Bargain bottles for penny-pinching wine palates

NAPA, Calif. —  It’s the thought that counts in gift-giving, and this season wine-lovers and makers are thinking bargain. One way to save money without scraping the bottom of the barrel is to look at second line wines from premium wineries — cheaper cousins to the flagship wines — that often offer surprising quality.

A recent entry in the wine labels-for-less field is Turn 4 from the Napa Valley’s Bennett Lane Winery, owned by vintner and NASCAR West team owner Randy Lynch. The wine, named after the turn on the race track where all the action happens, sells for $19.99 .

Lynch initially intended to make Turn 4 a cheaper, entry-level wine, but with premium grapes going at rock-bottom prices due to the recession, he decided to put Napa cab in the bottle.

“I don’t know that it will always be Napa fruit, but at least for now it’s quite the bargain,” says Lynch.

Another winery with a second label is the Duckhorn Wine Company in the Napa Valley, which sells cabernet sauvignons for as much as $95 a bottle. It has a second line, Decoy, that goes for $30.

Looking for more ways to satisfy a thirst for deals? Noted wine critic Robert Parker’s latest book is “Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25.”

California recommendations include Mason Cellars sauvignon blanc, N.V. Frontier Red from the Fess Parker Winery (yes, Davy Crockett himself) and a number of offerings from Rosenblum Cellars.

Values also can be found in various gift boxes offered this time of year. Napa-based direct wine seller Geerlings & Wade has a holiday sampler of five bottles of wine, featuring some interesting reds, as well as a half bottle of dessert wine that costs about $80 including shipping.