Okay, so let's not mince words here:  The economy is totally screwed.  I'm sitting down to write this on the morning of August 2, fresh from reading the following paragraph from the front page of The Washington Post:

"The unemployment rate jumped yet again as employers slashed jobs for the seventh consecutive month, the Labor Department said yesterday.  And the job losses weren't just in the long-troubled construction and manufacturing sectors.  Trucking companies, telecommunications firms and car dealers all eliminated thousands of jobs, too, as troubles in the nation's economy showed new breadth that undermines any hopes of even a tentative recovery in the second half of the year."

Sheesh.  How's that for a first-thing-in-the-morning downer?  Sorry for passing along this grim little tidbit, but don't kill the messenger, because I'm here to help. 

Hundreds of thousands of wine lovers are feeling the pinch these days, with concerns ranging from downsizing to oil prices to declining home values.  And those wine lovers feeling the pinch are surely tempted to pinch wine out of their discretionary spending, just as interested but cash-strapped novices are surely being dissuaded from taking the plunge.

Generally speaking, American culture has never really embraced wine, always holding it at arm's length as a luxury for the Leisure Class.  Thomas Jefferson regarded wine as a necessity of life, and maybe we'll come around to his view eventually, but that day has yet to dawn.  As long as Americans think of wine as a luxury rather than a necessity, it is going to suffer when economic times are tough.

Unless, that is, we can show that there are ways to enjoy wine while economizing.  I'll try to offer some suggestions toward that end here, and hope that readers will send additional ideas and tips that I'll pass along in the WRO Wine Blog.  I'll need your help, since I have no personal need to economize, having become fabulously wealthy as editor of a wine review website.  Nevertheless, I can still empathize, having become interested in wine as an impoverished graduate student, so here are some pointers for loving wine on the cheap:

Get the most out of every bottle of wine you buy.

If you aren't in the habit of paying close attention to how you prepare and serve your wine, I've got good news for you:  You can buy less expensive wine but still have it taste better than what you've been drinking.  No kidding. 

Many wine drinkers are unaware that serving temperature is hugely important to how wines taste.  Good wines can be deeply compromised when served at improper temperatures, whereas decent wines can taste quite good when served optimally.

Millions of bottles are botched in America every year by being served at improper temperatures, which almost always means that whites are too cold and reds too warm.  This is especially galling because the solution is so simple:  Pull your whites from the refrigerator--and place your reds into it--for 20 minutes before serving.  Your whites will offer more aroma and taste less tart, whereas your reds will offer fresher fruit with less overt alcohol.

And with young reds, you get a little more aroma and flavor out of many if you decant them for 15 minutes or so before digging in.  This doesn't require any elaborate technique (as when decanting old wines off of their sediment); just dump them in.  And it doesn't require some expensive, prissy-ass decanter.  Pull a lemonade pitcher out of the cupboard, or hit an antique store and buy an old milk bottle.  These work just fine, are inexpensive, and can be dropped from great heights without breaking.

Just buy wine, and forget all the stupid accoutrements.

Love is blind, as the saying goes, and when people (especially men) fall in love with wine, they often go blind.  And insane too, buying all sorts of paraphernalia that has nothing to do with actually enjoying wine.

An entire industry has arisen to serve the afflicted.  The catalogues and websites featuring accessories from IWA and The Wine Enthusiast are a never-ending source of astonishment for me, offering products like Chardonnay Flip-Flops ("Starting at $34.95"), and a Wine Glass Holder Necklace (wine's boneheaded answer to the beer can-holding hardhat).

When I'm having a bad day or just not feeling very smart, my favorite web surfing destination for finding someone even dumber than I am is the "Clearance" page on the IWA site.  Today, my visit yielded the following gems:

Six-Bottle Wine Trolley:  "Whether you are going to a dinner party, BYOB restaurant or wine country, we have designed the perfect wine carrier for you.  Our insulated wine trolley rolls on rubber wheels with a handle that extends to 34."  The interior compartment dividers are padded and removable -- allowing the insulated area to be used for large wine bottles and food.  The top-zip opening and ergonomic rubber handle makes it easy to open, and its two front feet keep it steady at rest.  Adjustable shoulder strap included."  [Price:  $80, marked down to $56.  Comment:  If you can't pick up six bottles of wine, you aren't healthy enough to drink.]

Authentic Oak Barrel Centerpiece:  "This 3-stave centerpiece will be the highlight of your table!  This authentic quarter-barrel accent measures over 3 feet long so there is plenty of room for display.  A great addition to your décor.  Imported from South Africa. Measures approximately 39" long and 19" wide."  [Price:  $200, marked down to $70.  Comment:  The real question about anyone who would pay $200 for a hunk of a used wine barrel is whether this is more amazing on grounds of tastelessness or idiocy.]

The Wine Tap:  'Be the first on your block to pour by the measure right from the tap with these great new products.  From wine to wine coolers, Sangria to your favorite single malt scotch, they've never tasted so good.  Made from easy to clean stainless steel.  The Wine Tap holds one liter. Perfect for your bar or game room.'  [Price:  Marked down from $129.95 to a mere $91.  Comment:  No comment necessary.]

Forget all of this trash and spend your wine budget on wine.  All you need are a couple of good glasses and a working corkscrew.

Don't get suckered into thinking you need a wine cellar.

The longstanding notion that wine must be kept at 55 degrees or consumed immediately is nonsense--and destructive nonsense at that, with elitist consequences.  It deters many less-than-wealthy newcomers from experiencing the pleasures of collecting a stash of special wines (and the savings made possible by stocking up during sales).

Although those buying fancy Bordeaux or vintage Port for long ageing really do need special storage conditions, those who drink their wines with food within a couple of years after purchase will do just fine keeping them in a closet or a corner of the basement

If you can keep the temperature in the low 70s and avoid serious temperature fluctuations, your red wines will develop very nicely over the course of a few years.  They will develop a bit more quickly than if they were stored at 55 degrees, but this is no disadvantage for near-term drinking.  And since 99% of white wines decline rather than develop over time, you should be drinking these up quickly regardless of your storage conditions.  Those who use insulated closets can spend more on wine and less on peripheral accessories, and actually avoid the fluctuation damage suffered by owners of refrigerators and temperature controlled cellars during power outages.

Never miss a chance to taste for free.
 
You'd perhaps be amazed at how much you can taste and learn for free.  True love of wine is about appreciating it and learning about it.  However, a sad number of wine drinkers (again, mostly men) fall prey to a fever of acquisitiveness in which they become obsessed with accumulation and display.  But they've lost their way, and you shouldn't follow them.

Most of them will have clicked away from this column in a snit over my comments on accessories and cellars, so it is safe for the rest of us to proceed.  Depending on the laws in your particular jurisdiction, it may be possible to taste dozens of wines every month simply by cruising to a number of retail shops for free in-store tastings.  I did this for a couple of years in Washington, D.C. when I was broke but freshly bitten by the wine bug, and it enabled me to build up a big inventory of tasting experiences without spending a dime. 

That inventory of experiences--and the knowledge imparted to me by those pouring the wines--is what enabled me to develop my own wine aesthetic and start writing about the stuff.  I learned a great deal from talking to guys like Bobby Kacher and Terry Theise, who became superstar importers and remain good friends.  There is a new generation of young counterparts who are scouring the world for up-and-coming producers, and you should let them teach you and pour for you next weekend.

Shop smart.

Just like every other business, the wine business is in a slump, and economizing buyers can take advantage of that fact.  Moreover, summer is a particularly slow season for sales, and price slashing is just about the only way that salespeople can hit the numbers they need.  Special sales and close-outs can keep you drinking good wine at remarkably low prices if you'll put in enough effort to find them.

Washington, D.C. is a great wine market, and I understand that your locale may not offer quite the opportunity that mine does, but have a look at sale prices running this week at Calvert Woodley, a retailer near me:  Estancia Cabernet, $7.77; Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull Zinfandel, $6.99; Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio, $6.99; Falesco Vitiano Rosso, $7.99; Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc, $9.66.  And from Hogue Cellars, Chardonnay, Fumé Blanc, Cabernet, Riesling or Merlot for $6.99 each, with rebates of $2 on two bottles, $6 on four bottles, or $12 on 6 bottles.  If you bought half a case, that works out to $4.99 a pop.

Of course, a big part of shopping smart is to avoid bad wine, as bad wine is never a good deal.  But there's lots of good advice available for free these days online, and enterprising wine lovers have never had it so good.

If you need to stretch every bottle, then buy bottles that stretch.

If you are feeling strapped, you might decide to cut back to drinking half a bottle of wine each day.  If you do, you'll benefit from knowing that some wines hold up much better than others overnight, since fully half of your wine is going to be at least one day old when you get to it.

Generally, whites do better than reds, and younger whites do better than ones that have been bottled for several years.  Additionally, certain structural properties correlate very closely with durability, and the most important of these are acidity and sweetness.  I find that lean, young wines with ample acidity (like, say, Sauvignon Blancs from France's Loire Valley or from New Zealand) hold up very well.  Sweet dessert wines are also quite durable, and since the good ones have strong acidity to boot, they've got two factors working in their favor.  This is also true of young, off-dry German Rieslings (look for wines designated "Kabinett" from 2006 or 2007), which aren't too sweet to enjoy with most foods and can hold up for a week when simply re-corked and refrigerated.

Don't drop wine--drop wine nationalism.

If you want to drink good wine but need to spend less money, you'd better be prepared to look overseas.  The sad fact is that American winemakers are being outperformed in the $8 to $12 price range by their counterparts in Chile, Argentina and Australia.  Remarkably, they are also being bested by producers in Spain, France and Italy, who are at a serious disadvantage here on account of the dollar's weakness relative to the euro.

I made this point in greater detail in a column published on WRO in May (http://www.winereviewonline.com/Michael_Franz_on_Americas_Weakness.cfm).  Although quite a number of American producers replied with complaints about cost disadvantages that they confront by comparison to their overseas competitors, hundreds of readers responded in support of my basic point.  Not a single correspondent took issue with my contention that affordable American wines just don't measure up for complexity, structure, distinctiveness and class.

Can you get solid wines from the USA at approachable prices?  Sure you can, and I noted several in the 'Shop smart' section above.  But if you really care about drinking wines that aren't merely solid but actually offer real complexity, structure, distinctiveness and class, you'd better be prepared to turn to products like Malbec from Argentina, Cabernet from Chile, reds like Toscana IGT and Abruzzo from Italy, Tempranillo and Monastrel from Spain, and Grenache from southern France.

I hope that the American wine industry will get its act together at the lower end of the price scale, just as I hope we'll get our economy back on track.  But until one or both of these hopes is realized, you'd be well advised to vote with your feet.

Send economizing suggestions or other comments to me at mfranz@winereviewonline.com