Is it possible? Are we near the return of the legendary Osborne Solaz?
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
The Osborne Solaz, one of the great cheap wines of all time, has been spotted in Canada. And if Canada, why not a little farther south?
Can it be possible? The Wine Curmudgeon is not sure, given the wine vagaries of the 21st century. But as the cheap wine gods as my witness, I’ll do what I can to bring back one of the greatest $10 wines ever, the Osborne Solaz.
That’s because the Spanish wine has been spotted in Canada, in provincial stores and Costco. An astute reader sent the picture that accompanies this post, and which leads to the question: If a Costco in Calgary, why not on this side of the border?
Hence, my efforts to convince Osborne, which makes Solaz, to bring it back. I contacted an importer who works with Osborne. I emailed the company’s one-time marketing contact in the U.S. My message: Let’s make this happen!
Some of you might wonder why all the fuss. Ah, if you had only tasted Solaz. Regular visitors here have heard the story many times. In 2009, the Osborne company said it would stop selling Solaz in the U.S. Oh, the gnashing of teeth, the rending of garments. The Osborne Solaz was one of the great cheap wines of all time, ranking with California’s Big House Red under Bonny Doon; the French Jaja de Jau, and the Hogue family’s original sauvignon blanc.
Or, as I wrote in 2010, when I drank what might have been the last bottle in the U.S.: “I don’t remember when I first tasted the Solaz, but I remember what I did. I went out and bought more, and I have been buying more for at least a decade.”
Having written all this, I am a realist. Why should Osborne, which didn’t listen to me when it discontinued the wine 10 years ago (and I did some wailing then), listen now? How do we know it’s as tasty today as it was in 2010? But I am also cranky and stubborn. And the Osborne Solaz is worth the effort, and especially in today’s cheap wine wasteland.
But how was it priced in Canada?
Still the same price, about US $8