Quality wine finds at your local grocery store

My new house wine has everything that cork dorks like me look for when we have to pay our own money for wine: 1) It’s a delicious quaff with interesting indications of grape and growing region; 2) It’s available; 3) It’s as inexpensive as can be.

My find is Leese-Fitch Pinot Noir, available at major Chicago area grocery chains. It is dry with vibrant cherry-like fruit, delicate brown spice accents from judicious resting in oak, and the silky texture that is my personal Pinot requirement. With lithe body and moderate 13.5% alcohol, it’s a session wine, easy to enjoy on its own, with appetizers (at my home, prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella) and light, flavory meals (sushi or Asian-inspired catfish). As a bonus, the wine comes with backstory.

Leese-Fitch is owned by Don Sebastiani & Sons, the Sebastiani name linked with Sonoma Valley wine, growing since 1904, with operations now helmed by fourth generation Donny. “The big picture is to turn over a healthy business to our children,” Sebastiani told me in a 2013 interview. “Our strategy is to sustain that business by constantly evolving, acting on opportunities, taking risks.

A note on pricing: While producers’ suggested retail prices (SRP) on all these wines is $15 to $20, check prices at your local grocer. Our competitive Chicago area market can reduce your cost by as much as $5 per bottle for real quality/value.

Chardonnay “Morning Fog,” Wente Vineyards: Wente is another founding family of California wine, established in 1883, currently owned and operated by fifth-generation Wentes, with achievements including the Wente Chardonnay clone, responsible for about 75% of all California Chardonnays. The craftsmanship of barrel and stainless-steel fermentation, maturation on spent yeast cells and certified sustainable wine growing (including water management and unique electric tractors) belie the wine’s affordable price tag. With citrus and green apple flavor and hints of toasty oak enlivened by acidity, try “Morning Fog” to dress up your grocery’s rotisserie chicken or rich seafood or veggies sautéed in butter.

Riesling, Clean Slate (Germany): Not too dry, not too sweet, these spicy peach flavors with vibrant acidity and low 10% alcohol are just right for cocktails (add soda water for a Spritzer) and to complement sweetish or spicy foods, including sausages, barbecue and seafood, including sushi. The wine hails from Germany’s Mosel, one of the world’s greatest vineyard sites due to its unique slate soils.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonterra Organic Estates: Rich, dry and elegant, with mouthfuls of juicy berry flavor with leather and herbal accents. You could serve this classic California Cab with the finest meats. But since it’s priced for 365-day enjoyment, treat your everyday self to a pairing with rotisserie chicken, meaty takeout and rich grilled veggies, such as mushrooms. Founded in 1987, California’s Fetzer family introduced international wine drinkers to organic, sustainable and biodynamic agriculture. Bonterra is currently the world’s largest Regenerative Organic Certified winery.

We’ll see how fire retardants used to limit California wildfires will affect sensitive environmental areas and possibly breach organic farming regulations, downgrading this year’s harvest. For more information on this topic, read “Could a pink powder sabotage California wine's organic goals?” at thedrinksbusiness.com.

• Mary Ross is an Advanced Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers), a Certified Wine Educator (Society of Wine Educators) and a recipient of Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award of Excellence.” Write to her at food@dailyherald.com.