'Utility wine' is a term that is, I guess, self-explantory. It refers to cheap wine--a price tag below $15--that's okay. Perhaps even good. Wine at this price point is probably not going to be the best you've had in your life (although there is some stellar budget plonk to be had) but it's not toxic. It's not fermented urine mixed with vinegar in the way of, I don't know, Dan Murphy's now thankfully defunct range of $2 clean skins. It's not something you'd rather clean drains with than drink. It's not something your drunken friends would pay you $20 to finish.
In the glass tonight is some Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut Cuvee. A sparkling wine from the Barossa Valley, a wonderful place where Maggie Beer and other Beers breed chickens and make quince paste and reasonable pheasant pate.
If you're after a cheap sparkling wine, this stuff is okay. I'm no wine critic--I'm still getting my head around the idea of flavour and aroma notes--but to me this tastes and smells more of chardonnay than, you know, pinot noir. Worth the price tag? Given how much crap sparkling wine (or wine in general) is sold at this price point, sure. Overall, this stuff is drinkable but not great, but hey, that's utility wine for you.
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