Regional Wine Values
Four regions that lead the pack. By Deborah Parker Wong
where quality and price are aligned—continues to be a priority for operators who strive to create value in wine programs both by the glass and the bottle. While unfamiliarity can often present the biggest challenge to marketing wines that deliver the best quality for value, food and beverage directors and sommeliers are constantly in search of Old and New World wine values for their programs. Spain and Portugal continue to be a go-to source of value for several reasons. Many well-priced regions in Spain, such as
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eyond what a beverage director personally determines to be quality, there are few remaining tangible ways to determine the value of wine. Finding the sweet spot—
La Mancha and Campo de Borja, are historic wine producing regions that have the benefi ts of being classic growing regions with lower labor costs than many other Old World regions. Th e majority of these good value regions also cultivate lesser-known, indigenous grape varieties that typically do not command the higher prices of more internationally recognized varieties like cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Operators are also looking to emerging regions for authentic wine styles and value. Th ere are also a handful of standout domestic wine producers
who are still able to produce and off er good value wines for on-premise lists. Some of these regions are producing solid second labels; many also have the advantage of also having lower
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