Wine Talk
KEAT'S "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness," currently upon us, has turned out to be a siege of rain and mud for Bordeaux. It may mean that prices of the 1990 Bordeaux wines, as well as those of 1988 and 1989, both good years, will climb. Burgundy, too, was hit by rain, and prices there, always more volatile than those in Bordeaux, should also go up.
For serious collectors, these are serious matters; casual drinkers need not be concerned. There is plenty of good wine around at reasonable prices. What follows is a sampling of what can be found in shops at the lower end of the price scale. Any good store should have at least a few of them. Prices quoted are from shops in the New York area, but they can vary considerably.
First, news from the Beaujolais region is good. Sort of. The summer was generous to the grapes, with plenty of sun. But there was also rain, particularly early this month around harvest time. Georges Duboeuf, a major shipper, predicts that the Beaujolais nouveau, scheduled for release Nov. 17, will be delicious.
Red zinfandel, overshadowed for years by the simplistic "white" version, is back in fashion. Some moderately priced zinfandels worth trying are the Beringer Vineyards Napa Valley 1990, at $7; the Napa Ridge 1990, at $5; the 1992 Ravenswood Vintner's Blend, $7, and the 1988 Gallo, $5. Franciscan Vineyards' 1992 Oakville is worth its $10 price.
The Ravenswood could benefit from two or three years more age; the Gallo has already done so.
Even in an uncertain market, there are some inexpensive Bordeaux wines that always seem to be good. One is Chateau Larose-Trintaudon, from St. Laurent, just behind the more famous commune of Pauillac in the Medoc. Not a complex wine, it's a good buy at $8.50 for the great 1990 vintage.
The 1987 vintage in Bordeaux was not a great one; the wines were good but short-lived. Some are still around, and they may be at their best now. Look for Chateau Canon Moueix, from the commune of Fronsac, at about $12, or Chateau Hortvie, from St. Julien, $10. From the good 1989 vintage, Chateau Beau-Site, a St.-Estephe, is a find at $14.
Most merlots taste like cabernets with the tannins removed. Sometimes this is an asset, sometimes not. Fortant de France makes a respectable, soft but flavorful merlot from vineyards in the far south of France, in the region of Pays d'Oc. The 1993 is not bad at $6. Compare it with a 1993 Vendange merlot from California at $5. The Vendange is a bit lighter but does not want for flavor. Vendange is a second label of Sebastiani Vineyards.
Inexpensive pinot noir is a thing of the past. Well, almost. A 1992 Red Table Wine from Calera Vineyards in California is no match for one of the fine Calera single-vineyard pinot noirs, but it is 100 percent pinot noir, has decent pinot character and is a good buy at $11. Almost as good is a 1990 Burgogne rouge from Joseph Faiveley, a prominent Burgundy shipper, at $12.
From Italy comes an old favorite, the Chianti classico of the Castello di Gabbiano. The 1990, a fine vintage in Tuscany, is $8.50; the even richer 1988 Riserva, $13. The 1990 Chianti classico from Antinori is outstanding at $10. With Tuscany as with Bordeaux, it's worth seeking out the 1990 wines; the two following years were mediocre at best.
Good, inexpensive cabernets include Sebastiani's 1991 Sonoma at $9; Benziger's 1991 is also $9. Daniel Estate is the label the John Daniel Estate in the Napa Valley uses for the cabernet sauvignon that doesn't go into Dominus, the expensive wine made by Christian Moueix, who is best known for his Chateau Petrus in the Pomerol region of Bordeaux.
The Rioja region of Spain was largely developed by Bordeaux wine makers who went there after phylloxera destroyed most of their own vineyards in the late 19th century. The Reserve Rioja from Conde de Valdemar, at $8, and the Marques de Riscal Rioja, $9, both from 1989, are examples of what bargains Spanish wines can be.
Inexpensive whites are rarely as good as inexpensive reds. But there are a few; it's a question of seeking them out. Here are a few turned up by a diligent search.
Gavilan is the second label of the legendary Chalone Vineyard, which is located in the Gavilan mountains south of San Francisco. The 1992 Gavilan is almost Burgundian in its leanness. But it lacks neither freshness nor fruit. A buy at $10. Fetzer's Barrel Select Chardonnay is an old standby, always intense and rich.  The 1992 vintage is $10.
Georges Duboeuf may be the "king of Beaujolais" but his family comes from white wine country, the Macon region north of Beaujolais. With that in mind, try his Pouilly-Fuisse at $12, or his St.-Veran at $7.50, both from the 1993 vintage. Louis Jadot's 1992 Macon-Villages at $8 is excellent.
The Vieille Ferme is not an old farm as the name suggests but a large winery in the southern Rhone region owned by the Perrin Family of Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Vieille Ferme white, at $6, is robust enough to take the place of some light red wines.  TASTINGS  Domaine Carneros Taittinger Brut. Under $20.  Nowhere is the improvement in American sparkling wine more evident than in the case of Domaine Carneros, Taittinger Champagne's California cousin. The wine is elegant and light bodied, though perhaps not as delicate as the wine from the mother house in Reims, France. The California wine is made entirely from grapes from the Napa Valley's prestigious Carneros region. Gone completely are the rough edges that once were all too common in American sparklers. The bubbles in Domaine Carneros are small, and they linger almost until the glass is emptied. California's sparkling wines used to be looked down on by Champagne purists. Like other Champagne houses with branches in America, Taittinger refuses to call the domestic product Champagne. And properly so -- but it's mighty close.