Old World Palate

Importing fine wines from exceptional producers is certainly a worthy goal, but how many of us can actually afford a great premier cru Burgundy or a Cote Rotie?  If I'm buying in the 'once a week' to 'everyday' range,' then I rarely will get above the $20 mark.  And frankly the closer I can get to $10, the better. So can I still find exceptional wines in this price range? No, it's absolutely impossible, so just give up all hope now.  Ha ha, just kidding.  Of course you can.  In fact, I'd say there is enough great affordable wine on the market to keep you busy for a long time.  The problem is differentiating it from the sea of mediocre and flat-out bad wine you can find in the same price range.  To me the key is to look in regions that aren't very well known or understood.  Or look for producers that have a good reputation in their country but are relatively unknown here.  Generally you can find many producers who are making great wine, but can't command higher prices, because the demand is low. One importer that seems to have this practice down to a science is Hand Picked Selections.  Their portofolio includes some of the best producers you've never heard of such as Pierre Boniface in Savoie, Chateau de Lancyre in the Pic St. Loup district of Languedoc, and Paul Jacqueson who makes his pinots in the Cote Chalonnaise region of Burgundy.  There are simply too many solid wines than in their portfolio for me to properly address here, but check out their Top 40 list to find some great wines that may be available in your area.  Most of these wines are under $15, and the vast majority won't disappoint.  One wine that is not on that list that I highly recommend you pick up is the Plan Pegau Cotes du Rhone.  I haven't had the current release, but the last vintage I had was just killer for about $16.  I know it's a bit hot out for heavy reds, so you may want to go the with the Pierre Boniface Apremont instead.  Either way you're not going wrong.  And that's kind of the point.

So how do you find a great importer to seek out?  Well you can always read someone else's list *cough* or you can do this:  Every time you have a great foreign wine that makes you say, "wow, this wine is amazing" turn the bottle around and check the importer.  Soon enough you'll start to recognize the names from wines you've had before.  And the name that turns up the most?  Well congratulations.  That's your new favorite importer.  Personally for the past year that importer has been Michael Skurnik. Michael Skurnik began his wine career 1977 as a waiter at the storied Windows on the World restaurant that sat atop the World Trade Center.  There he worked closely with Kevin Zraly, who at the time was leading the charge for incorporating American wines into the best wine lists.  Skurnik went on to start his own company as a distributor in 1987.  At the time his focus was on bringing boutique wines from California to the east coast (one of these wines was Sutter Home, believe it or not).  Not long after that he began representing foreign winemakers, and now imports compose 65% of his portfolio.  And the list of winemakers represented is impeccable: Selbach-Oster, Joh. Jos. Christoffel, Schloss Gobelsburg, Borgogno, Alain Graillot, and H. Billiot et Fils just to name a few. Don't recognize any of those names?  Well herein lies the beauty of knowing your importers.  You don't have to memorize the hundreds wines that an importer represents.  You just have to know their style and what level of quality they tend to bring in.  Now that's not say the Aussie Shiraz Skurnik represents are going to remotely resemble the Northern Rhone Syrahs, but in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Austria you can count on his wines being well made and uncompromising in their tradition.  And the best part about his portfolio is that despite the pedigree of the many estates represented, there are still many wines that are easy on the pocketbook. Need some examples?  Check out the Ecker Eckhof Gruner Veltliner or the Berger Blauer Zweigelt.  Both of these come in liter bottles, are perfect for summer drinking, and can be found for about 16 dollars.  Find them.  Drink them.  And while you're drinking, give a nod to Michael Skurnik Wines for making it possible.