Buying into this lifestyle wine

If you, like many consumers, do the majority of your wine buying as part of your grocery shopping, you see a lot of wines -- especially California wines -- that have cute names, cute labels and cute stories. But, sadly, little in the way of flavor.

What these wines do have in abundance is marketing muscle and shelf space. By the way, the two things go hand in hand, which is why so many of these so-called "lifestyle" brands may be prominently displayed in the wine department of your favorite store.

Remember the critter wine craze? It started with kangaroos and then ran amok. Finally, having exploited virtually every possible critter from alligators to zebras, the corporate marketing mavens decided that vehicles were the next best way to sell cheap wine, making trucks and bicycles, boats and campers the stars of the show. Still others were named for clothing or shelter; some used double entendres (often not printable in this newspaper); and some just hung the name of a celebrity on the stuff and let it fly.

Here's a typical lifestyle wine pitch, taken from an actual news release. "The wines take their inspiration from the artists and adventure seekers who ventured ... many years ago in search of an easy-going, relaxed California lifestyle." The implication being that you, too, Mr. and Mrs. Consumer, can join those same artists and adventure seekers! Just buy this wine and presto-change-o, that relaxed California lifestyle can be yours!

Here's the surprise. The wines this particular piece of fluff is promoting are a brand called Bohemian Highway, and they are actually quite good. At their discounted price of six bucks a bottle (even less if you buy them in magnums) they collectively represent the best overall lineup of "lifestyle" wines that I've seen in years.

So despite my innate distrust of corporate brands that work so hard to sell image ahead of quality and value, I am recommending these Bohemian Highway wines to you. Given the current state of the economy, there's no doubt that most folks are going to be slicing their wine budgets -- looking harder than ever for wines that offer true flavors at bargain prices. There's no doubt that you will be seeing more and more such wines as inventories pile up and discounts become commonplace.

Most of these corporate brands are line-priced, which means they sell a full lineup of popular varietals all at the same price. Furthermore, they are often discounted. The Bohemian Highway brand includes five different wines: three whites and two reds. The regular price is $10 a bottle, but they are currently retailing for $6, meaning that they have been discounted or "posted off" for a period of time. It's not uncommon for such post-offs to become permanent, though there are no guarantees. But at $6 each, these wines outpace the competition.

As is usually the case with cheap wines, the whites are significantly better than the reds. The 2007 Bohemian Highway Pinot Grigio tastes of melon and pear, light spice and citrus. The acids are crisp and taste natural, and the alcohol is listed at a moderate 13 percent. Almost as good is the 2007 Bohemian Highway Sauvignon Blanc, which does not hide its varietal grassiness behind sugar or oak. Medium-bodied, with fresh pineapple flavors, it also lists the alcohol at 13 percent.

Completing the trio of white wines is the 2007 Bohemian Highway Chardonnay, the bruiser of the bunch at 13.6 percent alcohol. It's rare to find any chardonnay under $10 that shows more than a hint of green apple flavor; most are dilute at best, or tarted up with oak chips at worst. This bottle brings in melon and pear flavors (quite possibly from the addition of other grapes to the blend), and is also quite spicy. It's almost as if cloves had been dropped in with the grapes (don't worry, they haven't); but it's that potent. That said, what could be better with a holiday ham?

The red wines are less interesting, though still ahead of their peers. I opened the 2006 Bohemian Highway Merlot with the lowest possible expectations. California merlots rarely have much stuffing or flavor until you get into the $30 and up price range; at $6 I was anticipating pond water. Surprise -- this is a solid, Bordeaux-like effort, right down to the mix of mushroom, herb and mountain berry. With alcohol listed at 12.5 percent, this is like a throwback to the late-1970s, when California reds rarely climbed much beyond 13 percent. It's not going to challenge Petrus, but it's a perfectly pleasant quaffer for weeknight comfort foods.

Completing the lineup is the 2006 Bohemian Highway Cabernet Sauvignon -- a little chalky, with sweet berry flavors, all front-loaded. A "cheap and cheerful" wine as Mrs. G would say, with the listed alcohol at 13.2 percent. Note that, though all these wines carry varietal labels, none of them give any indication of the actual blends. I would be surprised if those blends did not include significant portions of a wide variety of other grapes -- an asset when done well, as it has been here.

All Bohemian Highway wines are distributed by Youngs-Columbia and available at various supermarkets throughout the Puget Sound region. For specific outlets, call the distributor at 425-235-2689.

Pick of the Week

Querciabella in Maremma 2006 Mongrana, $19.

Some years ago, I spent a day at Querciabella in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany. It was one of the first wineries there to employ biodynamic farming practices and, as is often true, the wines had gained an extra dimension of texture and complex earthiness. This new Querciabella project is located in the Maremma region, on the coast of southern Tuscany, where another 86 acres of biodynamic grapes have recently been cultivated. This is the second vintage to be released. A blend of 50 percent sangiovese, 25 percent merlot and 25 percent cabernet, Mongrana is elegantly styled, emphasizing dried herbs, wild strawberry, firm acids and strong tannins. For a wine of this quality it is an exceptional value.

* Paul Gregutt can be reached at wine@seattletimes.com.

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