Entry-level Napa Valley wines have never been more expensive. Here’s a more affordable alternative.
Cabernet sauvignon grapes from Napa Valley are the most expensive in the U.S. Wineries are turning to nearby regions, such as Sonoma, for their more affordable wines, like Louis M. Martini's Prati.
Prati by Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon
California
$17.99 13.9% alcohol
PLCB Item #9078
Sale price through June 1; regularly $19.99
Napa Valley wines were once reasonably affordable but their reputation for exceptional quality has shot their prices into the stratosphere. Napa cabernet sauvignon grapes are the most expensive grown in the United States, commanding an average price of almost $9,000 per ton.
Wineries like Louis M. Martini — one of the oldest wineries on Napa Valley’s historic Highway 29 — whose entry-level wines once retailed for $20 or $30 now struggle to make anything they can profitably sell for less than $40-$50 a bottle. So it makes sense to look to the Sonoma County vineyards next door, where cabernet sauvignon grapes average less than $3,000 per ton, for making entry-level wines, like this one.
It’s true that Napa Valley vineyard land is more ideal for growing cabernet sauvignon, but the warmer eastern reaches of Sonoma County, like Alexander Valley and Knights Valley, have similar conditions. A big part of the price differential is purely based on Napa Valley’s cachet, which drives up prices through a relentless ratcheting of supply and demand.
The result is that those shopping for wines under $25 can trust Sonoma to deliver value. Compared to Martini’s Napa Valley cuvées, this “Prati” cabernet sauvignon from Sonoma is not as dense and spends less time in new oak, so it features more fresh blackberry and black cherry flavors and fewer of the mocha and vanilla notes imparted by aging in fancy French barrels. What this value-oriented cabernet lacks in power is more than offset by what it gains in versatility and practicality, since these traits make for a red wine that is just as well-suited to a simple everyday plate of spaghetti and meatballs as it is to a special-occasion steak.