While everyone is looking for bargain wines these days, sometimes you want or need that wine that takes you a step higher than ordinary.  Sometimes you want the experience of splurging, without actually spending a large amount.

Ghost Pines Chardonnay carries a $20 SRP and is very impressive at that price point. With a flavor profile reminiscent of much more expensive white Burgundies, it blows away most Chardonnays in the $15 – $25 bracket.

An excellent nose introduces pear and mineral notes that give way to apple and just a touch of citrus on the palate.  Acidity is present, but not overbearing, and the wine has a supple mouthfeel and a lingering finish.

Serve this with sea bass, shellfish, or pasta in a creamy white sauce and prepare to be impressed.

Much like the reputation of a brand of clothing influences the price, so a wine from a high profile location brings a higher price tag because people assume it’s worth more.  Until countries like Chile and Argentina develop the same clout that France or Italy posess, it will be hard for them to charge as much for their wines, even though the quality may be equally high.

Bodega Elena wines are produced in Argentina, whose climate and soil are excellent for wine production.  I got to taste some of their 2010 bottlings recently and was impressed.

They blend their Chardonnay with small amounts of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier and it makes a very well balanced, food friendly white.  They also make a red blend, which is about two-thirds Malbec, while the other third splits between Syrah and Bonarda.

Each of these shows off the character of the grapes, as well as the terrior of the Mendoza region.  They are unique enough to stand out, yet recognizable enough to make easy food pairings.

The star of the show is their 100% Malbec, which is elegant, not overly spicy, and tastes the way Argentinian Malbec should.  We paired it with a spicy corn and Poblano chowder, chicken taco salad, and barbecued chicken, all with good results.

These wines retail for $10.99 SRP and are widely available.  If you haven’t tried the wines of Argentina, Bodega Elena would be an excellent place to start.

Tonight, I cooked a fall dinner for my wife and we paired it with MacMurray’s 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.  The marriage of the foods with the wine was intentional and the results were beyond satisfactory.

I made bacon wrapped turkey fillets seasoned with tarragon, mashed sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, and apples cooked in brown sugar and Marsala.  Everything blended well and the wine shone brightly as the star of the show.

At this time of the year, a rich, flavorful Chardonnay like MacMurray will accompany many of the seaonal dishes with elegance and style.  Turkey and dressing, butternut squash soup, ham, and other holiday meals will not only make good matches, but can be enhanced by stepping up from the everyday, value wines to higher quality bottlings.

MacMurray Sonoma Coast wines, whether the Chardonnay or the Pinot Noir, are excellent choices on Thanksgiving Day and throughout the holidays.  You can also give them as gifts to the wine lovers on your list.  I prominse you, they won’t be disappointed.

Osborne is likewise, one of the most well known names in Spanish winemaking, but it is usually associated with Sherry, not still reds.  Enter sixth generation winemaker Rocio Osborne and her Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Shiraz blend.

Although Tempranillo claims 60% of the bottling, its relatively light body and easygoing flavor profile are still overshadowed by the 40% Shiraz it shares its space with.  That’s not to say you won’t taste the dark berry character in the wine, but the bold, spicy Shiraz (the Syrah grape by its original name) dominates from the first sip.

If you’re looking for a predictable, same- old, same-old wine, this isn’t it.  If you’re on the lookout for a fresh, vibrant, innovative wine that also represents an excellent value, Tempra Tantrum is a winner.

In all fairness, I stole that phrase from a furniture salesman.  He used it in reference to André, and I loved it.

André and Cook’s share some important characteristics.  Both are very inexpensive sparkling wines, and both continue to call themselves Champagne, regardless of how offensive that is to the rest of the wine producing world.

Champagne is a place, not a type of wine, which they well know.  What they make is nothing close to Champagne, which they also well know, unless they are suffering from intense delusions.  The only thing that keeps it from being false advertising is the fact that they were grandfathered in when the courts ruled that companies from other than the Champagne region of France could no longer label their wine as such.

Anyway, I love Champagne, so I would never want to waste it by mixing it with orange juice.  That makes these $5 sparklers the perfect choice when all I want is the sparkle, not the taste.  I would never serve these wines by themselves, but as mixers, they do the trick without breaking the budget.

Cook’s is made in Madera, California, where I was about two weeks ago.  Interestingly enough, while I didn’t pay them a visit, I did stop in and see Andrew Quady at Quady Winery in Madera.

The reason that’s intreresting is that Quady makes wines in the tradition of Port and Sherry.  He uses the grapes, the methods, the traditions, everything except the name.  That’s because he gets it.

Places like Oporto, Portugal (Port) and Jerez, Spain (Sherry) have worked hard to make a name for themselves and their wines, as has Champagne.  Quady chooses to call his wines by other monikers out of respect for the place where true Port and Sherry is, and always has been produced.

My purpose here is not to insult for the sake of insulting, but to continue to call out those who need to change their ways.  You’re not making Champagne in California and selling it for $5 a bottle, Cook’s, so quit acting like it.  Call it what it is, and I’ll continue to buy it and not feel the need to rail on you when I read the label.

During a week we spent at Big Cedar Lodge on a second honeymoon, we got to pour Dancing Bull Cab with grilled blue cheese burgers and New York strip steaks.  The back of the bottle proclaims it “The perfect pairing for grilled foods.”  I would tend to agree.

I can’t usually recommend $12 Cabernet with a lot of enthusiasm, but this wine is extremely approachable, yet not in any way soft or flabby.  It is varietally correct, with dark berry fruit over a touch of vanilla and herbal notes.

It’s casual enough to serve with burgers, but sophisticated enough to take it’s place at a nicer dinner as well.  Any place a Cab would be appropriate, this one would hold its own.

Dancing Bull Zinfandel is a brighter, bolder red that is fun to drink by itself, and is perhaps even more versatile as a food partner than its counterpart, Cabernet Sauvignon.  The fruit is jammy, and the spice is balanced, not dominant.

Most wines in Europe, Italy included, are named after the place where they are made, not after the grapes they are made from.  In the case of Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, the wine is named after both.  It is made from the Montepulciano grape in the region of Abruzzo.

This is not to be confused with the Tuscan wines called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which are made in the location called Montepulciano, bot not with Montepulciano grapes.  Got it?  Didn’t think so.

The good news is, you don’t have to understand all that to drink the wine.  Montepulciano D’Abruzzo is a deeply colored and flavored red wine that obviously pairs well with richly flavored Italian food.  It is fairly obscure in the US, despite being the second most widely grown indigenous red grape in Italy and being described by Thomas Jefferson as “a favorite wine.”

It can very often be found priced between $6 and $12, with a few higher priced exceptions.  It is usually somewhat earthy and full bodied, with a tendency toward higher alcohol percentages.

When very young, it can be a little rough, but with a few years of age (we drank the 2007), it is the ideal accompaniment to any tomato based pasta dish, especially penne with a red meat sauce.  Placido is a good expression of the wine and also goes well with hard cheeses and red meats.

She is also a woman, and that day she added to the already well established statistics about the way women tend to choose wines.  She picked out a bottle with a dragon on the label.

Now, I have nothing against dragons, and it was a Cabernet Sauvignon, which is what I like with blue cheese burgers, but she didn’t choose it because she knew anything about the vintner, the vineyard, or the characteristics of the brand.  She likes fantasy stories and she went for the dragon.

Wineries and PR agencies know this, which is why you see so many brands, especially newer ones, with animals on the label.  Men used to choose the wine, but now it’s often the ladies picking out the bottle.

In this case, it worked out just fine.  We weren’t eating fancy, and the wine was quite acceptable for burgers.  When it says “California” on the label, as this one does, you shouldn’t expect an expensive, ageworthy wine.

The more specific the label is about the wine’s origin, the better quality it tends to be, and it carries a higher price tag.  A general location such as this often indicates that the grapes were not grown in a well known appellation and therefore, don’t command the value that others would.

Snap Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon is a very fruit forward wine with a round mouthfeel and a bit of spice over dark berry flavor.  If you can pick it up for under $10, it is a decent everyday wine.

Anyway, about the wine.  It is very different as Tempranillo goes.  Tempranillo wines are usually very light, versatile reds.  This one is a dark, almost purple color, and has a heavier mouthfeel than I expected.

Having said that, I liked the wine.  It wasn’t at all what I expected, but once I realized that, I found it enjoyable.

The first night, I poured it with Greek chicken and it overwhelmed the food.  Tonight, I made penne with a spicy meat sauce and it went much better.

As is usually the case with Spanish wines, this one can be had for a very reasonable price.  I bought it at Trader Joes for about $5

If all that is correct, and you can get a wine that tastes at least as good as comparable brands for the price, then I’d say you’ve got one that’s worth buying.  I recently bought Fetzer’s 2008 California Cabernet Sauvignon, and I can tell you enthusiastically that all of the above are, in fact, true.

This is a Cab that is somewhat fruit forward, with good balance and tannins that won’t get in the way of your enjoyment of the wine.  It’s not one to cellar away, but a few years won’t hurt, and this one was nice and mellow with black cherry fruit and a touch of vanilla.

Fetzer describes themselves as “The Earth Friendly Winery,” and is very committed to organic and biodynamic growing methods.  A wine like this for around $10 is a no brainer.