Tasty tipples to suit your cash flow

We all know full well the best bottle of wine is not the one that costs the most money or is served with the most pomp. It’s the one that keeps your loved ones around the table longest. Because it’s connection, not money, that makes happiness. Love, baby! It rules the world.

Which is why, when the budget is tight, you can still live well. You just have to be a bit cost conscious, which is the rent week mindset. And there are wines for that.

Then comes pay day. Woohoo. You’re rich. There’s wine for that, too.

So here are some bottles for both ends of the spectrum — starting with a red for rent week.

The 2020 Bacalhôa JP Azeitão Syrah Castelão Aragonez from the Penı nsula De Setu bal in Portugal (LCBO 286195 $9.25) is a smart buy. Each sip teems with aromas of fresh, ripe berries — blueberries and blackberries mostly — with a little raspberry jam. Then it slips in with that same unadulterated berry fruit anchored with a touch of dry grip that holds the fruit in place and lends a certain grown-up feel to the wine. That structural authority coupled with a lush, juicy centre makes it supremely sippable on its own, but also quite food friendly. Pour this full-bodied red with sausages for a good value, satisfying meal. Score: 93

Also from Portugal, the unassuming 2020 Quinta de Curvos Loureiro Vinho Verde DOC (LCBO 471284 $13.95) tastes sunny and crisp — a fabulous little wine to pour with everything from tuna casserole to tacos. Swirl the glass and enjoy the lively lemon-lime before it beams with brisk citric zeal laced with a touch of bay leaf and a little rattle of stone somewhere. Beautifully balanced and quenching white wine that’s dry and relatively low in alcohol at just 12 per cent. Not surprising this bottle earned a medal at the International Wine Challenge this year, which is one of the most rigorous wine competitions in the world. Score: 90

And for those who like their wines sweet, sassy and a little bit fizzy, there’s the Botter Oggi Moscato Frizzante IGT

from Italy (LCBO 239517 $11.95). This unpretentious wine teems with tropical flavours of sweet pineapple and sun-ripened mango — just the thing to chill way down and pour with spicy dishes such as Thai green curry or grilled jerk chicken. And it’s quaffable at just eight per cent alcohol. Score: 90

You can also freeze the Oggi Moscato in a shallow container then scoop it into pretty dishes for an easy, delicious dessert.

The alcohol prevents it from freezing solid, so the result is crystalline, snowlike and feels fancy.

When you’re feeling wealthy and want to splurge a little, reach for the 2019 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay from California (Vintages Essential 962886 $27.95 till Nov. 7, reg. $29.95). This pale gold wine draws you in with its scent of vanilla buttercream, lemon zest and toast. Then, it glides in an almost glossy mouthfeel and the flavour, at first, of French lemon tart. Then, suggestions of roasted nut, vanilla custard and buttered toast emerge and taper toward a final note of crème brûlée that persists on the finish. This dry, full-bodied white with 13.5 per cent alcohol is worth every cent. Serve it with seafood pasta with a light cream sauce for a real treat. Score: 94

Or splash out on a bottle — or even a case — of the 2019 Huff Estates Catharine’s South Bay Chardonnay, VQA Prince Edward County ($35 winery only, huffestates.com). Yet another example of just how well-suited our province is to Chardonnay, this bottle is full of intrigue and sensual appeal. At first, it offers soft lemon and baked apple scents. Then, a graceful entry feels lithe and polished, yet complex. Ripe pear shifts toward grapefruit zest before cool suggestions of crushed oyster shells, Marcona almond, honeycomb and nutmeg emerge. Much finesse to be found in this medium-bodied, dry white with 13 per cent alcohol. Serve it with roast chicken or mushroom gnocchi with brown butter. Score: 92

And if you’re fond of good Chianti Classico, the 2016 Dievole Novecento Chianti Classico Reserva DOCG from Tuscany (Vintages 213926 $34.95) is a charmer. Expect the classic dusty-cherry character of Chianti — but with a richness, depth and eloquence that takes this wine up a notch. Layers of earthy underbrush, toasted tobacco and pink peppercorn underpin the bright fruit centre to create a cerebral as well as hedonistic red. It’s a hefty 14 per cent alcohol, but beautifully balanced. Just the thing to pour with meat-lover’s pizza or grilled steak. Score:

93

Those last three splurgeworthy wines aren’t cheap — but they’re not over-the-top pricey either. Remember, Christmas is just eight short weeks away.

Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Toronto-based wine writer and a freelance 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