Our first newsletter of the New Year features five examples of what surely will be the recurring buying theme in the country over the next several years: uncompromising, no nonsense value at the cash register. Four of the wines, for example, sell for less than $10. In fact, our priority for 2009 will be finding even more wines of character and substance between $5 and $10, a range replete - for the savvy buyer - with endlessly affordable fine wine drinking.

By temperament, we are an upbeat bunch here at SML, certainly not paralyzed by this difficult economy. In fact, the opposite is true. We are confident that in trying times we know how to navigate rough waters in order to find, buy, and deliver to our customers the best wine values available. The selections below are but a small segment of the bargains to be found in our dynamic selection of more than 3200 wines.

Portofino Le Marche Sangiovese 2007 (Italy)

This juicy little Sangiovese comes from Le Marche, the relatively anonymous Italian state sitting on the Adriatic coast directly east of Umbria. Its wines, too, are relatively unknown and include the under-appreciated Verdicchio, the leading white, while Sangiovese and Montepulciano account for the bulk of the reds. The 2007 Portofino shows a soft, grapey personality that delivers loads of ripe black cherry, cranberry, and pomegranate fruit in a bundle of flavors surprisingly complex for a wine of this price. Add a smooth, supple texture and you have our 2009 leader out of the gate in value-priced Italian reds. Take advantage of our much better than 10% by-the-case discount on this one.
SML price: $7.49
Case price: $78.00

La Bruciata Moscato d'Asti 2007 (Italy)

If the angels served wine in the Garden of Eden, surely it was Moscato d'Asti. Great wines are renowned for expressing the character of the plot of earth that raised them - chalk, clay, volcanic ash, to name a few. Moscato d'Asti, however, seems born not of the earth but of the heavens: clouds, blossoms, warm breezes, the scent of a peach orchard in July. Those already familiar with this bubbly, low alcohol, lightly sweet white know what I mean; if you're a stranger to it, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience what it means to capture a May afternoon in a glass. Most Moscatos run from the mid- to high teens on the shelf. At $7.99 this is one OUTRAGEOUS value!
SML price: $7.99

Palo Alto Maule Valley Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (Chile)

One of our goals in 2009 is to find suitable substitutes for increasingly expensive New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, very few of which now sell for under $10. For the consumer, France offers little of quality at that price point; California produces few wines that play to the strengths of a grape that prefers a cooler climate, ditto Australia. However, we're seeing more and more solid Sauvignon Blanc coming out of Chile and Argentina, wines that meld the vibrant acidity and aromatics of New Zealand with the opulent fruit of California. In a word, well-made South Americans, like this 2007 Palo Alto from Chile, show a wonderful balance that tends to be less aggressive than the often edgy New Zealanders and hits the higher notes that the softer Californians miss. Crisp and bright, Palo Alto's fruit carries hints of herbs wrapped around a citrus core with more than enough mouth-watering acidity to satisfy any Sauvignon Blanc hound.
Reg. price: $9.99
Sale: $8.99

Pierre Olivier Bourgogne Chardonnay 2007 (France)

If you've been on the outs with Chardonnay but are open to reconciliation, this just may be the bottle to once again soften your heart to America's favorite white wine. Around the world, Chardonnay dresses in so very many costumes that it's often difficult to see the frame underneath. It can be bubbly, sweet, dry, heavily oaked, unoaked, taste buttery, minerally, show tremendous intensity of flavor, or conversely, fill five-liter boxes with juice that would require DNA testing to positively ID. Pierre Olivier's 2007 Bourgogne offers a naked interpretation, focusing on the essence of the grape shorn of barrel ageing and malolactic fermentation. The result is a sleekly polished, medium-bodied Chardonnay showing flashy apple and pear flavors with enough crispness to balance the fruit and make the wine dance on your palate. Very food friendly and very good.
Reg. price: $11.49
Sale: $9.99

Torbreck Barossa Valley "Woodcutter's Shiraz" 2007 (Australia)

David Powell, Torbreck's owner and winemaker, has fashioned yet another gem of Barossa Valley winemaking in his 2007 edition of Woodcutter's Shiraz. An amazing complexity of flavors - blackberry, black pepper, spice, black cherry - is married to a texture that recalls the finesse of Syrah grown in the northern Rhone and a long finish that is ever the calling card of fine wine. For us, this benchmark Australian Shiraz delivers far, far more enjoyment than the $18 price of admission.
Reg. price: $19.99
Sale: $17.99

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* Newsletter prices on all wines are in effect until March 17, 2009 and limited to stock on hand.

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Tom DeLia, Editor & Wine Buyer
Steve Kershner & Adam Ridge, Contributing Editors