fryback@nlm-vax.ARPA (Dennis Fryback) (01/17/85)
A friend recently introduced me to a very nice and inexpensive chardonnay from Hungary: The producer is Magyar and the wine is its "Visonta Region" Chardonnay. We can get it around the Washington D.C. area for $2.79 to $3.09 a bottle. Of course for that price you don't expect to compete with the California boutique wines, but it certainly is drinkable. The taste of the chardonnay grape is there and quite a nice bouquet. It tends to vary in acidity from bottle to bottle, but at the price it is a real bargain. Magyar also has a Cabernet, but I haven't tried it. Incidentally, another producer from Hungary, Trakia, has a not at all bad Merlot out in the same price range. The Trakia chardonnay is not up to the Magyar though as it is far too acidic. For mid-scale white wines I am going back to the French Chablis. You can usually find a very nice Chablis Grand Cru at around $9 per bottle -- and it will beat the socks off of the more expensive California whites. I like the Vaudesir Chablis Grand Cru. Does anyone out there have a good feel for recent vintages of chablis from France?
c-hunt@tesla.UUCP (Charles Hunt) (01/29/85)
Chablis vintages have been very good since 1981. 1982 is a great year, with the grand cru vineyards having excellent aging potential. This wine is surely the chardonnay bargain of choice right now. An excellent synopsis of Chablis and recent vintages (with insight about the particular vineyards and growers) was written in "Cuisine" magazine by Hugh Johnson, about 9 months ago. Plain Appellation Chablis (eg. Louis Michel), now averaging about $6 per jug is hard to beat. Avoid big brands (eg. B & G, Bouchard, Nicolas, Cruse) if possible. I don't recommend any of the eastern european white wines for drinking, since the quality is overly variable. Such stock may be ok for cooking or coolers. Good, cheap, dry whites I'd suggest are Gallo Sauvignon Blanc, Chevalier de Vedrines (Bordeaux Blanc), Torres Vina Sol, Gallo Chenin Blanc, or Concha Y Toro Sauvignon Blanc... All $3.50 or less and nice drinking for simple dinners. Also, for you riesling types, the German 83's are above average and have never been cheaper... But most are far too sweet for dinner wines, in my opinion. Cheers! Charles E. Hunt