They say money can’t buy happiness…but it sure can buy a great bottle of wine! “What You Get for the Money” - it’s the title of one of my favorite shows on television these days. If and when I ever make it to the big-time, win the lotto or marry George Clooney, I’ll spend my time no doubt buying and remodeling homes and buildings. I’ve dabbled in this a bit, but what a dream to have the cash to do things well (yeah, I can turn some Ikea findings into some bad-ass fixtures). In the meantime, “What you get for the money” rings true among all the wine and sake I represent. I was reminded of this theme last Friday night while leading a Handley Cellars private tasting in the hills of west Austin. I 
think as wine consumers we get caught up a lot in “oh, this is great for 10 bucks, or this is such a good value”. Yes, I agree that much of the wine world (if you know what you are after) is made up of tremendous values from all over the world. But - and this is a big but - many of the artisan, family owned, boutique producers may not have the financial comforts of bottling oodles of $10 wine. Paying $20 for one of their estate bottled chardonnays or $30 for a low production Pinot Noir IS A GREAT VALUE considering the source of the juice and reputation to say the least.
For example, inexpensive Pinot Noir from California is getting worse – I mean the cheaper the price tag the less likely it’s going to taste like pinot noir. I sipped a very popular $14 pinot the other day and I swore it was syrah – maybe with a few drops of cherry Nyquil blended as well. There are a few good examples on the shelves - go to the burgundy section to find a great value pinot (under $20) any day over the domestic shelf. All in all, you better get use to pony-ing up $25 + for great value California pinots …trust me on this one folks.
As for Ginjo Sake – yes, totally 100%, absolutely the price indicates the q
uality inside the bottle. The popular “Divine Droplets” costs as much as a Kobe steak because it’s worth it – very small production, uniquely brewed and outstanding quality. Yep – the lone star ladies have adorned this bottle of sake their favorite – we can hardly keep it in stock each week.
Of course TexaCali Wine Co. represents incredible values from Argentina that are also incredibly high in quality – the importer – Vine Connections has worked extremely smart over the years negotiating and befriending some of the most valuable vineyards and winemakers in Argentina for the American market to enjoy (consume regularly) each and every day – we are soo lucky in Texas to have ample stock on all these such as BenMarco, Crios, La Posta, Budini and many more….
Ok – enough for now “What You Get for the Money” is coming on in a minute this sunny Sunday morning - the show is comparing $500,000 homes in Austin to Chicago to Raleigh…oh to play in that world!
Bottle by bottle I’m determined…www.texacaliwine.com, jot some of these wines down on a list next time you plan on buying wine!
Cheers - Ali
think as wine consumers we get caught up a lot in “oh, this is great for 10 bucks, or this is such a good value”. Yes, I agree that much of the wine world (if you know what you are after) is made up of tremendous values from all over the world. But - and this is a big but - many of the artisan, family owned, boutique producers may not have the financial comforts of bottling oodles of $10 wine. Paying $20 for one of their estate bottled char
uality inside the bottle. The popular “Divine Droplets” costs as much as a 
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