Wine has not yet crawled its way into the American subconscious. It's starting to. Wine accounts for about 12-15 percent of our total sales. Even the major supermarkets such as Meijer and others are offering very good wine selections. Fortant de France is producing some very nice Chardonnays, Merlots and Petite Sirahs in southern France, as well as Les Jamelles.
Chilean wines continue to be a good value.
The Australian Merlots, Cabernet blends, Petite Sirahs and Chardonnays are nice if you like oak. I'm a note taker. The people who taste the most are wine journalists. Four checks means I really like it. I taste with half my brain active and the other half in sense mode.