Wines that make you a household hero

It’s easy to assume expensive wines pack big thrills. But high prices don’t guarantee glee. Sure, sometimes that happens. But when it does, you kind of expect it because you’ve paid dearly for it. Discovering an inexpensive bottle that’s shockingly good is more exciting. That’s what makes you a household hero. So here are four styles that often overdeliver, starting with something local: Ontario Riesling.

Riesling fares well in Ontario’s cool climate. So many local wineries grow it relatively easily and produce versions that swing from deliciously dry to lusciously sweet.

But even sweeter Rieslings tend to taste well-balanced and quenching — like a good glass of lemonade — because of the naturally high acidity in the wine.

Cave Spring Vineyard, Flat Rock Cellars, Thirty Bench and Vineland Estates Winery immediately spring to mind for their fine Rieslings, some of which are listed at the LCBO. And a winery-only bottle well worth your attention is the 2019 Redstone Limestone Vineyard South Riesling,

VQA Twenty Mile Bench ($22.15, redstonewines.ca).

This wine teems with aromas of lime zest laced lightly with wet stones. Each sip tastes brisk and pure like a lick of lime sorbet — zippy and cool — with suggestions of lemon, peach, stone and sea spray. Sassy local expression that persists for ages on the finish. Absolute bargain. Score: 94

If you’re the type to pop a bottle of bubbly on the regular,

French Crémant is a style to bear in mind.

Crémant is simply sparkling wine from outside of the Champagne region. Usually priced for less than $25 a pop here in Canada, it offers outstanding value because it’s made the same way as Champagne. So wineries make a still wine by blending different cuvées, bottle the final blend, then referment the wine in bottle before finishing and corking it. This labour-intensive method creates an elegant, nuanced wine with tiny bubbles.

A shining example is the NV Louis Bouillot Perle d’Aurore Brut Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne from France (LCBO 48793, $22.95). Louis Bouillot is a bit of an expert in Crémant de Bourgogne — or sparkling wine from Burgundy — having been specializing in that style since 1877. And this bottle that’s a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay could definitely sell for more.

In the glass, it shines pale pink with coral inflections and smells like freshly baked strawberry-cream tarts — all berries and pastry with a touch of custard.

The attack is restrained, dry and delicate with whispering flavours that echo the allusions found on the nose while layering in a bit of cooked apple, red currant and white flowers. The effervescence is a soft mousse that lifts each sip. Incredible value for money. Score: 92

For dry, crisp whites, look to South African Chenin Blanc. It’s a style that can offer subtlety and finesse, even at rock bottom prices. An easy example is the 2020 Robertson Winery Chenin Blanc (LCBO 495507, $10), which starts with quiet scents of grapefruit and stone with a hint of beeswax. The entry is bright and crisp, linear — a bolt of lightning that shifts to reveal flavours of grapefruit, lanolin and steel with a puff of smoke somewhere. Smart little white for $10. Score: 93

For red wines, Spanish Rioja Reservas is often undervalued. Here’s why: Spanish law requires red Rioja Reserva to be aged in cask and bottle for at least three years, with one of those years in oak barrel and at least six months in bottle. Only then can it be released to market.

For a wine to withstand that minimum level of aging and oak treatment, the fruit must be of a high standard. And many wineries exceed those aging requirements. Yet despite these exacting standards, Rioja Reservas often remain reasonably priced.

One strikingly good version is the 2016 Marqués de Riscal Reserva (LCBO 32656, $27.45). Still youthful at five years old, this wine starts with the heady fragrance of cherries and vanilla as well as cola and blackberry. Then a plush rush of cashmere fruit follows, fanning with flavours of red and black berries — cherries and blackberries — nuanced with vanilla cream, toffee, stone, rubbed oregano and more. And the finish is long. Score: 93

So next time you’re looking for a delicious bottle of wine, keep these styles in mind. They over-deliver more often than not while keeping your budget in check.

Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Toronto-based contributing columnist for the Star. Wineries occasionally sponsor segments on her YouTube series yet they have no role in the selection of the wines she chooses to review or her opinions of those wines. Reach