Hell, I'll taste just about any red under $10.00. If it's good, I'm happy. If it sucks, I've only wasted under ten bucks.
I think I misunderstood when you said "That Cabernet is from Napa Valley, so it might not be quite so good as others" haha sorry
My general rule of thumb when it comes to wine: If I like it, it's good, no matter what the wine snobs might say about it.
you know all about this, but maybe some who are perusing the thread may not... there are websites that give general information about vintage years all over the world. that doesn't mean that every wine bottled from 2007 Cabernet grapes from California is fantastic, but odds are that the wine -- depending on where the grapes were grown -- will be good, maybe even exceptional. it's not necessarily wine snobbism at work, just good research. and, as you suggest, price is not the only measure of a wine's drinkability. but it may be a factor that influences some people, in both directions. i cannot imagine paying 50 bucks for a bottle of wine, but then i can't imagine paying 35 thou for a car...
When I used to live in Germany (West Germany, at the time) I lived in a small town named Traben-Trarbach, which is right in the heart of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine growing region, famous for its exceptional reislings. I can remember going to vineyards and buying incredible wines for the equivalent of $1.00 - $3.00 USD. Of course, the prices have gone up a bit since the mid 1980s, but I have no doubt that you can still find incredible wines in that area for under $10.00. In fact, back in '97 my wife and I traveled to France with her mom and her mom's husband. We spent a week in the Loire Valley and a week in the Dordogne, and stayed in a gite in both locations. When we arrived, we went to the grocery store to do a little shopping, and I found some wine on the shelf that was also in that $1.00 - $3.00 range, and bought it. My mother-in-law's husband thought I was crazy, and bought wine that was in the $10.00 - $20.00 range. When we got to our rental, we compared them side by side, and the cheaper wines stood up quite nicely to their more expensive counterparts. At the other extreme, I have bought wines that were over $200.00 / bottle (restaurant prices) to celebrate special occasions like anniversaries. And every time I've done that, the wines have been amazing, as they should be for that price. IMO, people who judge a wine by its price alone and automatically assume that if it's expensive then it must be better than something cheaper need to read a few books. Yes, price can be a factor, but to automatically rule out anything that's cheap or with a certain label as being bad is ignorance.
Last summer my wife and I were on vacation and we bought a really good Spanish wine called "Wrongo Dongo." It was the cheapest wine in the store, but damn good. The guy didn't sell a lot over the summer because most of his summer clientele would assume $8 wine is crap. But he could easily have put a "2" in front of the "8" and those folks would've snapped it up. I'm glad he didn't.
Tons of good wines right around the 10 dollar mark. My wife and I have been drinking more and more wines lately. Very rarely do I pay more than 12 or 15 dollars for a bottle. We are more into the sweeter wines like Reislings, Moscatos, ice wine and some blended reds. I bought a bottle of Mosel Riesling call "Oh...Schist!" it was part of a 2 for $16 dollar deal. Did not care for the other stuff but this was quite good, not overly sweet, very nice.
The luckiest guy is the guy who enjoys his 2 bug chucks. At this rate, he can afford to be happy during all meals and in between.
Anyone ever try gnarlyhead?, it's an old vine zin. I really like it, I'm venturing into the old vine zins, anyone have some favorites?
I'm a big fan of Four Vines. I met Christian Tietje a few years back at the Washington DC International Food and Wine Festival. He's quite a character, with an amazing passion for making great wines. I've never had Gnarlyhead, but I'll check it out. I also love Zinfandels. Oh, and if you like Zins, give Primitivo a try. They are from the Puglia region of Italy (the heel) and the grape is genetically identical to Zinfandel. The prevailing theory is that Southern Italian immigrants brought their grapes with them on the boat, and planted them in California.
Four Vines is awesome. Also try Cartlidge & Brown and Folie a Deux. Their basic zins are both sourced from Amador County, where I think the best stuff comes from in CA. I had to look it up to confirm, but Gallo produces the wines for Kirkland. Not a knock against Kirkland, but Gallo did have a problem with their Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir a couple of years ago where the fruit wasn't actually Pinot juice going in the bottles. Gallo does rep some decent labels (Louis Martini, Starbourough Sauv Blanc, Apothic Red Blend) but they're better known for the bulk-wine end of the business. Much like Bronco/Freddy Franzia and the Two Buck Chuck. Thx, Jay!
Yes, it's French. Gallo gets the wine from the Languedoc and bottles is under that label. There was a scam a couple of years ago where a few growers/negociants got together and were selling Gallo (and others) Pinot Noir grapes. However, when all the contracts were looked at, it seemed they had sold more grapes than were actually produced in the region. By alot. http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42200 Thx, Jay!
LOL that's pretty messed up kind of funny at the same time. I'm sure winos noticed it wasn't true Pinot Noir.
Even the Argentine Malbec? The saleslady said it was from a small vineyard in Mendoza. A friend of mine told me it's much better than the 7.99 cost, so I'll have to go grab some. BTW, we opened a couple of bottles of the 2003 Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages tonight. Awesome California blend.
We had them for quite a while, I don't remember. But I'd think probably around 55 bucks per bottle at least originally. It's not an every day wine.
Found a very nice Bordeaux - Chateau Reynon 2006 vintage. Sells for around $18 / bottle, or $16 if you buy a case and get a volume discount. One of the things I love about living in the DC area is that a place like Calvert Woodley has enough of a customer base that they can import wines directly.
I finally caved and bought a couple of bottles to try it. Can't go wrong at 7.99 each. Will probably open them tomorrow.
Yes. I confirmed with the Gallo rep at the store I work at. It's a partnership between Gallo and Costco. They do many private label wines, maybe up to fifty, for corporate. It's not that uncommon. It's still possible that they are sourcing the fruit from a small vineyard in Mendoza, but Gallo has Don Miguel Gason amongst others down there as well. Thx, Jay!
