With less money to spend across the board, consumers are looking to save a few bucks on wine — without, of course, sacrificing quality.

In recent weeks, we’ve come across four outstanding wines with a lot of bang for the buck.

Great fruit in the hands of a crackerjack winemaker are evident in new releases — both blends — from Gary and Kit Erickson’s Clif Family Winery.

“Our winemaker, Sarah Gott, has gone to great ends to find the best vineyards that meet our criteria of sustainability while also producing quality fruit,” noted Gary Erickson. “And I mean great ends.”

He pointed out that fruit for the winery’s Climber White came from vineyards in both North and Central Coast regions. “A substantial amount came from vineyards in Monterey that are grown in some of California’s richest agriculture land, and the cool coastal climate provides fruit with great acid and clean, crisp minerality. The combination with the sunny hills of Lake County, producing fruit with more richness and tropical flavors, gives this wine a wonderful balance of the two areas.”

For the winery’s Climber Red, Erickson says he was “fortunate to get most of the fruit from the Somerston vineyards just east of the Silverado Trail in Napa. With the vineyards’ setting well above 1,000 feet, the microclimate offers a longer growing season, which produces excellent, ripe fruit — a characteristic that comes through on the very first sip.

“We’re proud to say that during these tough economic times these wines are not such a pinch to the wallet.”

Rutherford Wine Company winemaker Steve Rued provided the inspiration for the company’s new brand and wines, Lander-Jenkins Spirit Hawk cabernet sauvignon and Spirit Hawk chardonnay.

“Years ago, while inspecting a newly planted vineyard, a hawk appeared overhead,” Rued recalled. “It wasn’t a rare or unusual occurrence but it made a particularly strong impression on me that morning — this was his vineyard as well as ours. These are the insights that keep us committed to employing the most environmentally beneficial practices. And the land rewards us with the highest quality, most flavorful fruit for our wines.”

Lander-Jenkins wines are produced from sustainably farmed tracts in a dozen North Coast, Monterey County and Central Valley vineyards.

Also wines offering great value and quality, the cabernet  is primarily sourced from Paso Robles vineyards, the chardonnay from vineyards in Lodi and Monterey County. Production for each variety is about 3,000 cases.

Clif Family Winery The Climber 2008 White Wine, $14: A blend of sauvignon blanc (88 percent), muscat (4 percent), riesling (3 percent), chardonnay (3 percent) and chenin blanc (2 percent), this refreshing, balanced white is 100 percent stainless steel fermented. It offers aromas of cantaloupe and citrus with floral notes. The melon carries through on the palate as does the citrus, inviting you to take another sip. With richness mid-palate and a clean, refreshing long finish, this proves to be a great food wine.

Clif Family Winery The Climber 2006 Red Wine, $17: A delicious blend of zinfandel        (32 percent), syrah (28 percent), cabernet sauvignon (25 percent), merlot (11 percent) and petite sirah (4 percent), this one is just as the winemaker intended. The zin and syrah base provide the intense ruby red hue, aromas of cherry spice and ripe tannins. The addition of cab and merlot add depth and structure, while the petite sirah adds a sweet touch and long finish. I loved the blackberry nose with a lingering hint of coffee, with blackberries and Bing cherries vying for attention from entry through to long, lush finish. We enjoyed this with a wide range of flavors over dinner at Restaurant Cuvée, all hands agreeing this is a terrific wine at a great price.

Lander-Jenkins Vineyards 2008 Spirit Hawk Chardonnay, $12: Even those who turn up their noses at chardonnay should like this one. It’s immediately sippable and comes through as a fine companion for salads, especially a blue-cheese-slathered wedge, vegetable-based soups, even deep-fried calamari. Tropical fruit and stonefruit aromas are quite evident on the palate, too, with the creamy finish offering complementary flavors of ripe pears and vanilla. Nothing cookie cutter about this one. Another great value with considerable substance.

Lander-Jenkins Vineyards 2007 Spirit Hawk Cabernet Sauvignon, $14: A welcome addition to the Rutherford portfolio, this is an accessible cab that drinks well on its own and pairs remarkably with everything from lamb to grilled chicken and skirt steak. Plums and blackberries are prevalent on the nose, while the full-bodied flavors of Bing cherries and cassis linger on the palate. A terrific deal for cab lovers.

For a little splurge, we got to taste a couple of Beringer Vineyards offerings recently and here’s one we had to tell you about:

Beringer Vineyards 2007 Napa Valley Private Reserve Chardonnay, $35: Winemaker Laurie Hook notes that a major portion of the fruit for this exceptional blend came from the Gamble Ranch, “a vineyard that has consistently delivered such rich, ripe fruit flavors. There’s a richness in this wine that is wonderfully balanced by a bright citrus note.”

Friends at a dinner party singled this one out as the evening’s favorite wine because it paired so well with just about everything on the menu, salad to broiled halibut. It’s a rich, lush expression of the variety, with lovely floral nose and a hint of butterscotch. It has a long pineapple/melon finish — a lush chardonnay that is a hallmark for the varietal. This is worth the splurge.