‘California is the France of America. It is now becoming apparent that the most valuable of her [California’s] industries in the future will be that of the vineyard and orchard’. Thus spake one Lloyd Tevis, of Wells Fargo Bank, addressing the American Bankers Convention in 1881. Three years later, there were 170,000 acres in California planted to vineyards, but progress came to a standstill as Prohibition, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, halted the California wine industry’s first gold rush in its tracks. His forecast may not have made his banking friends their fortunes, but if old Lloyd Tevis were alive today, he would have been amazed to see 128 California wineries imported by 37 UK wine importing companies setting out their stalls in London at last month’s annual California wine tasting.

For the fifth year now, the California bash was accompanied by a ‘benchmark wine tasting’, a selection of a dozen wines, that is, priced at under a tenner aimed at showing ‘California’s quality, value and diversity between £5 and £10’. Four of the twelve were white wines, first an anodyne, sweetish pinot grigio from Wente and a American-style sauvignon, Robert Mondavi’s 2006 Private Selection Fumé Blanc (£12.99 incidentally at Majestic), in other words smoky oak and fruit sweetness to the fore instead. Of the two chardonnays, Beringer’s 2005 Founder’s Estate Chardonnay was soft and bland, while Kendall Jackson’s self-evidently stylish, full-flavoured and well-balanced 2006 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (the 2005 is £9.99, Costco, the 2006 still on the water) was the only white I really wanted to drink.

Of the seven reds on show, Kendall- Jackson’s 2006 Vintners Reserve Pinot Noir was soft and cherryish, albeit a tad sugar-coated for my taste. I wasn’t a great fan of the obviously sweet, smoky oak style of McManis Family Vineyards 2006 Estate Merlot, nor the even jammier, confected 2006 Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon. By contrast, Trinchero Family Estate’s 2005 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon (no retail outlets) had an attractive undertone of mint and cassis and J.Lohr’s 2005 Los Osos Paso Robles Merlot, £9.99, Waitrose, showed typically juicy cherryish merlot suppleness. I also liked Bogle’s spicy, blackberryish Petite Sirah, £9.95, Great Western Wines, Bath (01225 32281). I was less keen on Ironstone’s rustic 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel while Quady’s 2006 Essensia Orange Muscat tasted like the sort of mawkish Moscatel de Valencia used to make trifles.

I can understand why California feels the need to show that it can compete at the everyday price point with rival wine giants from the New World such as Chile, South Africa and Australia. After all, it owes its exalted position in the league of imported wine nations to the likes of Gallo and Blossom Hill. And yet, is wine under £10 really California’s strongest suit? Hardly, and that’s both its problem and its solution. For sure there are some good under £10 stalwarts, like Ravenswood’s Lodi Zinfandel (mentioned in this column recently), and wines like the tropical, grapefruity Bonterra organic 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, £7.99, down from £9.99, Waitrose, the off-dry redcurranty 2007 Bonterra Rosé, £7.99, down from £9.99, Waitrose, and Saintsbury’s cherryish 2005 Garnet Pinot Noir, buy two = £9.99, Majestic.

The under a tenner price point doesn’t begin however to reflect the innovation, diversity and quality of today’s thriving California wine industry. The reality is that you do have to pay a bit more for quality. And you see it in wines like Cline’s spicy, rich 2005 Ancient Vines Mourvèdre, £13.50, Tanners of Shrewsbury (01743 234455), Au Bon Climat’s opulent burgundian 2004 Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay, (arriving soon: Philglas & Swiggot, Noel Young), Bonny Doon’s expressive 2004 Syrah Le Pousseur, £14.50, Le Pont de la Tour (0207 940 1840), Ridge’s great 2005 Lytton Springs Zinfandel, £25.99, Handford (020 7589 6113) Joseph Phelps spicy rich, blackberryish Le Mistral, £27.50, Waitrose, and Calera’s elegant, raspberryish Central Coast Pinot Noir, £16.99, Waitrose. So show California at under a tenner by all means, but do Lloyd Tevis a favour and let’s see the best of California benchmarked too.

Something For the Weekend 5 April 2008

Under a Fiver

2006 Gérard Bertrand Classic Dry Muscat, £4.99, Tesco

To look at the ex-French rugby star Gérard Bertrand, you might not imagine that such a muscular frame could produce a wine of such delicacy, but this grapey, scented dry mucat from the south of France’s Languedoc Roussillon makes for a refreshingly juicy and spicy dry white.

Under a Tenner.

2007 Casillero del Diablo Pinot Noir, £5.99, Oddbins

Devotees of Chile’s good value Cono Sur Pinot Noir can now turn to a new pinot in Concha y Toro’s sister brand Casillero del Diablo’s range, a sumptuously strawberryish red whose classic fragrance and red berry fruits confirm that Chilean pinot is hard to beat for good value.

Splash Out

2005 Cline Cashmere, California, £12.49, Oddbins.

A blend of the Rhône grapes, mourvèdre, syrah and grenache, California can do Châtreauneuf too, only in their own way, in this case a richly fruity, heady blend of textured raspberry and damson plum fruit opulence and power well cut by cleansing acidity and fine tannins.