Drinks
Gary Whitaker's Wine Guide
On the hunt for delicious wine that won't break the bank? We did the work for you—with help from a new friend.
By Gary Whitaker
Jan 2018
On a driving tour of Scotland last year, my wife Joan and I shared a van with a couple from Florida, Lucy Goddard and George Teel. Lucy is a retired attorney, and George is a polymath who seemed to reveal a different interest and expertise each day of the trip. On the first day, he revealed he had created the original software that now handles college course scheduling on 80 percent of America’s campuses. The next day we learned he designs nautical-themed custom luxury vans for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, for his real estate company to haul commercial developers from site to site. Then we found out his studies of water displacement in tugboats and jet skis had led him to redesign more efficient and faster paddle boats. His most important project is creating something like a photoelectric cell that syncs with earth’s vibrational energy, amplifies it and feeds it into a battery or electrical circuit as an alternative energy source. But the most useful of George’s hobbies may be the creation of a wine spread sheet. He subscribes to multiple wine magazines and cross references wines that score 92 points or more but are priced at $25 or less. When we returned home, George forwarded a version of his wine spreadsheet and we researched which of his highly rated but affordable wines were available in 417-land. While we can’t promise that every wine will be available every time you go shopping, here is George’s list by vintage, price point and store.
