Safe Havens in a Vast Sea of Labels
While you’re building an audience for your wine website, you tend to speak to lots of people. I try to learn about our target audience of consumers so I ask questions about their favourites, their likes and dislikes, how they buy wine or what they would like to know more about.
‘I don’t know much about wine,’ a professional woman in her thirties told me the other day. ‘When I go into a bottle shop, I usually buy a Sauvignon Blanc because that’s what most of my friends drink.’ A friend emailed me proudly about a great deal he got on a case of Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Shiraz, a pretty rough red. I asked him why he was drinking such ordinary wine. He said it was an old standby. We were eating out last night, and the folks at the next table were drinking St Hallet Gamekeepers White, a boring wine made in vast quantities.
Safe Havens
That’s what I mean by default wines. Lots of others drink them, so the assumption is that they must be alright. They may be boring but they’re safe. They’re lifebuoys in an ocean of too many choices. It’s not that these people aren’t smart, it’s just that they don’t know a lot about wine.
Many people don’t want to know a lot about wine since they have bigger passions in their lives, or they don’t know where to start or don’t have the time to educate themselves.
That’s a gap we’re filling with BWU$20 with our list of Best Wines Under $10, $15, $20 and $25. The wines on these lists are all carefully selected and very safe choices, but they’re far better than average. In our view, they’re the best you’re going to get for the money. People have said to us: ‘we thought you had to spend at least $20 to get a decent wine. We had no idea you could buy decent wine for $10 or less.’
Exciting Wines for a pittance?
It’s a challenge, we grant you that, but we’d stake our reputation even on the wines in the Best Wines Under $10 list. Here are a few examples:
Montes Classic Series Chardonnay 2013 – $8.50 at Dan M’s. More forward and richer than the 2012, touched up with some aromatic oak. Obvious but appealing.
Marques De Tezona Macabeo 2013 – $9 at Bayfields. Made from the ubiquitous Macabeo variety and Sauvignon Blanc – crisp dry white with a Spanish Accent. 90 points from the Winefront. 89 from us. Bargain.
Ravenshead Margaret River Chardonnay 2012 – $10 at Kemenys. We liked this so much we gave it 92 points. Ridiculous value
Rosemount Diamond Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $7.50 at Kemenys. This wine has a trophy and 3 golds to its credit. OK, it’s a bit of a fruit cocktail but it’s nicely done for the money.
Illuminati Riparosso Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2011 – $9.50 at Dan M’s. A great little pizza/pasta red with a bit of Italian flair.
Yalumba Y Series Cabernet Sauvignon – $10 at Dan M’s. Brilliant red that punches way above its price range. Matthew Jukes said they must have put the wrong label on a more expensive wine.
Anvers Brabo Cabernet 2013 – $10 at Pulpit Cellars. From a boutique winery in the Adelaide Hills, trophy and gold medal at the Boutique Wine Awards, 95 points from Huon Hooke.