Past Issues: Bargain Wine, jun/jul 2007 --
Oregon Bargains

In this regular feature, we spotlight those wines that offer great bang for the buck -- under $15 bucks, to be exact. Here you'll find our everyday wines, house pours, and occasionally a great new find. Have a favorite Bargain Wine? Tell us about it at editor@wineskinny.com! 

The words "bargain" and "Oregon" don't appear together very often in a wine context. Oregon is mostly known for its Burgundian-style Pinot Noirs, with pricetags that may not quite be in Burgundy's rarified strata, but are generally nothing to sneeze at. Oregon's Pinot Gris runs a solid second, with silky, pretty, cool climate flavors and structure, but again - not a lot of cheap choices out there.

So we were excited to taste through the current vintages of a winery called A to Z Wineworks. Founded in 2002 for the express purpose of producing Oregon's "best wine values," the winery buys and blends finished wines - and markets the results.

These days, when many wineries go to great lengths to appear highfalutin in their various grapegrowing and winemaking efforts, it's frankly refreshing to see such honesty.

And lest you think these are a bunch of PR hacks who wouldn't know good wine from bad, take a look at some of the A to Z group:

Bill Hatcher managed Domaine Drouhin for 13 years before co-founding A to Z. Sam Tannahill and Cheryl Francis were winemakers for Archery Summit and Chehalem, respectively. And Michael Davies was the vineyard manager and assistant winemaker for 6 years at Chehalem prior to joining the A to Z team.

We found the wines to be tasty and fun and approachable. Good for everyday drinking and easy to pair with everyday meals. Here's the skinny:

A to Z Wineworks 2005 Pinot Blanc Oregon ($12). Crisp and refreshing, with juicy nectarine, green apple and citrus flavors that stay bracing through the moderate finish. Ready to drink now.

A to Z Wineworks 2005 Pinot Gris Oregon ($12). Lush peach, apricot and spice aromas and flavors linger on the smooth finish. Ready to drink now.

A to Z Wineworks 2005 Chardonnay Oregon ($14). Offers some appealing crispness to support the moderate ripe pear and melon fruit flavors that linger on the easy finish. Ready to drink now.

A to Z Wineworks 2005 Rosé Oregon ($12). Made from 100% Sangiovese, this summer sipper offers pretty strawberry and raspberry fruit laced with just a touch of cream and a fresh finish. Ready to drink now.

A to Z Wineworks 2003 Claret Oregon ($15). A blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache and Malbec, this spicy, concentrated red offers black plum and currant fruit accented with smoke, white pepper and tobacco. Nice structure at this price. Ready to drink now.

Learn more about A to Z Wineworks at www.atozwineworks.com.

Check out previous Bargain Wines selections!
This now-fabulously-named column used to be called Easy To Find One Figure Wines, for reasons that we cannot currently remember but were surely enthusiastic about at the time. Anyhoo, check out our Past Issue Index for more great value-priced wine selections!