Cheap Wine That Doesn't Suck: Augey 2008 White Bordeaux

Sometimes the best accompaniment to a good wine is a little history. A million or so years ago, I read a review in the old Gourmet magazine about this great little French restaurant in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from where I lived in San Francisco. In it,...

By Bill Citara

April 11, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Sometimes the best accompaniment to a good wine is a little history.

A million or so years ago, I read a review in the old Gourmet magazine about this great little French restaurant in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from where I lived in San Francisco. In it, the reviewer (I think it was Caroline Bates) mentioned a simple, inexpensive yet quite delightful White Bordeaux that partnered perfectly with the restaurant's hearty bistro cuisine. I bought a bottle and liked it so much that I started buying it by the case as my everyday "go to" wine. Then I moved, and it seemed to disappear from store shelves, and I forgot all about it.

Fast-forward a million years (give or take a millennia or two) and I'm living in Key Largo, cruising the wine shelves at the local Publix in the hope of finding a simple, inexpensive yet delightful everyday "go to" wine.

OK, so you know where this is going. . .

It was the Augey White Bordeaux, probably the 2003 vintage, and it was as good and cheap and food-friendly as I remembered. I'm lucky enough not to have to buy wine by the case any more, but I'll still spring for a bottle or three of Augey, now vintage 2008, because with stone crab or lobster or even fried chicken, it's tough to beat its crisp Meyer lemon and green apple flavors with a minerally undercurrent; its long, tart citrus finish; and its $7 price tag.

It's still a great wine for every day... or every millennia.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.