Foodies who like to sip a glass of wine at each dinner, maybe even at lunch, are always seeking bargains. They can find them in the Cotes du Rhone wines of France's Southern Rhone Valley.
For usually under $20.
France's Rhone river runs south from the Swiss Alps 500 miles to the Mediterranean Sea, bordered for the final 150 miles by the Rhone Valley. At the southern end lies most of the Cotes du Rhone area, which makes the tasty, wallet-friendly wines.
The Northern Rhone Valley, which is cooler, makes powerful, sometimes expensive reds, mostly from syrah; and whites from viognier, marsanne and roussanne.
In the South, Cotes du Rhone wines are mostly blends. Red wines permit 10 grapes, including grenache, syrah, mourvedre, carignane and cinsault. Whites permit grenache blanc, roussanne, clairette, bourboulenc and picpoul.
The classic red blend is called simply GSM, for grenache, syrah and mourvedre. Borne in the Rhone, it's copied in major wine areas with similar climates areas around the world. California, Washington and Australia are major producers
The reds are fruity, food-friendly, medium-bodied, spicy everyday wines, sometimes called "pizza wines" or the "anti-cabernet sauvignon" wines. Grenache adds lightness, red raspberry flavors; syrah adds darker blueberry and plum flavors and a hint of smoky bacon fat; mourvedre adds tannin and structures.
They go well with weeknight foods, both white and red meats, meatloaf, casseroles and such. And many can be bought for around $15.
Cotes du Rhone white wines, a tiny percent of the area's production, are light and crisp, with flavors of citrus and vanilla _ excellent seafood wines.
