Fermenting questions

Castellar brut cava ($10) Spain

The wine business is in flux, with forces dragging it in all sorts of directions. Will prices go up, or will they continue at near decade lows? Will consolidation continue on the producer and retail side of the business, and what will happen to prices if they do? Will Texas wine continue to be better made and more easily available? And what’s with the tremendous increase in the popularity of sweet red wine?

The good news for consumers, despite this uncertainty, is that the wine most of us drink will still be well priced, and we’ll have more places than ever to buy it. What’s happening here, with the addition of Spec’s, Total Wine and the soon-to-arrive Trader Joe’s, is happening elsewhere in the United States. And, yes, sales of sweet red wine are approaching levels never seen before — ask anyone who tells you that their favorite wine is Cupcake’s Red Velvet or E&J Gallo’s Apothic.

This month, three wines that reflect what’s going on: sold close to cost, thanks to increased competition in Dallas and a recession in Spain that has cut demand there. Cheap cava doesn’t get much better than Casteller (around $10), which makes brut and rosé. Both have lots of tight, firm bubbles and long mineral finishes. and the Texas Legislature, seems to think that local wine is a good idea. Texas growers and producers, who may have had the best harvest ever in 2012, are demonstrating their skill with wines like Llano Estacado’s Viviano (about $26), a red blend that includes sangiovese and has gotten better with each vintage.

Bogle, perhaps the best cheap wine producer in the United States, continues to hold the line on price. Ryan Bogle, whose family still owns the winery, told me earlier this year that they want to make sure their customers get their $10 worth. Check out the sauvignon blanc (about $9), with its citrus and tropical fruit flavors, and you’ll see what he means.

—Jeff Siegel