In this post, I mention my somewhat shamefaced desire to find a Washington cabernet sauvignon that was as good or better, and as affordable as my favorite California cabernet sauvignon, from Meridian. I set out to find one, pursuing my goal with dedication, due diligence, and a cork screw. Here are my findings.
Before I moved to Washington, when I was still in Southern California, I started researching Washington, and Washington wines. One of the few Washington wines I could find fairly reliably locally and affordably were wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle. I tried a few, but mostly favored the Riesling. Now that I'm in Washington and have a wide variety of local affordable wines to try, I'm a bit nonplussed to discover that the same thing that's happened to publishing—smaller publishers over the last twenty years have all been swallowed, so that in some ways there are essentially three huge U.S. publishing conglomerates—seems to be happening with Washington wine.
I'm slightly embarrassed to confess this, but I have thus far not tried Washington cabernet sauvignons. I've had some lovely Washington cab blends—including Two Vines Red, and CMS House—but I've not even really tried Washington cabernet sauvignons. Why, you ask? Well, because early on I discovered the excellent 2005 cabernet sauvignon from Meridian Winery in California. Meridian's cabernet is a full bodied rich, cabernet sauvignon, with just the right combination of black currant and tannic to suit me, and while it routinely sells for between $7.00 and $10.00, we've been buying it locally for $5.99 a bottle. That's pretty hard to beat, frankly. And since this cab is excellent, accompanies food just beautifully, and I like cab better than most other reds, I just didn't feel too inclined to experiment.
Cabernet sauvignon is a black grape variety, and one of the most recognizable names among consumers. There was a time in the late eighties and the nineties when cabernet sauvignon was frequently treated as a synonym for red wine, largely because of the sudden popularity of California cabernets. It's not an ancient variety; its history apparently goes back only as far as the eighteenth century, when it was a popular grape in France's Médoc region. Researchers at the University of California at Davis in the 1990s, under the direction of Dr. Carole Meredith, determined via DNA testing that cabernet sauvignon is a cross of cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc.
Most people know you can buy wine by the case for a discount. Most people in fact seem to be aware that even chain grocery stores will give you a discount on as few as four bottles of wine. But once you find a wine that you really like, perhaps a wine that you'll enjoy for a long time and that will improve with age, or possibly a table wine that you like well enough to include frequently in your menu planning, the thing to do is to buy your wine by the case. Now, don't start thinking that buying by the case isn't for you, or it's too expensive. It's really quite easy, and no, it's not really expensive. In fact, if you buy wines you would buy and enjoy on a single bottle basis by the case, you'll save money, and time. This part is important, and you might not think it needs to be said, but it really does: don't buy a wine by the case unless you've tasted and know you'll like it, and that you'll like it again.
