Name versus quality.

Last Sunday, I drove out to Napa for the afternoon and visited three wineries: Cakebread, Grgich Hills and Opus One. I don't have much to write about Cakebread -- their wines show a solid effort and would probably pair well with food as they are neither too weak nor too strong, but they lacked any flair or electricity.

Grgich Hills, on the other hand, not only offered some solid efforts, but presented me with three outstanding wines. First, the 2004 30th Anniversary Chardonnay captured exactly what I like about Chardonnay. Crisp, medium bodied and lacking the signs of malolactic fermentation that I think kills the grape. I have to go back within the next month, as I would to have a bottle of this on my 30th birthday. Second, the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is phenominal. The fruit concentration was impressive and stunning, but the wine also showed restraint or finesse. Even more impressive that the wine is only $50 a bottle (cheap by Napa Cabernet standards) -- this would easily earn four and a half stars on my scale. Finally, I tried the 2003 Violetta: a very interesting wine. A botrytis-affected wine made of Chardonnay and Riesling, it was similar to but very different from a good Sauternes. Even though it was not carbonated, it had what I called a "fizz" on the palate. Very enjoyable, and would probably make a great accompaniment to a crème brulée.

Finally, I went to Opus One and tried their 2003. Eh. I mean, it was a good wine -- no clear flaws, and showed a little more character than the Cakebread wines. But, here's the kicker: it retails for about $250. If it retailed for about $50, it might earn three and a half stars. As it is, it gets two and a half. So, here is one of the classic problems with the current wine market -- many people would buy the Opus One because of the name, and equate that name and price with quality. Those same people would pass over the Grgich Hills, due to lack of total name recognition and with the mistaken belief that cheaper isn't better. While I enjoy the fact that I could buy more of the better bottles under this market, doesn't this speak to why prices for top-flight wines have continued to rise at an astronomical rate?