The Ten Spot at Whole Foods: Great Wines for Under $10

Whole Foods has aggressively expanded their wine offerings in the last few years, so I thought it was time to see if any might hit the Ten Spot. Overall, their retail mark-ups are on par with most other wine shops with some the exception of some overpriced Champagnes and branded chardonnays. Much like Costco's "Kirkland" series of private label wines, they've added some wines under the Whole Foods everyday value line, "365."  They want you to buy wine, folks, not just organic veggies, rice milk, and homeopathic supplements.

Here's how some "Ten Spot" wines measured up:

1)  Rueda, Hermanos Lurton  (Rueda, Spain - 2006) - $8.99 

Delicioso! I really love this wine, and would buy it again. I love the grape verdejo, which is the dominant varietal in the region of Rueda in Spain. This wine offers lovely grapefruit and lemon peel flavors with a surprisingly full mouth-feel and body. Here, a pair of winemaking brothers from Bordeaux, Jacques and Francois Lurton, have brought their talents to what was kind of an underperforming region in Spain with happy results. 

2)  Riesling QbA, Rudolf Müller  (Pfalz, Germany - 2005) - $7.00

The beloved "bunny" wine...German winemaker Rudolf Müller takes a page from the Australian playbook in using a cute critter on the label to market an inexpensive wine. I like this particular critter wine, to be honest. It's a simple riesling with lots of white peach and honeysuckle that will be a treat for those that like a sweeter wine. Try it with spicy Indian food.

3)  Château Gravat, Médoc  (Bordeaux, France - 2005) - $9.89

The deal with Bordeaux is that they make an ocean of wine in a given vintage -- from legendary "First Growth" and other classified Chateaux to this simple little wine, there's a lot of choice on the market. The 2005 vintage was been widely hyped, so I thought it would be fun to try this little guy. It's equal thirds of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. I liked it! It's a good window into the basic style of Left Bank wines from the Médoc, so you can see if you like this type of wine in general before spending bigger bucks. Dusty notes of tobacco leaf and pencil lead with lean cranberry and smoke tones, too...nice with some simply grilled steaks my husband made.

4)  Loredona Pinot Grigio  (Monterey, CA - 2006) -  $9.99

The Monterey Peninsula is a very cool climate for grape-growing, so pinot grigio is a good bet to plant there. This wine was simply okay for the price -- fairly one-dimensional, flat flavors, and a short finish. I was kind of hoping for more, but it was correctly made and inoffensive. 

5)  Bodegas Castaño, "Solanera," Viñas Viejas  (Yecla, Spain - 2004) - $9.89 

Yecla is cool. It's one of those great secret places in Spain that isn't so secret anymore, known for its old-vine monastrell grapes. (Monastrell is the same grape as mourvèdre, by the way.)  This wine is a blend of 65% monastrell with some cab sauvignon and tintorera thrown in for structure and spice. To taste, I found this wine to be pretty sharp -- not a lot of fruit core, very angular in structure. Not for merlot or zinfandel fans, but worth trying if you want to learn about Spain and what they're up to over there.

6)  Petite Syrah, Block No. 45  (California, 2005) - $7.19 

Slutty, slurpy wine with lots of blueberries and boysenberries -- and did I mention berries? I tend to like petite syrahs with a little more structure, as this wine is maximally extracted, inky juice that doesn't do much beyond offer it all up front.  You get the drift, but for around $7, it's a good bet for pizza night and TV.