The recurrently "snooty" Wine Spectator

[Randy Caparoso]

Okay, as long as you're pluggin' away, Bucko: Good ol' Randy Caparoso can also be found at www.wine-lovers-page.com/randysworld. Enter if you dare.

As for mags: even a bigtime professional like me reads the Spectator. But you gotta take the good with the bad -- like with any magazine, come to think of it. Some things you can't stomach; others, very useful.

Unfortunately, even the the best of the wine geek mags -- International Wine Cellars, The Wine Advocate, Wines & Spirits, et al. -- are perpetually preoccupied with high falootin' wines. Finding a genuinely good buy is like sifting through the proverbial haystack. Then again, the reality is that genuinely good buys are a rare anyhow. Blame that on the international wine industry, not the writers. At least the Wine Spectator has a separate category for best values.

Other than that, the best way to discover good buys is through your own tasting, your friends and a trustworthy local retailer. In other words, the old fashioned way!