A lack of wine education and wine educators leaves a lot of people drinking really bad wine when they could have the good stuff for nearly the same price or just a few cents more.

That first sentence is really why I got into wine writing and started the newspaper column and this blog.

I go through that scenario in my mind each time I find a great bottle of wine under $15. Trivento 2007 Amador Sur is one of those “OMG” kind of wines. Amador Sur is 72 percent Malbec, 16 percent Bonarda, and 12 percent Syrah from the Mendoza Valley in Argentina.

You normally will find the wine around $14, but I found it on the internet at a range of $11-$15. And if it matters, Wine Spectator gave this wine an 89 – pretty good juice.

I liked the wine because it has the nice dark fruit Malbec characteristics I always enjoy with the smoke or earthiness boost from the Bonarda. I’ve written here before, I’m a huge Bonarda fan.

You also get some pepper and other aromas and hints of spice in this wine. It has a very nice finish with just a mild hint of tannin. You will get a bit of acidity. This isn’t as big as some blends you will find but it a darn drinkable wine.

I’d buy this wine again and again. But I didn’t the first time, this was a trade sample.

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I’ve recently been on a forgettable streak of bad bottles of wine. Ugh!

So Tuesday night I turned to an old favorite to shake the funk – Malbec. Specifically, I opened a bottle of Altos 2008 Malbec from the Mendoza Valley. This is a wine that consistently gets 88 to 90 points from the rating folks and delivers a great punch for $10-$13.

Altos offers a deep colored wine with dark cherry, earthiness, and a silky smooth feel in the mouth. You even get a little sour cherry on the mid-palate if you take the time to savor it.

One of the fun things about this wine is you could even swig it! Ha!

Altos is produced and owned by Italian wine makers. They age the wine in some stainless steel and then let it soak up a little French and American oak before bottling.

Altos is easy to find in Indiana wine shops. It has all the great Malbec characteristics, with a not-so-subtle smoothness and full flavor.

It’s sort of like an old friend, one I’ll return to again in the future whenever I’m in a bad wine funk.

POSTSCRIPT: This Malbec is absolutely marvelous with a steak and even better with some dark chocolate – something around 60% cocoa works great!

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I have been reluctant since I started writing this blog to really bad mouth a wine. Often I fall back to the “not to my taste, but others may like it” approach.

Or, sometimes I just won’t write about a real stinker. Obviously, I don’t set out to buy wines I won’t like just for my wine writing.

All that being said, I’ve been sampling some South African wines in preparation for my next newspaper column and because I had purchased very few previously. And, I should add I have found some I really liked – just not this one.

A couple of nights ago I opened The Wolftrap 2008 Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier blend. I actually had a similar blend from a different producer/different country before and didn’t particularly like it. I didn’t like this one either.

On the nose you get the richness of all that black fruit of the Syrah but when you take a good belt it hit me as too sweet and almost too smooth or mild on the palate. It’s light in body and uber smooth/easy to drink. For that reason, I would say: “not to my taste, but others may like it.”

The blend is 68 percent Syrah, 30 percent Mouvedre, and two percent Viognier.

In all fairness there was nothing wrong with this wine. I can think of plenty of wine drinkers who are going to like it. In all fairness and journalistic ethics, I’ll admit I wouldn’t buy it again even at its great price. If you like a at least a little boldness or earthiness in your wines, this one misses the mark.

The good news is for a wine under $10, you could do worse.

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I’m going to make some changes over the summer and will talk about that more in the coming weeks in this space.

I just posted my last two newspaper columns (I’m tardy!) on Grape Sense. I use that blog just to archive the newspaper columns and will continue to do so. But starting next week when I write a new column, I’m going to post it here and on the other site.

Blogspot, the Google software that powers this blog and thousands of others, has introduced some new toys for bloggers. I played with a it bit over on the Grape Sense column and will probably re-design this blog at some point as well.

Oh, the two newspaper columns cover younger people’s drinking habits and tips for hosting your own wine tasting party.

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I know I have had Pinotage before but it’s been years!

So I opened a Nederburg 2007 Pinotage tonight and really enjoyed it. It was simple, smooth, fruity, and not very tannic at all. I could see serving this at a cocktail party when there are few wine drinkers in the room. I hesitate to lump it into a category with Merlot or Carmenere, but its not far off those flavor characteristics.

Pinotage is a rather fruity South African red with subtle tannin and a hint of oak. You’ll get rich dark fruit on the palate, a solid mid palate and a finish that is mildly sweet. The Nederburg had 13.5 percent alcohol.

The wine dates back into the 1920s as a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. The wines can be found light like a Pinot Noir or Beaujolais, an earthier version like a Zinfandel, it is sometimes made into a blush wine, and even Port.

It’s a beautiful deep purple color in the glass with pleasant aromas that surpass the price point. This wine can be found at $9-$14.

It’s a very pleasant wine. Nothing wrong with that. South Africa is an emerging player in the wine world. The wines from the southern region of the African continent have been selling big around the world.

Try a nice Pinotage as an introduction. It’s not a complicated or complex wine, but it sure is a darn drinkable one!

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I focus on value wine because that’s what most of us are buying for our weeknight vino choices. When searching for a nice Cabernet, Zinfandel, or Syrah it’s tough looking at the $12 choices and wondering if any will deliver some bang for the buck.

I was very pleasantly surprised with a recent bottle of Columbia Crest 2006 Grand Estates Shiraz from Washington State. This wine sells $10-13 and is found in many Indiana wine shops. I bought this bottle at Kahn’s on Keystone in Indianapolis.

The wine had a fresh fruit nose of black cherry but enough power to make it really enjoyable with a grilled filet mignon. It was silky smooth and really enjoyable. The wine gets a combination of French and American oak during the one-year aging process.

The winemaker also puts in a little bit of Viognier to add some interesting nuance to the wine.

I’ve become a big fan of Washington State wines and this one just adds to that impression. Columbia Crest is easy to find. They have a line called “Two Vines’ that retails $5-$7 with the Grand Estates line just a few dollars more.

If the Shiraz is any indication, I’ll be trying more of the Grand Estates label!

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I have a friend or two, maybe more, who tease me about ‘falling in love’ with certain grapes or styles of wine for a few weeks and then moving on to something else.

Well, I’m not as bad as a year ago but still guilty.

Right now I’m really enjoying Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. Chile is probably best known for its native Carmenere grape but Sauv Blanc and even Pinot are making a name for Chilean wines.

Friday night I opened a bottle of Cono Sur Organic Sauvignon Blanc, a 2009 San Antonio Valley offering at $13.

It definitely has the big citrus we’ve all come to expect in Sauv Blanc. I really liked the tart lime sense I was getting on the palate. There is grass and maybe even a hint of pineapple. This was very well-balanced wine. It wasn’t overly mineral or grassy which is what made me really love it.

A real wine geek I guess would call it elegant.

It’s great bang-for-your-buck white wine. If you can’t find Cono Sur (and I suggest you try) there are lots of other Chilean Sauv Blancs out there.

This bottle came as a trade sample along with a bottle of their Pinot Noir. I’ll pop that Pinot open soon to see if it holds up to the quality of the white!

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Does it take a mad scientist to blend nine grapes into one great American White Wine? Or, is it just dumping all that left over juice into a barrel and getting lucky?

Sokol Blosser’s American white wine Evolution is unique as it is tasty. Sokol Blosser is an iconic name in Oregon, the home of great Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. But SK is now onto about its 12th version of Evolution and it’s a very successful blend.

I remember tasting this wine a couple of years ago and liking it at a bar in the grand domed West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. Tasting it this week reminded me not just of how much I liked the juice but also how unique it is.

Blending nine grapes seems like a recipe for a disorganized assault on the palate. But Evolution is anything but unorganized. The blend of all those grapes gives the wine a bold, crisp apple flavor. I also got a hint of pineapple.

What I like most is it’s a big full-flavored white wine that is great in hot weather. I think it would pair nicely with a lot of food, including big meat dishes. I was sipping it with crackers in the Florida sun Tuesday afternoon.

It’s refreshing and powerful at the same time.

Okay, nine grapes – count them: Riesling, Semillion, Pinot Grigio, Muscat Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurtzatriner, Pinot Gris, Muller-Thurgau, and Pinot Blanc. It sounds like a mess but it works.

The wine comes in at 12 percent alcohol and is lovely with a really good chill. You’ll find the wine anywhere from $15-$20 in fine wine shops.

The only rating I could find online was an 86 from Wine Spectator. Many people are harsh on blends. I’m not suggesting that’s the case with Evolution and Wine Spectator. But from a drinkablility standpoint, originality, and just plain fun wine – this juice scores closer to a 90 in my mind.

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As I sit down to write my next newspaper column, it dawned on me I have not posted the last one.

Done!

Last column was about good summer wine choices. You can see it and all other past colums from the link in the left rail, “Grape Sense.”

The next published newspaper column will be about wine sales, demographic changes, and some wine items in the news!

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I think of Italian and Spanish white wines and I think of acidic, light-flavored wines that are just great in the heat of summer.

I recently received a bottle of Fontana Candida Frascati as a trade sample. When I saw it retailed for $10 I expected the same light style. Now, I must also admit I dont’ recall how much Frascati I’ve actually tasted. I believe I have before I really got into writing and documenting my wine drinking.

Frascati is made largely from the Malvasia grape. It’s often blended with Trebbiano.

Frascati has long been Fontana Candida’s calling card. The grapes are grown in a region of volcanic soils very near Rome. The marketing materials promote the wine as the “House Wine of Rome” and “The Wine of the Popes.”

Fontana Candida has been pushing the quality since the 1980s and trying to improve their wines, according the marketing. They are now distributed in the U.S. by Banfi, a major international marketing force.

But what about the wine? This pale yellow wine suprised me in a couple of ways. It had a bolder flavor than I ever expected. There is definitely pear on the palate and nose. It has a nice acidity but most of all a really nice lingering finish.

This really is a wine that you might think costs more than a ten dollar bill.

There is a lot of Frascati coming out of Italy. But Fontana Candida is one of the biggest producers. It’s a great chance to enjoy a very palatable and tasty wine and at extremely affordable price point.

I had the wine with some plain pasta, ground turkey, onions, and just a few diced tomatoes and juice. It was a good combination. This would work on the deck during hot summer days as well.

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