Sonoma Cabernet

Read this today:

https://vinepair.com/articles/sonoma-ca ... sauvignon/

Wondering if there are any Cab Sauv recommendations that are more frugal than those in the article. Maybe $30 or less?

Finding Napa Vly Cabs in increasingly...difficult.

$30 for decent Cab is a major challenge. Tossing the price, I can recommend Dry Creek Vineyard in (duh!) Dry Creek Valley, and Hawkes in the Alexander Valley. Hook & Ladder (Russian River Valley) might be an option, though I haven't tried any of their recent vintages.

In general I'm not a fan of Sonoma cabs. There are too many eucalyptus trees growing in the county and the cabernet sauvignons in particular tend to be contaminated with eucalyptus oil and have a distinctive odor and flavor that I find objectionable. I named it "Sonoma stink" and had no idea what caused it until I visited Sonoma for the first time and found the eucalyptus smell in the air practically everywhere.*

-Paul W.

* The locals, by the way, don't even notice it. It's that ubiquitous.

[David M. Bueker]

Ian Brand does a very good Cab under one of his labels that runs about $25.

[Jenise]

Outside of buying from Trader Joe, you're only likely to find something worth drinking if you find them on sale (winery, flash sites, whatever). Between the cost of land and making wine that you can sell to keep your family sheltered and fed, it's just not feasible to sell good product for less.