Taste Test

The top five most inexpensive wines in St. Charles Parish

Three blends of Santa Carolina wine will be on tap at the June 13 Mais Oui wine tasting.

Mais Oui wine shop owner Ava Somme says that finding a great bottle of wine for a reasonable price isn’t as hard as it may seem.

After all, her Luling wine shop carries some of the most inexpensive and tasty wines in the parish. Here’s Somme’s top five best buys for under $10.

•Santa Carolina. Mais Oui carries three varieties of this Chilean wine, both red and white, for only $8.99 a bottle. Santa Carolina variations include sauvignon blanc, carmenere and merlot. And all three are in stock.

•La Vielle Ferme. This French wine is a red rhone blend consisting of grenache, syrah, carignan and cinsault. A bottle will only set you back $8.99.

•Blaufrankisch. This Austrian red wine is like no other. Its grapes are harvested in Austria’s coldest months. Each bottle runs about $8.99

•Louis Latour. This French wine is hands down Somme’s favorite - particularly the chardonnay d’ardeche blend. Its bright golden-yellow color carries a hint of floral and dried fruits. A bottle costs $9.75.

•Sebeka. South Africa has made wine for nearly 350 years, but it’s only been in recent years that Americans have enjoyed it.

The South-African wine’s most popular blend is cabernet-pinotage, which is made with African grapes. A bottle costs $9.99.

Mais Oui will hold its next wine tasting on Friday, June 13 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The wine of the hour will be samplings of all three Santa Carolina blends.

Featured food will be shrimp with articoke pasta tossed with Somme's homegrown basil with Asiago cheese and vegetables.

Cover charge for the event is $5.  

The wine shop in located in the St. Charles Plaza at 12715 Highway 90.