Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Fine Wine for Less

The escapades, adventures, and soirees of summer deserve more for company than freezing cold lager from a bucket. So Shoestring has carefully chosen five pursuits many of us are likely to enjoy this summer, and selected five stylish, budget-friendly wines to accompany them. The run-down follows our frugal fine-wine mantra: oddball wines usually deliver the best quality and value.

1. Dad's Cookout
Dads can be annoying. And nothing brings out their alpha-male show-off tendencies like a family cook-off. At Shoestring (and probably nowhere else), we think it's time to put Dad in his place.

Behold Australian Shiraz. More commonly referred to by its original French name, Syrah, this wine is tougher than your old man and mine put together. Born and raised among the hardy garrigue shrubs and the mistral winds of southeastern France, Shiraz knows how to stick up for itself.

So your family and friends think Pop's prime rib is a tough-guy affair? Wait until they try Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz. It's a big, mean, spicy, uncompromising brute of a red wine and it will make that prime rib seem like a limp celery stick by comparison. Cue applause and adulation from Mom and guests as you dethrone the cookout king.

Best value bottle: Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia, 2007 ($20). This wine could justify a $40 price tag. Available from Wine.com.

2. Hikers' Hooch
After mocking the French and hunting, hiking is the greatest American summer pastime. But even the most gastronomically gifted among us sometimes make the false assumption that fine libations and camping trips are mutually exclusive. Au contraire.

A crisp white wine is the perfect foil for a post-hike picnic. Liz Caskey, a food and wine writer based in Santiago, Chile, alerts us to perhaps the best-value white grape available — Torrontes. "It's similar to Viognier [an aromatic, full-bodied, and luscious white grape] with the floral component," says Liz. "In the mouth, however, it feels more like Sauvignon Blanc with higher acidity, leaner body, dryness, and slightly citrus character."

When matching this oddball wine with mountain munchies, Liz recommends thinking spicy. Chorizo will do perfectly. Splash the wine into paper cups, and share the sausage among pals. You can even slice up the chorizo with your pocketknife or the foil-cutter on a "waiter's friend" wine opener.

Best value bottle: Dominio del Plata, "Crios de Susana Balbo", Torrontes, Mendoza, Argentina, 2008 ($13). Widely available.

3. Stoop Wine
There's no better venue for just sitting around than the stoop. For centuries, urban dwellers have made this innocuous stairwell a hub for good times and gossip. Of course, you need a perfect wine to sip while you're speculating on who is having an affair with whom, or which neighbor is the one who doesn't pick up after their dog.

Anne Amie Muller-Thurgau from Oregon is the ultimate stoop wine. Not only is this oddball Germanic grape ideally suited to a convivial sunny evening, the winemaker and his team are also stoop-wine enthusiasts.

"It is in fact, our stoop wine," says Kim McLeod of Anne Amie. "We often pair the Muller-Thurgau with burritos from our local Mexican grocery. On a warm day we sit outside and look at the Muller vineyards (planted at the foot of our hill) while soaking in the view of the Pacific Coast Range. It's also a perfect wine to end the day with. It's not uncommon to hear 'It's Muller Time' or 'Muller...Muller...' and the crew flocks to the patio with full glasses to watch the sun set over the valley."

The wine is classic summer entertaining fare: a pale gold color in the glass, with a nose that is subtle and has a suggestion of straw. The palate is where the magic happens: a beautiful expression of fresh pears, lemon soda, and very delicate acidity leading to a crisp, lingering finish. It is a far superior alternative to the inexplicably popular Pinot Grigio, and it has added points for coming from a Shoestring-approved producer: serious about good wine, and low on snobbery and wine-speak.

Best value bottle: Anne Amie, Cuvee A, Muller-Thurgau, Williamette Valley, Oregon, 2007 ($14). Available through specialist stores in most states.

The crew at Anne Amie Vineyards, home of "Stoop Wine"

4. Roof Deck Seduction
Nothing gets your correspondent in the mood for love quite like a balmy evening out on the deck with a stranger from the bar. Shared jokes, hushed laughter, the warm night air — true romance.

There is, of course, an almost-as-special wine that brings this kind of shared experience to its zenith. Imagine a nectar so sweet and delectable that it could be as easily enjoyed poured over vanilla ice cream as sipped from a glass. Think of aromas of marzipan and orange zest, with layers of honey, apricot, and mandarin on the palate.

If you have already tasted Sauternes, you need not imagine. But if you've never tried this emperor among wines, it's time to treat yourself and someone you just met — or even your spouse — to a glass. Sauternes is the classic French dessert wine. The finest examples fetch thousands of dollars and you might need to stretch the budget a little for our bottle of the month. But great stuff is also available in half bottles (too much wine late at night kills the mood anyway) at bargain-hunter-friendly prices. Chill the wine for no more than 30 minutes before serving.

Best value bottle: Chateau Roumieu, Sauternes, France, 2003, 750ml ($20). Moderate availability — check with local stores and suppliers.

5. "Spending Long Summer Days Indoors..."
Few of us are likely to be "...writing frightening verse to a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg" like Morrissey's muse in the Smiths classic. But many of us prefer to avoid the outdoors in the dead heat of summer, electing instead to relive our indoor-generation childhood in the company of computer games like Street Fighter 2 or World of Warcraft.

Whatever the game or console, there's no shame in pulling down the blinds, cursing the outside world, and sitting down to some serious computer time. But such serious fun demands a serious accompaniment. There's no better wine for the job than Port.

This is a fortified wine, making it richer and a touch sweeter than, say, a regular Portuguese red like Douro. Made with various native Portuguese grapes, Port is "fortified" with grape spirit during fermentation. The higher alcohol — generally between 16 and 20 percent — and barrel aging make this a brooding and complex wine. Flavors are intense, often displaying dark chocolate, figs, raisins, and other dried fruits on the palate. Expect the nose to be a little more "musty" than you might be used to.

If you can drag yourself away from the screen for a few minutes, prepare some slivers of blue cheese to nibble while you sip.

Best value bottle: Quinta do Noval, Tawny Port, Portugal, Non-vintage ($12). Widely available.

Story & bottom photo: Copyright 2009, Shoestring LLC and Ryan Thompson. Top photo: iStock.com.