Canadian writer Natalie MacLean is a liquid media juggernaut whose just released Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest For The World’s Best Bargain Wines (Doubleday Canada, $29.95) is a smart, fast-paced chronicle of her adventures looking for cheap vino and meeting industry celebs along the way.
Arguably the biggest name was Peter Gago, chief winemaker at Australia’s Penfolds and the current “custodian” of Down Under’s most prestigious (read expensive) red wine: Grange.
I had a chance to hang out with Gago and tasted a selection of Grange from some of the wine’s most stellar vintages. While that was a once in a lifetime experience, drinking Penfolds doesn’t necessarily mean taking out a second mortgage.
The 2009 Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet ($15.49 – $16.99) is a liquor store mainstay with a nice mix of lightly peppered fruit swirled together with forward blackberry goodness that holds up as a by-the-glasser as well as it does with a late fall barbecue.
Prices reflect the range across Canada. Some products may not be available in all provinces.
