3 ways to check a supermarket bottle of wine...

Usually I suggest to my client to buy wine directly from the producers or farms. Anyway, if you want to find a decent wine at supermarket, I suggest (I repeat, only suggest), these three short rules:

1) The price: never under 5 $, why? Make a calculation: is almost impossible to find under one dollar/kilo (normal quantity to make a bottle) grapes grown with normal standard agronomical cares. Another Dollar for production costs (farm, machines, light, work, etc.); 50 cents for the glass of bottle, label, cork. We are arrived around 2,50 $. Some money for the producer/agent don't want to give them? Finally, VAT, transport, and other.

2) The sentence: bottled by , produced and bottled by , estate-bottled by the winery. Obviously these are very good things, better. Why? Because all the production chain is checked only by one figure.

3) The origin: rely on DOC and DOCG ( PDO ) , to a lesser extent on IGT ( IGP ) , discard the wines without one of these three categories (different nation by nation).

Also check the position of the bottle and the temperature of the store.

[Robin Garr]

Those are good principles especially for people who are not very familiar with wine, Viscardo, and who don't know when it is okay to make exceptions. Also, in the US, many of us live far from the good wine areas and don't have much opportunity to buy from wineries nearby. (Yes, there are wines in all 50 states now, but many of us are not really in climate well suited for wine making.)

This is a good general way to help people who know little about wine avoid wasting their money, though. Grazie!

Thanks to you guys!

Overall agree. I'd just be cautious re AOC/DOCGs etc from famous areas. I've not often had good luck with inexpensive Barolo for instance. Better a DOC/DOCG from a less hyped area.

Overall agree. I'd just be cautious re AOC/DOCGs etc from famous areas. I've not often had good luck with inexpensive Barolo for instance. Better a DOC/DOCG from a less hyped area.

Yes Dale,

actually (I think you already know it, because I've noticed you are very informed) in Italy for many many reasons( that if you are interested I can explain muche better), we are appreciating organic/biodynamic wines. The problem is that some they are....outlaws, because don't respect the disciplinary.

So, they don't have on the label any appellation!!! Return to the pure wine. Hooray!!! Finally!