Berger on wine: Alternatives to your favorite varietals

Wine comes in so many different styles that most consumers are faced with endless dilemmas. One of the most daunting is: what's in each bottle?

Chardonnay is supposed to be a rich white wine, but some are delicate or even austere and totally dry. But almost never does the label tell you what's inside.

Some people like sauvignon blanc, but they can be shocked if the acid is too high, or if there is too much sugar. Again, the label almost never offers any help.

And although regional characteristics can be helpful in determining the general style of the wine, much of this is never communicated to average consumers.

Alternatives to the most common wines can be a good solution when you're facing a wall full of choices, and the only help you're getting is from a clerk who's not even old enough to legally consume it.

Domestic pinot noir? Average consumers like this lighter weight red wine, and I'm constantly asked for a good one at about $20 or less. Such a quest usually is fruitless: demand for top-rate pinot noir fruit is at an all-time high, so are grape prices, and inexpensive pinots are rarely very interesting.

One alternative is from France, where it is known as Beaujolais ($8-$13), Beaujolais-Villages ($12-$17) or Cru Beaujolais ($15-$30). Made from the “other” red grape of Burgundy (gamay noir), it has a similar weight and structure of pinot and is often a bargain selection in restaurants where French red Burgundies start at $50. Or more. Usually a lot more.

Most Beaujolais are best- consumed young. No aging necessary.

Chardonnay? Still one of the most popular wines in the country, chardonnay is made in huge amounts, much of it priced in the under-$10 class. Most of this is generic and can be sweet.

Pinot gris, on the other hand, is a floral grape that can often be slightly spicy (almost like fresh fennel) and typically isn't aged in oak. Pinot gris has been disparaged by many wine writers as lacking in flavor, but when young and fresh, it can be a good alternative to boring chardonnay.

Argentine malbec? A lot of this rich red wine is sold in the $9 to $19 price range. People like its juiciness and attractive flavors of blueberry and plum. But I find many are simple and lack depth, which is rarely a problem with West Coast malbecs. For a few dollars more, malbec from California and Washington often are worth the extra outlay.

Cabernet sauvignon? Far too many inexpensive bottlings of this popular wine are of little interest to me because they taste manufactured, artificially flavored (with oak substitutes), and lack acidity. Many were grown in areas where it does only marginally well.

Two alternatives are intriguing: Maligned more than a decade ago in a successful comedy movie, merlot has quietly regained much of the stature it had 30 years ago, and today offers attractive fruit and lower tannins than often- brutish cabernet sauvignon does.

Cabernet franc, one of the genetic parents of cabernet sauvignon, can be a challenge to those unfamiliar with its occasionally herbal aromas, but aeration often opens up this shy but complex personality and shows traits that most young cabernets do not.

Riesling? Yes, I adore this wine from Germany's favorite grape variety, and we consume at least two bottles per week, almost all of it dry or nearly dry. Such wines work nicely with most Thai foods.But gewurztraminer, the more exotically aromatic Alsace grape, also works well with very spicy foods because it's usually broader in texture and made with a trace more sugar.

Syrah? Most of the wines from this grape are, in California, grown in warmer climates, where the resulting wine is relatively tannic and rustic. As prices for syrah rise, perhaps a good alternative choice would be petite sirah, with its fascinating fruit and real potential to improve with aeration.

Blended red? As heavy, clumsy and amorphous as are most of these domestic wines, you'd think they would be a bit more interesting than they are. Besides, many are $25 to $35 a bottle. Not only has France two or more solutions here, but at varying prices. Cotes-du-Rhône reds typically can be interesting in the $13 to $25 range, and for not much more you can experience the southern Rhône blend called Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Wine Discovery of the Week: 2016 Chateau de Saint Amour, Saint-Amour ($22) - The 10 “cru” sub-districts of Beaujolais designate 10 different styles of red wine, with the northernmost being St. Amour, often considered the most sensual. In 2016, the wine came out slightly bolder than in some vintages. This superb effort from the master of Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf, has deep blackberry fruit, some fruit tannins for two to four years of aging, and perfect balance for drinking now - slightly chilled.

Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, where he publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a subscription-only weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.