What's your favorite wine?

[Fire Me Boy!]

For us wine drinkers, I'm curious about your favorite "drinking" wine (as in, something uner $15 a bottle).

I'm partial to the 2002 Hill of Gold Shiraz (Rosemont Estates) and the 2002 Coppola Premium Claret. Right now, I'm drinking a 2003 Coppola Zin.

[Stewie]

Penfolds Shiraz (Coonawarra 128)
Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

G-B has some very nice stuff. I'm also fond of their Mountain Cuvee (around $20 per), especially this time of year. Pair it with a dish with sage and it's like having fall in a glass. I've got some of their 2003 Cab in the cellar that I've got high hopes for but probably won't hit it's stride for another 10-15 years.

As far as "drinking" wines, it depends on what mood I'm in and if I'm eating it with something or not. Spain and Chile are really producing some quality big reds for around $10-15 per. Root 1 Cab from Chile (around $12) I consider a phenomenal value. Ol' Red by Cosentino is a nice red blend I recently tried ($13). I've also liked Cline's old vine zin. Di Majo Norante's Ramitello (red blend, around $18) is great with tomato based dishes.

If you like big reds, Petit Sirah I've had in heavy rotation lately. Reasonably priced ones would be Concannon (around $13) and Guenoc's Lake County (around $17). Guenoc makes a multi-vineyard variety of this as well, but in my opinion, the Lake County is worth the extra $4 (great balance, inky color, velvety mouthfeel...great with lamb, as one of my friends put it "like drinking blueberry-vanilla-butter").

Root 1 Cab is a damn near perfect "drinking" wine. Wine is very hit or miss, and that is one of the best hits I've found at that price range. I've had many bottles since that cost more and delivered less.

[Chest Rockwell]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

Root 1 Cab is a damn near perfect "drinking" wine. Wine is very hit or miss, and that is one of the best hits I've found at that price range. I've had many bottles since that cost more and delivered less.

Have to agree with you there, I'd put Root 1 up against just about any other cab I've tried up to about $30 (generally speaking, I don't buy many wines above that, my palate and appreciation isn't sophisticated enough yet to make it worth it. Plenty of tremendous stuff under $20 really, if you look).

If you liked that wine, a couple of others from Chile that I've really liked under $20 would be Casillero del Diablo cab and Montes Alpha cab. IMO, neither was as good as Root 1, but worth a try if you like Chilean wines.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Penfolds Shiraz (Coonawarra 128)
Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay

I'm a fans of the Penfolds myself.

Drank a bottle at Maggiano's the other night celebrating my sister's B-Day.

[StcChief]

The one that get's her drunk and horny

[NewChief]

We almost always keep Black Box Sonoma County Merlot ($16 for a box at Sam's Club) around the house for our table wine.

I think I may have posted this already, but Lake Sonoma Zin is probably my favorite wine at the moment. Very tasty. I'm a huge Zin fan.

[Jordan]

Cabs:

Unless your on the West Coast and can get your hands on some 2 buck chuck, the best cheap wine (IMO and I saw a couple awards were awarded to them in the same fashion) is Rex & Goliath. It's about $5 a bottle, but doesn't taste like it.

[L.A. Chieffan]

Originally Posted by Jordan

Cabs:

Unless your on the West Coast and can get your hands on some 2 buck chuck, the best cheap wine (IMO and I saw a couple awards were awarded to them in the same fashion) is Rex & Goliath. It's about $5 a bottle, but doesn't taste like it.

Trader Joe's has some GREAT wine deals like two buck. Also their Chianti is like 4 bucks a bottle but tastes as good as the 25 dollar bottle variety.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

Have to agree with you there, I'd put Root 1 up against just about any other cab I've tried up to about $30 (generally speaking, I don't buy many wines above that, my palate and appreciation isn't sophisticated enough yet to make it worth it. Plenty of tremendous stuff under $20 really, if you look).

If you liked that wine, a couple of others from Chile that I've really liked under $20 would be Casillero del Diablo cab and Montes Alpha cab. IMO, neither was as good as Root 1, but worth a try if you like Chilean wines.

I'm in the same place. Plus, I think - and I could be full of it - that the quality difference between a $10 and a $20 bottle is frequently noticeable, but the difference between a $20 and $40 bottle rarely is.

I was drinking a lot of Malbec wines from Argentina. Has a strong plum flavor and a dark ruby color, most in the $10-15 range and most are simple, very drinkable wines.

Alamos Malbec
Altos Las Hormigas

[the Talking Can]

trader joes is the cheap wine heaven...

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by FAX

Château Lafitte Bordeau. 1953 was a particularly good year.

Last time I had this wine, it was served with a very nice filet at Stephenson's Apple Farm. Is that place still there?

By the way, this wine is so good, it's like drinking the tears of angels shed just for you. There is nothing quite like it in the entire world.

FAX

Been closed a while now and they auctioned off everything in side.. In went to complete crap a few years ago..

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I don't care for sweet wines, but my wife apparently does. She came home from a wine party and told me about this german "ice wine" that she'd tasted. She said it was the best wine she'd ever tasted so she ordered a bottle even though it cost around $50 (much more than we normally pay for a bottle of wine). When it was delivered, she was surprised to find out that the bottle was tiny, lol. It was about half the size of a normal wine bottle. It was OK, but since I don't even like sweet wines I can't recommend spending that kind of jack on it.

There is a couple really good ice wine made here in the US, and unfortunately they are expensive also for small bottles.. Want to say at a discount I got a bottle for 45$, normally run about 80-90 a bottle.. Really good though for deserts..

[BigOlChiefsfan]

I try to keep most wine purchases under $20, only splurging big on Rhone wines in great years. If you're buying, Hermitage or Chateauneuf du Pape from Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraphe, etc...they all suit me fine. (Actually, I buy a lot of Cotes du Rhone villages and St. Joseph with MY money)

For a day in, day out red let me recommend Laurel Glen's REDS. A 'field blend' of old vine Zinfandel, Carignan, Petit Syrah and sometimes a few other grapes. No matter the year's blend, it's always a great bottle of red wine and always a bargain ($8 here in KC). Great with food, grill some chicken or burgers and/or make some pasta and give it a try.

For a little more money - try the various 'Cru' beaujolais. Some of the best made wine - for the money - you'll find. Even in so-called great years these sell for $15 or less. I buy Broilly and Morgan by choice, but I'm pretty easy going with decent Booj. Skip the Beaujolais Nouveau, stick with Boujolais-Villages or the Cru grade. Poor man's Burgundy.

I drink a lot of dry pink wine from Spain, Garnacha (Grenache) from Navara mostly. $6-8 bargains. Cook something with lots of garlic and give one a try.

My favorite white wine for the money is Bonny Doon's Pacific Rim Riesling. Dry, goes great with food from shrimp to chicken. German and Alsatian Riesling is my 'next step up', and if you haven't tried good German or Alsatian wines...2 thumbs up.

Dessert wines - I go with Tawny Port or Muscatel from Australia most of the time. Their so-called 'Stickies' are great and great bargains. Some of the fancier sweet Rieslings now and then.

[HolyHandgernade]

My wife and I are all about the Port, but then again, we're big on desserts as well!

I find myself liking the Cab Francs lately, though there is this one Pinot from Oregon that is just fantastic. Can't recall the label, though.

-HH

[Mojo Rising]

Originally Posted by Chest Rockwell

G-B has some very nice stuff. I'm also fond of their Mountain Cuvee (around $20 per), especially this time of year. Pair it with a dish with sage and it's like having fall in a glass. I've got some of their 2003 Cab in the cellar that I've got high hopes for but probably won't hit it's stride for another 10-15 years.

As far as "drinking" wines, it depends on what mood I'm in and if I'm eating it with something or not. Spain and Chile are really producing some quality big reds for around $10-15 per. Root 1 Cab from Chile (around $12) I consider a phenomenal value. Ol' Red by Cosentino is a nice red blend I recently tried ($13). I've also liked Cline's old vine zin. Di Majo Norante's Ramitello (red blend, around $18) is great with tomato based dishes.

If you like big reds, Petit Sirah I've had in heavy rotation lately. Reasonably priced ones would be Concannon (around $13) and Guenoc's Lake County (around $17). Guenoc makes a multi-vineyard variety of this as well, but in my opinion, the Lake County is worth the extra $4 (great balance, inky color, velvety mouthfeel...great with lamb, as one of my friends put it "like drinking blueberry-vanilla-butter").

Bevmo has a Lake County Claret for $9.99/bottle. It's not bad. I just picked up a case. My wife and I drink it as our second bottle (when the tastebuds aren't as sharp) after drinking a better bottle first.