Coach Class Wines

I have a coach class mentality- not just when it comes to airline travel but also when it comes to wine.

I’ve been a budget traveler my entire professional life. Since the publications I’ve worked for over the past several decades had limited resources, I learned to travel as cheaply as possible. The business and first-class airline tickets I’ve purchased could be counted on two hands- perhaps just one.

I’m a coach class wine drinker too. While my wine expenditures may have included more grand crus than my travel expenditures featured first-class plane tickets, they’re still far outnumbered by their coach class peers. My wine choices commonly include basic Chablis, non vintage Champagne and Rosso di Montalcino over its Brunello peer. Rare is the occasion that I’ve thrown caution- and fiscal concern- to the wind and opted for the three-figure bottle over the two.

The exception to this vinous parsimony took place the year I spent drinking with famous people for my Wall Street Journal column Drinking with Lettie. That column debuted in April 2011 when I dined with Richard Gere and his then-wife Carrie Lowell. Although the column lasted (most of) 2011 and enabled me to drink lots of good wine with lots of famous and talented people, I suspect that my over-the-top dinner with a famous rock star may have been its fiscal undoing as it was disbanded soon after- alas.

Coach class wine rules:

Rule One: All coach class wines must be made by first-rate winemakers. The best winemakers will lavish the same care and attention on their lesser wines as they do on their prestige bottlings. And that makes sense as the latter will reach many more drinkers than the former and if buyers are keen on the basic wine they may splurge on the prestige bottling when they have (more) money to spend.

Rule Two: Vintages matter just as much and perhaps even more for coach class wines than for more select bottlings. Basic wines are always better in a ripe and generous vintage. Furthermore, most coach class wines should be consumed within a few years of the vintage as they’re rarely intended for extended aging.

Rule Three: Think bargain but not cheap. I will upgrade to a slightly more comfortable coach class while traveling overseas and likewise I won’t look for the cheapest wine but one that offers the best value. The sweet spot for my coach class wines is between $20 and $30 a bottle. I’ve had great success in that price range.

Current favorite coach class red: 2023 Uccelleria Rosso di Montalcino ($30). This is one of the few Rosso di Montalcinos I’ve tasted that truly deserves to be called a “Baby Brunello” (a moniker that retailers often like to bestow upon Rossos). A toothsome all Sangiovese marked by notes of bitter cherry and spice, it’s approachable but structured- easy to drink now – and even better after a brief decant.

Current favorite coach class white: 2023 Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis ($32). Here is a wine I could drink almost every day of the week- with all the tangy, stony mineral Chablis character that I love with a touch of richness that rounds it all out. A delightfully drinkable white.

It’s worth noting that some of the famous people I dined with drink coach class wines sometimes too. Case in point: Richard Gere told me he is a big fan of the Soaves of Inama- which happens to be one of my favorite Soave producers too.

And finally- thanks to all who tried to guess the identity of the famous New York chef from Alsace who I mentioned in my last week’s Substack. Sadly none of you guessed correctly thus his identity remains unknown. Would anyone like to guess which rock star drank his way through my WSJ wine budget?

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