The Cantina Sociale - Soave, Italy
You can fill your demi-johns here!
(Photo by RR, Aug. 1994)
Ordinary Wine
Vino Sfuso
Vin Ordinaire
Plonk
Whatever
In Other Words
Your Daily Wine!
This page is not meant to downplay appreciation of fine wines. We're all in
favor of them, but it is not realistic to think that we can have fine
vintages daily.
More and more Americans are accepting the idea that a meal is incomplete
without wine. Those of us who feel this way would rather have a modest wine
with our supper each evening than a finer vintage every few days.
This means "House" wine, whether purchased in a restaurant or used
at home. Restaurants in France and Italy would not survive for long if
they did not offer reasonably priced good wine. If it's not available by the glass
or carafe, people will go elsewhere. Certain grand restaurants may be
exceptions, but the rule still holds. Fortunately, American menus are beginning
to feature wine by the glass.
For several years I have logged wines into and out of our small rack.
Some have been pretty decent bottles for special occasions, but most have
been what we call "Official House Wines". The list changes from time to
time. Our house wines can fall out of favor. This happens when a wine becomes
so popular that the winery can get away with a premium price.
For a long time we posted here a list of wines that we used daily. As
it turned out, these lists had to be constantly updated and were not really that
useful. Over a period of time, wineries are bought by other wineries - a once
acceptable price becomes unacceptable - a new label appears and is a relative
bargain (at least for a while) - our tastes might change.
Rather than list a few current favorites, let's just advise some
careful shopping to see what's good and also inexpensive. It may take
some time to get your bearings, but before long you will become adept at spotting
the bargains and taking advantage of them. You will also learn what to avoid.
When a wine is available in magnum bottles (1.5 liters), it usually (but not
always) costs less to buy the large size. You will have leftover wine, but
it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.
Of course you could pour your wine from a box, and save
substantially. If boxed wines get better that may be an alternative, but
at present the boxed wines being offered have declined in quality.
Most now feature added "natural flavors", which is a strong clue that the
wine is poor.