Can I just bitch a little more about the price of certain wines in my state? I mean, when did Lirac become $18???? It should be twelve bucks! Tops! Oh, I’m just getting old, you say? I’m thirty-fucking-two! I’m telling you, prices are whack.

It started to get difficult last year, as a buyer, to find wines that were well priced. And by that I mean, I could barely find any Pinot Grigio that was under $12 on the shelf. Sure, it’d be different if you had all well-heeled clientele or were willing to stoop to inferior grocery brands just to hit a price point. But I had made certain commitments to my younger clients, to find them new interesting things, at better than decent prices. I promised. Their salaries, I can assure you, hadn’t increased at the same rate as the wines in which they were interested.

This is the genesis of part of my intense hatred of corporate wines, and the corporate distributors who hock them. And this is what wine tourists and wine outsiders in this industry, especially those who blog, don’t get. They call it elitism, being anti-corporate. I call it consumer advocacy. These corporate guys start monkeying with wine prices like it’s gasoline. Oh, the Euro’s a bitch, ain’t she? Hey, it’s not our fault, it’s the market! And you lose.

I call bullshit on that. Why? Cuz I know of plenty of small distributors who direct import or work with a broker to offer plenty of tasty wines, at reasonable prices. FACT: The more of a machine behind the wine that you drink, the more you are paying for that machine. It’s not about the wine anymore. It’s about maintaining their ridiculous infrastructure–their regional managers of state reps who oversee the local salesforce. Wine prices never shot up, in my tenure, as much as they have the last few years. What’s different? Wine’s more of a business now, a commodity. Gotta spend money to secure market share. It’s a grape boom. And the customer suffers for it. No matter what kind of wine you buy.

Cost Co is, as we speak, taking the state of Wahington to court, arguing that our three tier distribution system is bunk, that it amounts to price fixing. But I won’t bore you with details, plenty of other bloggers doing that. (Every wine has to have a distributor based in Washington state. Meaning an importer from whom someone in Cali can buy wine has to sell their wine to a WA state distributor first, before I can buy it and sell it to my customers. It’s a tax thing. So “they” say.) And I can’t wait to see what happens. Because I am of the mind that the only thing to do with this system is smash it apart. And rebuild it from the smote ashes. Because, for me, it’s about wine and it’s not. It’s about something bigger.

It’s about a bully and a system that bullies, whether it’s a giant corporation, a puritanical state, a bent government, or a hippocritical boss. They are bullies, one and all.

And bullies need to be beat down.

And with that, I bring you a few words about a few Rhone wines at REASONABLE, SANE prices. Just call me your wine bodygaurd.

Arnoux & Fils Vieux Clocher 2003 Vacqueyras, $13
(imported by Grape Expectations)
  70% Grenache and most of it coming from old vines, this wine has a beautiful, complex perfume: dried and sweet herbs with ripe blackberries and a lil’ pepper. It’s the first thing I sniff for with Vacqueyras and the reason it was elevated from a regular old Cotes du Rhone Village to its own AOC. The ripe blackberry and plum flavors give and give, while being supported by a solid structure.

Domaine de Couron 2004 Côtes du Rhône, $9
(imported by Chloé Wines)
  This wine is one of the prettiest Côtes du Rhône I’ve had, not just for this vintage, but for the past three running. It smells fresh, on the edge of floral, reeks of raspberry leaf, and has lip-smacking berry fruit followed by a finish that’s more about acidity than tannin. I’d rather drink this than cheap American Pinot any GD day. It’s a little less opaque than some of its brothers, who seem to compensate their lack of complexity with their concentration and end up tasting like an Aussie trying to speak French. Not right.

Domaine de Mourchon 2004 Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret, $15
(imported by Riservati, Inc.)
  For the under $15 set of the tasting, this was the femme fatale. Know what I mean? Dark, brooding fruit, aromas that edgesd toward the more exotic fennel, anise, and truffle. This wine managed both concentration and complexity and tasted more like a Northern Rhône than a Southern, for what it’s worth.

Domaines Perrin 2003 Côtes du Rhônes Villages, $11
(imported by Vineyard Brands)
  So, this is technically one of the big guys. But their philosophy is sound and their collective heart is in the right place. Hell, they have a heart. And a BLOG. Check it. This is the wine you’re most likely to find, wherever you may be. Rarely do I look at or agree with a winery’s tasting notes, but this was spot on: “Intense nose of macerated cherries and licorice. Full-bodied with a generous attack, a pleasant freshness and elegant tannins.” And how. Just rich enough, without being heavy. When I’m travelling, Perrin is one of those ubiquitous stand-bys I look for on a wine list. Like a tasty island in the stream.

*** thanks to the Santa Barbara Wineguy, Paul, for pointing me to THIS SITE, to get me right with my French letters n’ stuff.

***, pt 2 Have you checked in with Taj and her Incredible Wine Journey, lately?