparkling wine, but at a minimum cost of around $50 per 750 ML bottle and an upper range that you don’t want to know. Neighboring wine regions Burgundy and Alsace sell comparable sparkling wines at about half the cost of Champagne. The André Delorme Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs Brut ($24), a white sparkling wine made from the red Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes, and the Lucien Albrecht Crémant d’Alsace Brut ($20), made from Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Pinot Blanc, for instance, offer worthy substitutes for the more prestigious Champagnes. French Crémant producers, including those in Loire and Limoux, use the same traditional second fermentation in the bottle process (méthode champenoise) used to produce Champagne.
For that matter, Spanish producers of Cava also use the traditional method and make excellent sparkling wines that sell at rock bottom prices. Many other prestigious wine brands have alternatives that you and your guests will enjoy and will cost much less. Ask wine sellers about alternatives such as California or Washington State Meritage instead of French red Bordeaux; California Russian River, Alexander Valley, and Paso Robles, or Argentine and Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, instead of pricy Napa Cabs; or South African Chenin Blanc instead of French Vouvray. The fact that owners of prestigious vineyards in Europe and California are acquiring vineyards in the Southern Hemisphere, Washington State, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, and Canada should encourage you to consider cheaper wines from these emerging regions.
Use budget white and Rosé wines to create inexpensive, low calorie, and low alcohol cocktails, apéritifs, and digestifs to replace a glass of French or California Chardonnay, a French or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a gin and tonic, or a Tequila Marguerita. Make them by the pitcher or individually. Cava poured over an ounce of fresh orange juice or pear nectar makes a tangy Mimosa or tasty Bellini. A still Chenin Blanc or Torrontés mixed with Seltzer water and a dash of aromatic bitters makes a light spritzer apéritif. Rather than open another bottle of costly Cab, Pinot Noir, or Syrah after finishing beefsteak or lamb, offer a small glass of an Australian Tawny, produced in the same way as a Portuguese Tawny Port, but without the Port label reserved for Portuguese wines from the Porto region. A small bottle of the Australian tawny will serve as a fine digestif to top off a hearty dinner.
Look for sales and specials and buy a few bottles of cheap back-up wines. We have found wines from smaller vineyards in bargain sections of small and larger shops. These wines have distinctive tastes yet sell at prices less than the cheaper supermarket wines. We buy and keep these wines on hand for backyard and front porch gatherings when we need to open a second bottle. Recently we found nice Pinot Grigio and Chianti (Sangiovese) from Italy and a savory Malbec from Argentina on bargain shelves.
You will find wines that you will enjoy at modest prices. Local wine shops bring wines from around the world for their customers to explore.
S.W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.
