“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical,” Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison (January 30, 1787)
Years ago, I bumped into assorted bottles of Crane Lake wines at both Piggly Wiggly and Sendik’s in Mequon for $3.99. Intrigued by the price and fetching displays, I picked up a few bottles, finding them to be passingly pleasant.
Owned and produced by Fred (a nephew of Joseph Gallo) and John Franzia, Bronco Wine Company, its producer, is the fourth-largest wine company in California, owning more than 35,000 acres of vineyards. Many vintners describe Crane Lake as “The scourge of the Napa Valley,” because the general public infers that the wines are from Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Bronco also produces Trader Joe’s famed “Three Buck Chuck,” Charles Shaw wines (Note: Charles Shaw Chardonnay beat 350 others in California to win the double gold medal at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. How this must have rocked the west!). I consider Shaw to be “close but no cigar” to Crane Lake.
Franzia stated that it intends to produce “approachable, reasonable and well-balanced wines. This vineyard, along with its parent company, Bronco Wines, was surprised, along with California and the rest of the country, when this venture became unbelievably popular. This led to increased production, expanded planted land development and an extensive portfolio of wine at a very reasonable price.”
I combed the net for offerings of Crane Lake’s wines in an effort to compare prices to Milwaukee’s locally promoted $3.99. From the winery, Crane Lake costs $90 per case or $7.50 per bottle, plus shipping. Many other sites charge $9.50 and up per bottle.
I recently tasted the entire array of Crane Lake’s wines, including their Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. With the notable exception of the Chardonnay, which I rated a “B+,” I was unable to grade any of their wines higher than a “B-.”
As a consequence, I feel strongly that these could serve us as nice, simple and reasonable entry-level wines that are perfect for many of us to test at our leisure. If you like the given variety of grape, I encourage you to “trade up” with the counsel of a good, experienced wine retailer. The sky is the limit!
By the way – the talk on the street is that Kevin Grace’s Merry Merchants at Sendik’s in Mequon sells almost twice as much Crane Lake as all of the Otto’s in town, combined.
Cheers to the Franzia family for your feisty, fun family of wines!
