This week I'm featuring three red blends from very different parts of the wine world. They are all unique in their style and composition, but they all share one important trait: value.

We often associate value with wines $25 and under. It's important to realize that value can apply to wines across the price spectrum. Think of it like this; if a $48 wine drinks like an $80 wine, that represents significant value.

When I evaluate value in wine the biggest factor is quality to price ratio. Simply put, is the wine over delivering on quality versus what you are paying for.

One great way to do this is to compare what you are tasting to other wines you've enjoyed in the same price range. This exercise if fun and can help you better understand what is a wine's true "value". Buying with a taste for value will appreciably enhance your drinking experience and help impress your wine loving friends.

I hope you enjoy these "wines of the week":

2014 Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay ‘The Trinity’ Red Blend($17)

A blend of mostly Merlot, with Tempranillo, Malbec, and other red varietals. This wine is a well-structured blend with leather and plum aromas, and a nice balance of spicy and red fruit flavors that hails all the way from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand’s second largest wine region that has been an abundant source of fine wine since 1851.

2013 Mulderbosch Faithful Hound Red ($25)

A bold red blend that brims with dark fruit notes of mulled boysenberry, cassis and black cherry, all streaked with spicy accents of menthol and black tea leaves originating from Stellenbosch, South Africa. The wine is definitely New World in style with its creamy mouthfeel and medium acidity level. Notes of licorice stick, espresso and roasted cocoa nibs linger through the long close.

Leviathan Red Blend 2012 ($48)

A beastly California red blend from renowned winemaker Andy Erickson with dense berry fruits, licorice and bittersweet chocolate notes, with hints of coffee and peppery spice. This red is balanced with bright acidity and prominent oak. Blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah from vineyards in and around Napa, this wine is never blended the same way twice. This ensures a unique wine year to year that truly reflects the unique soils and terroir of California in a particular vintage. When not making cult Cabernets for wineries such as Favia, Dalla Valle, Arietta, Dancing Hares Vineyard, Ovid and Mayacamas, Andy is busy blending components from highly coveted sites around California to produce his passion project for discerning wine lovers on a budget.

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