The Logic To Use For A Good Wine And Steak Dinner

By Tom Marquardt And Patrick Darr

It doesn’t take much of an effort for us to justify splurging on an expensive wine once in a while. We’re getting old, the world is falling apart and life’s too short to waste on bad wine. Yada, yada.

Surely you know the drill: one part of your brain (or your spouse) is telling you it’s a waste to buy that Corvette, a new boat or an Apple watch. But you manage to come up with reasons — the old car is dying and this is my last hurrah, I’ll spend more time on the water than on vacation, and a new watch will make me punctual.

That’s the circuitous route our logic takes on the way to the wine store.  But we think we have a logical reason to spend more on wine – really! See if this works for you.

When we take our wives out for dinner at a nice restaurant, we select a wine that commonly costs $50 or more.  It’s getting harder and harder to find restaurant wine for anything less. At a 400 percent markup, you’re buying a very cheap wine at $50.

We can get the same bottle in a retail store for half the price. So, if we take that $50 we’re willing to spend in a restaurant and buy a great wine from a local retailer, add a couple of filets and light some candles, we have a great dinner with a wine we really like.  Maybe we have to forego the ambiance and service of a ritzy restaurant and, okay, we have dishes to wash at the end. But we got a $50 wine with no restaurant markup.

Recently, we’ve encountered several great wines at $50-$70 a bottle that made us wince at the cash register. But now that we’re in retirement with a manageable nest egg, we can splurge once in a while.

This twisted logic came to mind at a recent tasting of several Rhone-style blends from Paso Robles. We were blown away by a 2014 grenache-syrah blend from Law Vineyards.  We correctly identified the grapes in a blind tasting but thought it was a Chateauneuf du Pape. Alas, it cost $70. Thankfully, we didn’t favor the Saxum which cost more than $200.

Unfortunately for consumers, the prices of the best wines are rising as fast as a river in spring. The best wines from Napa Valley are easily passing the $200 threshold with the average price now at $108. Frankly, that’s a threshold we haven’t crossed and most likely won’t. Land prices, oak barrels and consumer demand is driving this maddening trend.

While there are still bargains to be had in other regions, consumers will have to spend more money to get more quality.  We are delighted when we find a luscious Rioja for less than $20 and a Chilean sauvignon blanc that marries well with food for $15. But for that special occasion, we’re going to bust it open – and save money by not dining out as often.

Here are a few steak wines:

Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($59). Eliminating the filtration gives wine more pure fruit character and this is a good example. Sourced from estate vineyards in Napa Valley, this complex wine has cherry aromas with blackberry and plum flavors. Petit verdot, malbec and cabernet franc play cameo roles.

Obsidian Ridge Volcanic Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ($38). Tom was vacationing in Colorado recently and was looking for a dinner wine. Remembering this from years ago, he picked up a bottle – then came back the next day for another.  It costs more nowadays, thanks to its success and high ratings, but it is still equal to a similar wine at twice the cost.  Malbec, petit sirah, petit verdot and syrah are blended with the cab to produce a complex and lively wine with wild blackberries and minerality.  It is aged entirely in Hungarian barrels, so you won’t find the vanilla character often found in French barrels. The volcanic soil is also an influence on this terrific wine from Lake County’s Red Hills.

Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 ($58). Twenty percent of this wine comes from a combination of merlot, petit verdot and malbec. Good depth with black cherry and raspberry notes with an intriguing combination of herbs and spice.

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2016 ($195).  Delia Viader leans heavily on cabernet franc (36 percent) to support the cabernet sauvignon in this elegant and rich blend. She is joined in this effort by her son Alan who is equally committed to producing high-quality wine from their Howell Mountain vineyard estate. The cabernet franc bolsters the floral aromas and tames the cabernet franc to make it enjoyable in its youth.  Rich black cherry and plum flavors with a hint of chocolate.

Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($200). Now in its 40^th vintage, this most famous, all-cabernet-sauvignon from Columbia Valley will surely score another victory to add to its massive record: seven 100-point scores from the Wine Advocate, one 100-point rating from Decanter and three Top 10 Wines of the Year from the Wine Spectator. It’s trick? Best grapes, French oak barrels and great winemaking. Concentrated black fruit, floral and herbal aromas open to ripe plum, blackberry and currant flavors. A wine doesn’t get much bigger than this, but surprisingly its fruit-forward style makes it enjoyable now or 20 years from now.

Wine picks

El Coto Crianza Rioja 2019 ($12). Made from 100 percent tempranillo grapes, it has vanilla and cherry notes with a round, easy-to-quaff style.

Art of Earth Organic Chardonnay Argentine 2021 ($12).  This wine from Mendoza may not seem like a chardonnay to you, but the wine’s pure, unfettered style is delicious for the price.

Art Of Earth Organic Cabernet Sauvignon Argentina 2021 ($13). A very enticing wine at a great price and its organic to boot. Bright fruit notes of berry and cherry with a hint of olive in the nose. Cheap and cheerful.