Overrated

Talk about overrated, happy Monday. The only thing more Monday than Mondays is January, the Monday of the year. This guy sums up my sentiments pretty well:

stephenbrower

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Big Monday Energy

At any rate, greetings from America, where my semi-annual whirlwind tour of family and friends is wrapping up in Provincetown, along with Bear Week.

Let’s keep this short and sweet. Today is about two things I’ve come across during my time home that are overrated and some alternatives that are satisfyingly “rated”.

The CPI

The Champagne Price Index in California is out of control. During the past few years, the cost of wine imports went up because COVID (#COVID), the supply chain (#COVID) and the EU/US Airbus/Boeing 25% tariff retaliation (#NotCOVID).

But things are more or less “back to normal” now, so I was surprised when just a few days ago, my precious baby cousin asked if “that Champagne with the orange label” was any good because all the fancy influencers have photos with it.

When I informed her that it’s a basic Champagne, she showed me on her phone that non-vintage Veuve Clicquot costs $75 per bottle! I scrolled and saw $100 NV Bollinger! I was shocked and appalled. Shocked and appalled! If I had worn pearls, I would have clutched them.

For the record, there’s nothing wrong with these Champagnes except the outrageous prices they’re going for this side of the Atlantic. I mean imagine, just don’t buy ten or so Veuve Clicquots and you could hop a flight to France!

But that’s not realistic because precious baby cuz needs to drink and so I’ll tell you what I told her: don’t incinerate your money buying those bottles. Instead, “Extreme Couponing” it by buying these options that are actually worth their price*… and with THOSE savings buy your tickie to France to drink reasonably-priced Champagne. Who says you can’t have it all?

1. Champagne that’s not heinously priced: Ayala Brut Majeur $53. French. Ayala is one of the original big brands and their style is Chardonnay-dominant. Elegant, light bodied. Taittinger is another one in this $50 range that is priced closer to what it should be. (The link shows $60 average price across the US but in the stores in CA I’ve seen consistently sell at $49 - $55.)

2. Franciacorta: Ca del Bosco $40. Italian. Made in the traditional method with Champagne grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc). I buy this one pretty regularly because I like it and not just as an alternative to Champagne.

3. Crémant du Jura: Domaine Rolet Coeur de Chardonnay $34. French. Made from 100% Chardonnay from their best lots in Arbois and Côtes de Jura. Sadly, in the US, Wine Searcher only lists it in MA, but it’s worth seeking them out. They’re distributed by Skurnik Wines so you could check with them for a local retailer.

4. California Sparkling: Roederer Estate Brut $27. USA. From the famous Champagne house, Roederer, who set up shop in Anderson Valley in 1982. 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. They only use juice from the first pressing.

5. Cava: Juve y Camps Milesime Chardonnay Gran Reserva Brut $20. Spanish. Cava is also made in the traditional method, with non-Champagne grapes. This one does mix in some Chardonnay though.

*Prices shown are average across the US as of publishing

Tasting Rooms

The next thing I realized that are overrated are boujee tasting rooms. I was reminded of this during a little road trip to Sandhi Wines (Santa Rita Hills AVA) last week. Their modest setup is housed in several warehouses in an industrial looking part of town and the “tasting room” is simply a white-tablecloth-bedecked table inside one of them.

Yes, I agree it’s not as sexy as being seated in the middle of a vineyard, or a terrace outside of a glass pyramid with sweeping vistas, but for all the fancy tasting rooms and architectural wineries that exist with poor service and overpriced wines (Stags Leap for one, was a remarkably poor experience), I’ll pick tasting nice wine with good service, thanks.

And that’s exactly what we got at Sandhi wines. The “Wine Ghetto”, where it’s located is not easy on the eyes but the wine and our guide, Sean, was kind, patient, and knowledgeable about both the wines and winemaking in general.

The ideal would be the trifecta: a beautiful location, with beautiful wines and beautiful service, but at the end of the day, the scenery is overrated if the rest doesn’t stack up. Kind of like a gorgeous woman who lacks substance. Or a handsome man with SDE.

Sometimes, just “rated” is good enough.

You can see a short reel of my visit here:

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BTW we tasted out of the new Raj universal glass, which I have to say is elegant and well-designed. As nice as it is to have other types of glasses (which I admittedly do—I love my Zaltos and use their Universal glass the most), you can get away with drinking any wine from a standard tasting glass, and this one is a nice level up from the standard.

My birthday is coming up. Just saying.