Wine for hard times

by Gretchen Roberts, Posted Oct 3rd 2008 @ 2:01PM

With the economy taking a nosedive the past few weeks (months? years?), plenty of wine drinkers are wondering whether they'll be able to afford their Bordeaux and Burgundy with retirement accounts shrinking and daily living more expensive than ever. Dr. Vino, a wine author and blogger, did a poll this week to find out if and how wine drinkers will cut back.

Not all winemakers are responding by dropping prices (a BBC news report says chocolate and Champagne have steady sales even in times of economic distress), but one company is embracing the socio-economic situation and turning lemons into lemonade (or, technically, grapes into wine). Recession Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon from California sell for around $5 a bottle. The company says they taste like $10 wines, explaining that the value comes from using lighter-weight glass bottles, saving on shipping costs, and using a recycled synthetic closure instead of cork, which costs $1 per bottle.

I tried the wines recently and really liked the Merlot, which was smoky on the nose, not too flabby like most cheap Merlot from California, and a little green peppery, like it had some Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. The vegetal aspect could definitely fool you into thinking you're drinking a much more spendy wine. My husband and I rated what we thought the prices would be if we didn't know they were $5, and here's what we came up with: Chardonnay, $9; Merlot, $14; Cabernet Sauvignon, $6.

The wines are currently available all over New York and will roll out nationally soon--unless our lawmakers can get it together and save the economy.

Filed Under: Trends, Drink Recipes, New Products
Tags: cabernet sauvingon, CabernetSauvingon, chardonnay, east coast, merlot, recession, recession wine, wine