At Table Wine,we’re constantly on the hunt for wines that offer the most quality at the best price. More commonly known as “QPR” or “Quality to Price Ratio”, our job is to find our customers the best wines their money can buy. The key to understanding QPR is to know that it has nothing to do with price, but has everything to do with quality. There are $15,$30, and $50 bottles of wine that offer great QPR in the sense that they taste like wines that cost twice the price. At the same time, there are wines in those price ranges that taste like wines that cost half the price, and we avoid these as much as possible. The simple equation to determine QPR is to divide what you think the wine costs by what it actually costs……….the higher the product of the equation, the higher the QPR.
You see, there are a ton of wines out there that are “branded” to the max. You see them on full page spreads in magazines and newspapers with a common general message that if you drink them, you are living the good life. These marketing and advertising campaigns cost millions of dollars and guess who ends up paying for that? You do! We’re not saying these wines taste bad, but we are saying that they are grossly overpriced and much of what you’re paying for is advertising and marketing costs. We think you should be paying for what’s inside the bottle, and that’s whey we stock wines from the smaller producers who subscribe to the notion that the “proof is in the pudding”. These are the small, passionate, down to earth guys and gals who look at making wine much like one of our talented local chefs (Katie Button and Jacob Sessoms come to mind) look at making food. It’s always about quality, not quantity and quickness of production.
If you can wrap your head around that, then maybe we’re the wine shop for you. We try our best to offer you the highest QPR items available to us, and most of our customers say we do a good job at it. Stop by this Friday to see if you agree, as we’ll pour four wines that offer maximum quality at more than fair prices.
1. Tenuta degli Ultimi Prosecco “Sanguefreddo” (Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Italy)
We’ve tasted a lot of Prosecco in our three years of business, but this one takes the cake. Composed entirely of hand harvested, sustainably farmed Glera grapes, this one just explodes out of the glass with fresh melon, peach, lemon and little hints of vanilla, honey and dusty mineral. Truly delicious!
2. 2012 Palazzone Orvieto Classico “Terre Vineate” (Umbria, Italy)
The Palazzone estate has been owned and operated by the Dubini family since 1969, and they are without a doubt the region’s leading producer. Whereas a lot of Orvieto is simple and somewhat neutral in character, this one is seriously delicious and multifaceted. A blend of old vine, hand harvested Procanico, Grechetto, Verdello, Malvasia & Drupeggio, it is seriously dry and aromatically delightful.
3. 2012 Zorzal Malbec “Terroir Unico” (Mendoza, Argentina)
This isn’t your typical Argentinean Malbec, and we think that’s a good thing. The three Michelini brothers are known to play Radiohead to their vines……….whatever they’re doing, we say keep it up! This is really bright and lively Malbec with lots of pretty red fruits and a savory, earthy, slightly funky character that adds to its deliciousness. Every person that has bought this wine so far has come back for more.
4. 2010 Flor das Tecedeiras Tinto (Douro Valley, Portugal)
This is one heady wine! A blend of Portugal’s prized Touriga Nacional and other native grapes, this is a big, lush, powerful red wine that should appeal to fans of Napa Cabs. In fact, we think it tastes better than a lot of Napa Cabs that cost twice the price of this one! Layers of ripe blueberry and blackberry fruit attach to notes of spicy, toasty oak and vanilla to create a lush and full bodied flavor bomb of a wine.