Q When is a recession a good thing?

A When it helps consumers discover a boatload of wines that are every bit as good as what they had been drinking but for half the cost. And when it forces wineries to cut prices of their higher-end wines in half, one way or another.

In the wine world, the 2008 downturn wreaked particular havoc on the $20 to $50 range. In the ensuing three years, those who make and sell wine have wondered when customers would return to that price point. Now the question is not when, but if.

"Plenty of people are waiting for the good ol' days to come back," said Fintan du Fresne, winemaker at Chamisal in central California. "It's now apparent to us in the industry that people won't be coming back to that [price range]."

The reason: Those wine lovers have found outstanding value in the $12 to $20 range. "They're still buying as much wine; they just traded down," said Corey Burstad, owner of the Tournament Liquor stores in Blaine and Ham Lake. "Guys who were shopping at the top, it's almost like a guilt thing, like they now get more pride out of finding the inexpensive gem."

Burstad recently held a blind tasting for golfers at the 3M seniors tournament and slipped in a $19 bottle of Errazuriz Single Vineyard Carmenere with their usual spendy Napa cabernets. "They ended up buying it by the case."

He added that those consumers are still mixing in a Silver Oak or two, but primarily taking advantage of the fact that "there's great cabernet in the market for under $20 for the first time ever. They buy the case and get one bottle of higher-end stuff. Whereas before 75 percent would be $25 to $40, now none of it is."

Michael Hennessy, wine buyer at McDonald's in south Minneapolis, also has seen a positive side to the economic travails. "The best thing that's happened with the recession is that consumers have gotten better wine at sensible prices," Hennessy said, citing the Betts & Scholl California Collection at $21. "They wanted to sell it for $40, and somebody convinced them otherwise."

Other California labels have created lower-priced labels using much of the fruit that used to go into their spendier stuff (Duckhorn's Decoy line) or simply lowered the prices.

"One thing I've observed," said Dan Keyport of Dolce Vita in Chanhassen, "is that with a lot of wines in that $35 to $50 range that weren't moving, the wineries and wholesalers agreed to move down to under $30, and they're really good values there."

He cited the Whitehall Lane merlot and Rosenblum's single vineyard zinfandels. "If it's great juice, and if you can tell the story of a $40 wine that's now $25, that's a good story."

Ray Zemke, wine buyer for the Cellars chain, has seen the same trend. "We haven't seen that falloff because $25 to $50 is as good as what used to be $50 to $100," he said "But for a brand in that $25 to $50 range, it's got to over-deliver. It's a trickle-down effect."

And the winner is ... us.

Bill Ward • bill.ward@startribune.com