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bcrosariol@globeandmail.com

When I aim to spend no more than $15 on a wine, I have a rule. I generally ignore three red grapes: cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir.

It's simple. Those grapes cost top dollar at the wholesale level, largely because of popularity. In Napa Valley, Calif., for example, cabernet sauvignon fetched two and a half times the price per tonne of sauvignon blanc last year.

If a wine based on cabernet is cheap, you can almost bet that the fruit was of poor quality and likely farmed factory-style on high-yield, valley-floor vineyards with pesticides and lots of irrigation to pump up weight at the cost of flavour.

It's the same with food. On a tight budget, I go heavy on vegetables and grains and give wide berth to suspiciously inexpensive proteins. Cheap chicken and beef tends to be factory farmed, pumped up with growth hormones and antibiotics and not especially tasty. As for discount sushi, you can serve that week-old raw fish to the alley cat that wails outside my door each morning.

One big exception to the cabernet sauvignon part of my rule, I should add in fairness, is Chile. The South American country manages to churn out a good number of impressive examples for $12 or $14, such as Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($13.95 in Ontario, product No. 253872). Most of the time, though, I zero in on less-ritzy varieties when I have less than $15 to spare - Malbec from Argentina, say, or montepulciano d'Abruzzo from central Italy.

But recently I happily added a California cabernet to the list of exceptions: DeLoach California Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($14.95 in Ontario, product No. 89250).

DeLoach, in the Russian River Valley district north of San Francisco, is best known for expensive pinot noirs. That was the main attraction for the Boisset family of Burgundy, which bought the estate in 2003 after proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset decided, as many Californians had before him, that the growing conditions were right for Burgundy's signature red, pinot noir.

As part of a big transformation that included organic and sustainable farming practices, Boisset, under the guidance of top-class California winemaker Greg La Follette, formerly of the celebrated boutique winery Flowers, improved quality everywhere. The just-released 2006 cabernet sauvignon is evidence. There's impressive harmony and ripe flavour in this full-bodied red. Notes of berry, tobacco and vanilla lead the way, supported by a smooth texture that resolves with a slightly astringent, tannic backbone that helps give almost all good cabernet its character. A great buy for summer steaks.

There is another worthy new entry-level DeLoach red, DeLoach California Zinfandel 2006, available in both Quebec and Ontario ($14.95 in Ontario, No. 89268; $16.95 in Quebec, No. 492397). Full-bodied, this is a crisp, balanced and very food-friendly zin boasting relatively tame alcohol of 13.5 per cent, not the heavy, overripe, raisiny 15-per-cent-alcohol style.

And now to two impressively priced Canadian whites.

I don't want to go overboard here, but I'm having trouble restraining my enthusiasm for Sibling Rivalry White 2008 ($13.95, No. 4001353). The name is an allusion to Paul, Matthew and Daniel Speck, the three brothers who run Niagara's Henry of Pelham winery. Launched this week, the Sibling Rivalry line, which also includes a decent, juicy red, is the latest in a series of cheeky, affordable brands that have sprouted up across Niagara in recent years. (Wildass from Stratus and Girls Night Out from Colio Estate are two other good examples.)

This is the killer so far, to my mind. Expertly blended from riesling, chardonnay and gewurztraminer, it's round and fruity and clean and has an ever-so-faint note of sweetness but could still be called technically dry. Delectable is really more like it.

Also in a borderline off-dry style is Pelee Island Eco Trail Chardonnay Auxerrois ($9.95, No. 591719). Look for the lime-green labels and cute frog silhouette and expect a touch of sweetness in this light, round and slightly floral white.Fans of pricey Ontario wine will be congregating in Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday for the - sorry, somebody's got to say it - awkwardly named "Somewhereness" tasting. Winemakers from Charles Baker Wines, Flat Rock, Malivoire, Norman Hardie, Stratus and Tawse did not, to my knowledge, christen the annual event after swirling one too many pinot noirs. Rather, the term was borrowed from Matt Kramer, the brilliant Wine Spectator columnist (yes, there is such a thing). It was his oblique stab years ago at improving on the French "terroir." Ever witty and provocative, Kramer will give the keynote speech both evenings. The event will take place at Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St., from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on April 21 and 22. For tickets, which cost $99, contact Vintages at 416-365-5767 or toll-free at 1-800-266-4764.

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Pick of the week

DeLoach California Cabernet

Sauvignon 2006 ($14.95 in Ontario, product No. 89250) has notes of berry, tobacco and vanilla.