I was particularly impressed by a couple of wines that won gold recently at the Seléctions Mondiales des Vins Canada and thought I’d tell you why.

Now usually when I see a press release from some international wine competition, I’ll see if any of them are affordable and available locally. Usually, I’m disappointed.

There was a Mexican Grand Or winner this year at the Canadian competition. A Cabernet Sauvignon from Vinicola Bajalupano in the Valle de Guadalupe. I went online and, even though I’d never heard of the winery, I found some. At the online retailer VidMexicana. The price wasn’t what I’d call excessive. At $749, it would fit into a couple of my friends’ budgets. But not quite in mine.

Scrolling down the list though, down in the gold medal winners, was a name I knew. And was pretty sure it was affordable. Better yet, the name was there twice, with their one and only white wine and one of their three reds both winning gold.

The brand was Don Luis from a Mexican winery I had heard a lot of and had drunk a lot of, a winery called L.A. Cetto. The name was chosen to recognize Don Luis Cetto and, according to the winery is a “tribute of admiration and of recognition to the effort of a man that has dedicated 50 years of his life, with all of his wisdom and experience, to make great wines in Mexico”.

I’d seen bottles of Don Luis on the shelves of our local liquor store, La Europea (though you had to be nine feet tall to find it) I’d bought the white, a Viognier, there about a year ago. And liked it.

I hopped on the bus and, sure enough, there was the Viognier and the red that won the gold, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz called Concordia. The white was $254, the red was $280. They were buy-a-case size prices for me. I needed a cab to take me home.

The Viognier, a grape associated with the Rhone Valley in France, had some apple and pear on the nose and was crisp and refreshing. The Concordia was complex but fruity with hints of plum, fig, tobacco and vanilla on the nose. Both were exceptional values.

Now the Seléctions Mondiales des Vins Canada is pretty liberal when it comes to handing out awards and close to a quarter of the wines that enter the competition get some recognition. Nevertheless, getting gold and being priced at less than $300 is worthy of a pile of praise.

There are two other decent reds in the Don Luis line. A Merlot and a Bordeaux-style called Terra with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 10% Malbec. I’ve seen all four in La Europea and, as recently as yesterday, even after a major looting by yours truly, there were still a few left on the shelves.

There’s one other place you can sample the two award winners. It’s at a special dinner, “One Night in Veracruz” being held at Silveyra’s restaurant in San Miguel de Allende next month. Invites to the event will be on the website soon.