other things, had the favourable effect of heightening the ordinary wine consumer's awareness of new and unusual sources of the drink.

While some will continue, of course, to swear by their French and Italian favourites, still others have been won over by the products of Chile, say, or Australia or Spain. And just as the wines of the old and reliable Italians can range from a subtle northern white to a robust southern variety, these new kids on the international wine-selling block have also established their distinctions of region and grape. Among California wines, for example, some of the best have come from the coastal Santa Barbara region a few hundred miles south of San Francisco. There, a cool growing climate allows the grapes to hang longer on the vine, where they develop their rich and distinctive flavours in a slow and even manner.

In recent weeks, the Burrows Lightbourn chain has made it easier for Bermudians to experience these flavours locally by bringing in two examples from the region by Meridian, the California vineyard of well-known American winemaker Charles Ortman. The samples, a Meridian chardonnay and a Meridian Cabernet Sauvignon, have a ripe fruity flavour and a "very drinkable'' woody taste.

Equally important to those who expect at least some quality at a fairly reasonable cost, the two wines, which undergo an expensive and therefore unique (to California) oak-aging process, are both priced at under $15 a bottle.

"Meridian,'' explained Mr. Trevor Nichols, Burrows Lightbourn's managing director, "is owned by Nestle (of Switzerland), a company which has the deep pockets that allows them to oak-age the wine and to sell it at the prices they currently do.'' "The trick,'' the wine merchant said, "is to make a good wine at a reasonable price. That is what the consumer wants and that is what we think Meridian provides. Quite simply, there are no oak-aged wines of this quality at these prices.'' Both the Reefs and the Lantana Colony Club, which have already added the Meridian wines to their wine lists, would appear to agree.

Bermudians can now judge for themselves.