We can't think of any California wineries that have much respect for a five dollar bill.  Many in Napa ask you for $10 merely for the privilege of them "allowing" you to taste their wines (in hopes you'll spend the king's ransom it takes to secure a bottle of wine).

We probably have the best selection of Five Buck wines in the Bay Area, as we think it's important for a good bottle of wine to be available for small money.  The San Francisco Chronicle printed an article on "Bargain Wines" and our little wine emporium was cited as being a Bay Area leader in value-priced wines.


We've found some customers only think to come to Weimax when they're looking for a "special" bottle of wine, but please know we have really fine "everyday" bottles, too.

Many stores offer "wines they can sell."  Our philosophy is quite different:  We feature "wines we can recommend."  Heck, we like to enjoy a great wine for which we've not spent so much money...and we spend a lot of time looking for good values.  

A low price does not make for a good value.  A wine must be of good quality, first and foremost.  A good "value" is a wine which tastes more expensive than its price tag indicates.  Simply being cheap does not make for "good value." 

We hear from some people, speaking about some famous cheap wines, "Well, it's not bad for the price."  We disagree, especially when "it's not good for the price," either.

In any case, please know we have more respect for a ten dollar bill than most wine business folks.

Here are some suggestions from our current offerings:

BORSAO  Still SALE PRICED  $6.99
From the Aragon region of Spain comes this amazingly "soulful" wine.  It's dark in color and teeming with berryish fruit and a mildly spice note.

A blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo....this delicious!

Please note: Aside from the fact that this is a dynamite bottle of wine for six bucks-and-change, it makes a superb Sangria!

QUINTA DAS AMORAS  $5.99 

The fellow who owns this estate is a real wine fancier and aficionado.  We trekked to his winery in Portugal's Estremadura region and found a number of really interesting wines...all well-made and of good quality.  

The wine is a blend of Castelão (Periquita), Camarate, Tinta Miúda and Touriga Nacional.  Medium-bodied and showing a dried cherry note, it's drinkable now and over the next year or so...

VIU MANENT  CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SALE PRICE $5.99
We're big fans of this producer.  While you can buy thin, watery, sweet wine from California's Central Valley under labels such as Mondavi's Woodbridge, here's a dry, medium-full bodied red of exceptional intensity in this price range.

No oak.  A couple of weeks' maceration on the skins, so this even has a bit of tannin!  

CHARAMBA     SALE PRICE $5.99
Here's a dynamite red wine from Portugal's Douro Valley, a region that's famous for Port.

This is made of some of the same grapes that go into Port, except the wine is vinified dry.

You'll find some wonderfully spicy, peppery notes here as we liken this to a good Côtes du Rhône.

If you pour this into a fancy decanter and give it an hour or two to "breathe," your wine 'geek' friends will all guess this as something far more noble than a five buck red wine.

The "120" Series of Cabernet is not going to remind a connoisseur much of Mouton-Rothschild or Haut Brion.

But it is a delicious little red wine.

Though vinified from Cabernet, the wine is not tannic and it's smooth enough to drink now.  Think of it as "Cabernet meets Beaujolais."
In fact, we like it served lightly chilled.  

 

Currently in stock:  SANTA RITA "120" CABERNET SAUVIGNON  SALE $7.49

 

 

ALANDRA  Portuguese Red and White

Theses two simple table wines are amazingly good and they're attractively priced.
The red is dry, fairly soft on the palate and easy to drink.  It doesn't strike us as being "made for the American market," either...good, honest table wines.

No oak...the white is dry and fresh...really amazing for such a modest price.


Currently in stock:  ALANDRA RED $5.99
ALANDRA WHITE $5.99

GATO NEGRO CABERNET/MERLOT  SALE $5.99

This is vinified in the style of Beaujolais, so you'll find a very fruity, berryish quality to the wine.  We find it enjoyable as a picnic red and like it served moderately chilled, since it's smooth and virtually without tannin.  

They now are sold in a screw-cap bottle.

ABEL CLEMENT  Côtes du Rhône Blanc $8.99
Grenache Blanc is the predominant grape is this remarkably delicious dry white wine.  If a California vintner made this it would cost $30 and critics would proclaim the winemaker to be a hero for making such a good wine at such a reasonable price.
It's terrific.

PROTOCOLO  Sale $6.49
Here's a supple, smooth, medium-bodied Spanish red that's less fruity than the Borsao, for example.
It's a more 'traditionally-made' style of red wine.

IL POGGIO SANGIOVESE di ROMAGNA  Sale $6.99

This comes from a rather large winery in Emilia Romagna and it's not a particularly profound or exceptional red wine.  

Yet we have many fans who buy this as an accompaniment to a simple plate of Spaghetti & Meatballs or Lasagna...the wine simply "works" well on the dinner table (no table cloth, please!).

RESERVE DE L'AUBE SYRAH / MERLOT BLEND $6.99

Wow...remarkably nice wine--Rhône Meets Bordeaux.  It comes from the large Rhône merchant, J.P. Brotte.  Medium bodied, berryish and showing lots of red fruit notes  Nice clove-like spice.  Smooth, too.  

MASCIARELLI "MONTEPULCIANO d'ABRUZZO"  SALE  $8.99

The late Gianni Masciarelli's wine is well-known in Italy and yet it's one of the best kept secrets here in the U.S.  

This is another one of those wines that, served in a decanter, tastes like a seriously more costly bottle of wine.  Medium to medium-full bodied.

MARITMA  Tuscan Red $7.99
Here's a simple Sangiovese from southwestern Tuscany.  It's made by the Mantellasi winery.

It's a remarkably good wine and arrives here at an honest price, thanks to a good Bay Area importer.  No oak.  Nice cherry-like fruit and it's terrific with simple Italian-styled foods.

CAVE DE RASTEAU  COTES DU RHONE SALE $9.99

There's a large grower's co-operative in the town of Rasteau in the Southern Rhone.

Our friend Valerie Aigron works there, having spent time out of France working in the wine biz.  She's back "home" now and is one of the crew at this big producer.

The Cave de Rasteau is well-regarded as a source of "good" wine and they offer it as pricing which is quite attractive.

The 2011 Cotes du Rhone is not a profound, hugely complex, compelling bottle of wine.  It's not intended to be so.  They make this with the idea the consumer will buy it and open the screw-cap within, probably an hour or two of purchase (maybe sooner).

The wine is competently made and it's grown with the idea they're making economically-priced wine,   Grenache, mostly, with 20% Cinsault and 10% Carignane.  It's a lighter bodied red wine, which works out well, since it's lighter-priced, too.

We enjoy this served at cool cellar temp.

CASAL GARCIA VINHO VERDE  $6.99

This is a famous Portuguese white wine...it's low in alcohol, light in flavor and has just the right amount of oak...none!

McMANIS CABERNET SAUVIGNON SALE $9.99
McMANIS SYRAH  SALE $9.99
The McManis family has extensive acreage in the Central Valley, south of Lodi.

Winemaker Jeff Runquist, whose Runquist wines are very popular here at the shop, runs the cellar with another winemaker, Mike Robustelli.

These guys create some amazingly good and surprisingly stylish wines.  We're fans of their Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  

The Syrah is a dark, deep colored wine with lots of blackberry fruit and a touch of wood.  It's low in acidity and tannin, so drinking it now is ideal.

The Cabernet is as smooth as most commercial Merlots, but has a bit more body and richness.  It, too, is nicely oaked.

BIDALERE  CÔTES de GASCOGNE $9.99
The Beraut brothers make a sensational dry white wine in the southwestern part of France...superb.  No oak.
Peachy, dry white.

SALVALAI 2011 PINOT GRIGIO  Sale $8.99
From Italy's Veneto region, this is a dry, light, simple, fresh Pinot Grigio.  Remarkably good.

MARK WEST  California PINOT NOIR (Sale) $9.99
The Vino Fino boys had this wine in a recent blind-tasting of Pinot Noirs from Burgundy and California.  I insisted on including a $25 ringer from Chile and it won the tasting.  But the second place wine, finishing ahead of Burgundy from Tollot-Beaut and Ramonet was this lovely, charming little California wine.  The winemaker used to work at the Peter Michael Winery and produced wines which cost more for a single bottle than this costs for a case.  
It's not a hugely profound wine, but it is a delightful, sort of Beaujolais styled, exuberantly strawberryish Pinot.  Very nice.

ABEL CLEMENT  GRENACHE  $6.99
One sales rep I poured this for got it right...I had asked him to guess how much this wine sells for.

"I'd say $12 for a French wine and $20 to $25 for a California."

And he's absolutely correct, except this remarkably delicious Vaucluse (Rhone area) red costs less than a six-pack of premium beer.  

If a California vintner had made this, wine writers would bestow sainthood on the winemaker.  Instead, this comes from a terrific grower's cooperative winery in the Southern Rhone.  Young, fresh, but not hugely fruity or grapey in the manner of a Beaujolais.  It's more restrained on the nose and has a gentleness and elegance on the palate.  

Seven bucks?  Are you kidding?  
Case discounts, too.

OISLEY-THESEE "TOURAINE" SAUVIGNON BLANC $7.99

There's a smallish grower's cooperative in the Loire near Touraine called Oisely-Thesee, a name which doesn't roll off the tongue of most American wine drinkers.

We've tasted this wine for many vintages and I think the 2010 is the first one we've brought in to the shop.
It's always well-made and, from our perspective, a shade skinny.
The 2010 isn't a big wine, nor is it a medium-bodied Sauvignon Blanc.  But for a nice, crisp, dry and light wine, this shows well, especially for it's eight-buck price.  
It's not as intense as our Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume wines, but most of those will set you back $17-$25.   

If you're steaming some clams or enjoying some fresh Dungeness crab and looking for a budget-priced bottle, this is worth trying.

CONCHA Y TORO CARMENERE $9.99
I tasted a really nice example of Carmenere and it's reasonably priced at ten bucks.  
Medium bodied, there's a nice dark fruit character here with a nice touch of oak.
Smooth on the finish, too.

MEIA PIPA  $10.99

The Bacalhôa winery south of Lisbon makes some really spiffy wines...the top bottlings will set you back $30, or so.

But in the realm of reality, they have a rather nice red called Meia Pipa.  It's a proprietary blend of 30% Castelão, 30% Aragonez (Tempranillo if you're in Spain), 30% Syrah and 10% of some odd variety known as Cabernet Sauvignon.

It is matured for a bit less than a year, typically, in French oak.  We like the dark fruit notes in the wine and find it to be a satisfying red at its modest price (case discounts, too).

LA CABOTTE 2011 COTES DU RHONE  Sale $9.99

While most entry-level bottlings of Cotes du Rhone come from co-op wineries, this one is a good, smallish, family-operated place owned by a family from Burgundy.  

The patriarch of the family had found this property some years ago and was enchanted by the prospects of having a warm climate, summer vacation getaway.  

Today they farm about 50 acres, most devoted to grapes, but some to olives.  

We'd tasted the wines over the past decade, or so, and it's only since about 2006 or 2007 that we've felt they're on the right track.  It's by far the best ten buck Cotes du Rhone in the market.

DOMAINE DUFFOUR 2011 CÔTES DE GASCOGNE $8.99

Michel Duffour is a brilliant producer of white wines...this is a delightful blend, but predominantly Ugni Blanc and Colombard.
Fresh, dry, and light (lower in alcohol than California Chardonnay, for example).

 

 

VIU MANENT RESERVA SAUVIGNON BLANC  SALE $6.99

They've clearly pushed the vineyards to produce an abundant crop of Sauvignon Blanc as the wine is a bit light, but still has enough character that you won't mistake it for anything other than Sauvignon Blanc.

It's dry and non-oaked and is a remarkably nice little wine for cocktail service or to pair with seafood.

 

CHATEAU MOULIN DE FERRANDE  SALE $7.99

Here's a dynamite little white Bordeaux for less than the price of a glass of wine at a local restaurant...

It's Sauvignon Blanc with some Semillon and Muscadelle...lightly citrusy, no oak and dry.

PEDRONCELLI FRIENDS.RED  SALE $9.99

Sonoma County fruit...Merlot, Zin and Cab Franc.  A touch of oak.  Smooth, medium-bodied red...they had this on the drawing board well before the current economic downturn, but then Pedroncelli has always had good wines at honest, old-time prices.  It's quite good.

L'HORTUS   "Le Loup dans la Bergerie" RED  $9.99

The Orliac family makes some terrific wines in the Pic Saint Loup appellation...and we're delighted to find a really affordable little red wine from them with a name like a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing (more literally, a wolf in the sheep house).

It's vinified to be immediately drinkable...mostly Grenache with some Syrah for color and body and a bit of Merlot for marketing.

It's a delightful ten buck red wine...best at cool cellar temp.

TRENTADUE "OLD PATCH RED"  SALE $9.99

We think this is mostly Zinfandel from Sonoma and it sold for well more than ten bucks at one point in time.

In fact, the current blend, all from the Alexander Valley appellation, is 77% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 11% Carignane and a drop of Sangiovese.

Now it's just ten bucks...and it's remarkably good.

ENGEL PINOT BLANC d'ALSACE $11.99

 

This is a really good dry white from a little family vineyard and winery along the Route du Vin in Alsace...no oak.  This shows a lovely appley fruit aroma and it's dry and has a modest level of acidity.

 

LA CORTE PRIMITIVO  $10.99

The La Corte wines come from Italy's Puglia region and they make wine for immediate consumption, so you won't need to set this bottle in the cellar for a decade for it to be drinkable.

Their Primitivo wine is, for our palate, a good, simple "pizza red."  It's medium bodied and not at all aggressive in terms of tannin.  

 

And then price is right.

 

 

POMELO  SAUVIGNON BLANC $9.99 (Case discounts, too!)

This is made in Napa by Randy Mason, who's a bit of a Sauvignon Blanc specialist.  
It's got a citrusy, grapefruity aroma and the flavors are also along the lines of citrus.

It's zesty, crisp and not quite bone dry...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORNAS PINOT GRIGIO  $9.99

Some friends of ours who live in Italy's Friuli region make this wine.

We used to import some of their wines in the late 1980s and early 1990s...the Bidoli family...

A couple of years ago, we introduced the Bidoli's to a local guy who imports Italian wines.

He didn't buy them that year, but today he's delighted to have some of their wines.

The brand is Fornas, as the Bidoli family purchased an old brick-making factory and converted it into a winemaking facility.  The old "furnace" now houses stainless steel tanks and some oak barrels as they produce a nice range of Friulian wines.

 

Pinot Grigio is a delight in terms of both taste and price.  It's a non-wooded wine and it's fresh, dry and reasonably crisp without being shrill.

 

 

LE ROC'S  FRONTON ROUGE  WINES 11.99

The Ribes brothers make our favorite Fronton wines...the local grape variety of prominence is called "Negrette" which is known in California as "Pinot Saint George."

This Le Roc is predominantly Negrette with a modest percentage of Syrah.  We like the berry and spice notes of this wine.  It's medium bodied and best, to our taste, served cooled to cellar temperature.

 

 

I added the beret to the smiley fellow on the label of this magnificent, soulful red wine...so don't expect to find the bottles in the shop with a guy sporting a little chapeau.

It's called the Folle Noire d'Ambat, a playful name for Negrette grown in a vineyard site called "Ambat."

The wine is dark in color and has a wild berry and spice fragrance.  

We just love it and for twelve bucks, you may, too.

PERIQUITA $9.99

All over Portugal, wineries told customers their red wine was made from the Periquita grape.  Finally a court declared that the Periquita name was a "brand" owned by the Jose Maria da Fonseca winery and that only they had the rights to the name "Periquita."

It's a bit reminiscent of the usage of the terms "Xerox" and "Kleenex."

Anyway, we have Jose Maria da Fonseca's "Periquita," a wine made of the grape known around Portugal as Castelão.   This is an easily drinkable, simple red wine.  Berries...smooth.  Medium bodied.

BADIA DI MORRONA 2009 CHIANTI  Sale $10.99

The 2009 of Morrona's little Chianti is Delicious with a capital D!

It's snappy Sangiovese called "I Sodi del Paretaio" and the wine is medium-bodied and brightly cherryish.  It's a bit rounder on the palate than the popular 2008.  

Perfect pasta wine!

 

 

BACK TO OUR HOME PAGE

Wine Tasting Today

TO INQUIRE ABOUT A WINE:  gerald@weimax.com