This time last year I was in the American Midwest with my eldest son after his graduation from college. To his celebration dinner I brought some treasured burgundies from my cellar. The weather was stormy — flooded airports, bridges washed away — and the little restaurant was battered by wind and rain. Lightning flashed, the glasses were filled, and we drank.

Oh dear. The guests politely muted their disappointment. The wines were dull. The thrilling, cherry-plummy-strawberry meatiness of great pinot noir was entirely absent. The American wines we drank that night were fine, however, so to mark this Fourth of July weekend, I’ve looked for some that have braved the Atlantic in this direction. It’s not as simple as it sounds. Britain is famous for importing wines from all over the world, but where are the Americans when we want them?

American wines prompt certain preconceptions in Britain: they’re bland if cheap and ridiculously expensive if good; they all come from California, where bland and expensive are virtually coterminous; if bland, they’re made by Blossom Hill and Gallo; if expensive, by film stars.

This is not entirely true. California’s zinfandels are well made and affordable if you’re in the mood for rich, red stomach-warmers (try the Ravenswood range). Gorgeous pinot noirs are made in Washington and Oregon, and I’ve drunk delicious sparkling wine from Massachusetts (keep an eye open for Westport Rivers Brut). But it is true that drinkable American wines generally cost too much: you can be asked £14.99 (or much more) for a wine no better than a Chilean at half the price.

Why is this? I put the question to a British importer. Apart from the expensive dollar, one reason turns out to be the cost of freight. Shipping a parcel of wine from the US West Coast can cost 20% more than shipping it from Chile or New Zealand. The other reason, said my importer, is “arrogance — they simply don’t care whether the export price is competitive because they sell so much on the domestic market”.

It’s tempting to recommend nothing until American winemakers wake up to the recession. But I did find three wines that are intriguing enough to be called good value, even though two of them are pretty expensive.

LIQUID HUNCHES

Parducci pinot noir 2007 (£9.99)

This is a bargain by Californian standards. It’s a basic pinot from Mendocino County, but it has all the correct smells and flavours to be both lovely on its own and, as I discovered, with tuna, olive and tomato sauce on pasta (Oddbins).

Cakebread sauvignon blanc 2007 (£17.99)

Before New Zealand reinvented this French grape as a zippy thirst-quencher, it had already gone through an entirely different transformation in the hands of the Californian pioneer Robert Mondavi, who created a popular “fumé blanc” by ageing it in oak to give creamy depth to its gooseberry flavours. That tradition lives on in this fine and elegant version from another producer (corneyandbarrow.com).

Lemelson Six Vineyards Oregon pinot noir 2006 (£19)

If you’re willing to spend this sort of money on New Zealand pinots or burgundy, then do try this sensuous organic success from Oregon instead. For another £3, you can discover the even more seductive and concentrated Lemelson “Thea’s Selection” (thewinesociety.com).

What are you drinking? Tell me at wine@sunday-times.co.uk

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