He added that sales of all of the company's "value brands" had risen 25 percent to 30 percent over 2008. Included in that list are wines under the labels Dona Sol, Estrella and Crane Lake, each of which is made to sell for well under $5 a bottle.

This past week I got together with an old friend, Steve Situm, a partner in a venture that makes some 20,000 cases of California wine that sells for less than $12 a bottle under the Stephen Vincent label. All the wines are excellent values, most selling for $11, and less than $10 in some locations.

"Our sales are up 18.4 percent in the last year," said Situm, "and that's due mainly to the fact that these are great values. I think it's amazing we were up 1,000 cases a month in the first three months of the year, because we took a price increase in March last year, and there was a bit of a sales dip.

"But the brand has legs. And we've done this with smaller wholesalers, not the bigger ones that deal with the broad-market players like Cost Plus and Costco."

Situm said a number of major U.S. wine companies, with wines in the $8 to $15 price points, are off 20 percent to 30 percent in sales in the first three months of the year, "and that's huge."

The best-selling Stephen Vincent wine is called Crimson, a 75 percent syrah, 25 percent cabernet sauvignon blend that "sells off the shelf in Whole Foods. They don't do any promotions. People just love the name."

Consumers seeking values in wines simply have to look aqround.

Wine of the Week: 2007 Stephen Vincent Crimson, California ($11) – Great red and black cherry fruit in the aroma, and traces of handsome cabernet in the aftertaste, plus a bit of black pepper and ripe plums. Excellent balance, and a wine that will be better in about a year.