Very good, cheap wines?
 

Anybody have any suggestions on some good red or white wines that are reasonably priced? I just bought a few bottles of Verrazano Chianti for $19 a piece. It was ok, nothing special. Any ideas?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/di...es&oref=slogin

Check this. Consumer reports also has some ratings that may help.

Ha you know, I started reading that article in the Times but got side-tracked and forgot to finish it up. Thanks!

Anybody have any personal experiences with any of these wines, or others?

Try searching this forum using the words "inexpensive wine".

BTW, I do not consider $19 cheap. You might try looking for a wine lover's forum. I know they're out there.

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi is a label that can be relied on to deliver inexpensive drinkable wines.

King Shag Sauvingon Blanc - $7.99 @ Trader Joe's.

Whole foods has some self-branded offerings for about $5/bottle that are decent as quaffing wines.

I second the earlier suggestion on Woodbridge by Mondavi

Many large liquor stores (including some grocery store liquor departments) have a "bargain bin" of wines that are half price. For some reason, these are often put in a bathtub. Anyway, a lot of these wines are plonk, but you can find some real bargains. Look especially for Chardonnays which are just past the three year mark, and California reds from regions not as well known as Napa or Sonoma.

Wines from Oregon and Washington are often very good value, especially Washington, since they're not as well known as California wines.

German wines tend to be good value too, if you like that style. Recent vintages have been rated very highly.

New Zealand wines are often excellent, if you like the unique tropical-fruit style of most of them

A few wineries are now putting good-quality wines in boxes, though most box wine is plonk. But if you can find one of the few good boxed wines, the equivalent cost per bottle can be amazingly cheap. In my experience the boxed wines last for weeks or months after opening with no loss of quality.

There are those who think that boxes are the wave of the future: notions
about the necessity of cork having been dispelled, glass bottles are the next
to go! Here's an interesting French site dedicated to box wines - I'd have had
my doubts, but we visited the shop earlier this year and found some of the
wines quite acceptable - and we didn't even get into the good stuff
(Ch. Guiney, for example, said to be a bargain at E50 for 3L).

The wine column in the Friday WSJ does an excellent job of finding inexpensive wines. this week there are a numbr of recommendations of under $15 Gruner Veltlinger from Austria.

couple of weeks ago, they had about 10 under $20(some under $10) pinot noir from CA. they tast 50-200 wines for each article, and they have decent palates, so they have a good chance of finding one if it is out there.

Two Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw) only at Trader Joes. The Chard recently has gotten at least one very positive review. I think it was in the L.A. Times. They didn't like the Cab so much. But, for two bucks .... :)

Where are you located?

I had the same question.
If you are near a Trader Joe's, they usually have a great selection of Australian, Argentinian but mostly Spanish inexpensive wines.
Spanish white and reds are good, totally drinkable, maybe not memorable but for much much less than $19 a bottle. I consider inexpensive less than $5 per bottle.
Whole foods sometimes has inexpensive wines but their basic wines range $8-15 a bottle.

In Michigan I think we will have to call it Three Buck Chuck. (Inflation :()

It's very rare that I would recommend a wine that I haven't tried, but each year at this time Wellington Vineyards in Sonoma makes a wine called "The Duke" they sell for $8 a bottle or so. It's even less to club members.

I love their wines, just never been around when this was available for tasting, so I have not personally had it. And of course, depending on where you are, shipping can kill you on it.

Details on this page

http://www.securewineshop.net/wellin...22&cat=0&page=

Again, I have no personal knowledge of this wine, I'm assuming it's a blend they do of what's left in a few barrels so they have space to put the new harvest, but do love everything else I've ever had of theirs.

It's only available direct from them, and it goes fast.

I don't know if that's because it's good or because it's inexpensive or perhaps both.

Stuff is poison. One of my committee chairs was of the delusion that
one can't tell the difference ... tasting it I very nearly had to pay for
reupholstering of his couch.

Actually, the stuff is variable. Bronco Wine Co. makes quite a few labels of wine. He buys bulk from all over and some of the lots that go into the $2 Chuck can be from some top vineyards selling bulk overflow, and others aren't so good. In fact, they make dreck. So if a good lot is that chosen for tasting at a competition and it wins, a lot of people are going to pretend that they like something they hate, and others are going to rightfully vomit.

Back to the OP, as we still don't know where you are, we still don't know what is available in your area. If you have a state wine mafia, you will have a much more limited selection at higher prices. Close to my house, there is a local wine shop that gets small lots of imports (the store is called Odd Lots) and each month they have a "6 pack" of various wines, usually 2 white/4 red, or a rose thrown in, generally from France with an occasional Italian, or South American, or other thrown into the mix. About $43. Nothing is ever bad. Sometimes, something is very very good. They've had a $6.99 tempranillo I've bought cases of and people would have not been surprised if I said I spent $25/bottle. Try and scope out local stores like this. It is also much more fun than the "regular predictable bottle" of Ken Doll Jack's Son Shardon-Nayy.

Re Post # 15: Not inflation, but Michigan state taxes, additional shipping and a less competitive market--for wine at least. It was three bucks in Chicago the last time I looked, two bucks in California.

for a review raving about the Chard see:

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3372578

"The connoisseurs may cringe, the snobs may even sob, but the judges have spoken: California's best chardonnay costs less than $3.

Charles Shaw Chardonnay, better known as "Two Buck Chuck," beat hundreds of other wines and was named the top prize in a prestigious tasting competition in California. ..."

The chardonnay seemed bitter to me, but the price is certainly enjoyable.

Surprisingly pleasant, widely available, and about $5 are the "Barefoot" Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. I would stay away from their reds and the Chardonnay.

The New York Times recently had an article for their choices for good wines under $10 per bottle

MisterNice

Rex Goliath Pinot Noir
 

$8 or so. They have a whole line that seems to be good for the money.

Estancia Chardonnay 2005
 

A mighty tasty bottle of grape juice for $9.99!

I am from northern NJ, bergen county. There are plenty of Trader Joes there. I go to school in Bethlehem, PA. Not the best area.

Let me re-phrase my question, I am looking for good bottles in the $15 range..not cheap cheap wine but obviously not overly expensive.

Thanks

The question then becomes what you think is good quality for that price range.

If looking for good (to my taste) wines in that price range, the first thing I would do is avoid wines from France or Italy: quality is high but so are prices. (As for France, I've occasionally found red Rhone wines in this price range which were excellent, but they are few and far between. Many of the cheaper quality French wines in American stores are Pays d'Oc, but I've found them disappointing.)

I'd also avoid Swiss wines, which can be good but are usually expensive. Some Greek wines are now coming on the market in the U.S., but I've found the quality disappointing. The best quality Greek wines I've found are regional ones which have limited distribution even in Greece.

That still leaves quite a field for bargain hunting quality wines in the medium price ranges. I'd look for Washington and Oregon state wines, especially Washington, and wines from Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and Australia. (I've found that Australian wines from West Australia or South Australia are generally better, though harder to find, than the mre common wines labeled Southeast Australia.) In California, look for wines that are not from Napa, Sonoma, or Santa Cruz: the farther away from those regions the grapes are from, the more likely the wine is to be a bargain. A convenient map of the regions is here.

We think the Alice White chardonnay is a GREAT deal for around $5/bottle! If you catch one of their rebate deals, I have gotten it for under $4/bottle...great everyday summer white!

While not on subject, it still amazes me how backwards the liquor laws are in Connecticut.

Sales? Not a chance
Rebates? Never
Trader Joes (or any grocery store) selling wine? Don't think so.

$19 is about double the price of dozens of medium grade drinkable "good" Chiantis. For $19, I expect damn good wine, not plonk (and with few exzceptions, most Chianti is only a step above plonk. Then there are "name labels", wines which the price is set based upon the celebrity or noteworthiness of the brand/winemaker. Francis Ford Coppola does not stomp grapes or move barrels, and over the years, I've had some "Stag's Leap" laid down where the stag took a leak, not a leap.

Not knowing what you "like", it's hard to recommend wine, but were it I in your shoes, I'd go to World Market, Sam's, or Costco and do some experimentation. Any large wine mercant will have a variety of Chilean wines of which many seem to provide a reasonable "cost benefit ratios".

Do they still run senior citizens bus tours to NH to buy liquor? And does the CT state police still pull them over as they cross the line into the state?

I think they stopped that ages ago when the NH police started passing out tickets to the Connecticut cops in the parking lots of their stores recording license plates, makes and models to stop on the way back.

Apparently they were loitering.

In all fairness, I don't buy that much at all, and virtually all my wine is hand carried back from the wine areas or shiped directly from the winery, so it's not a huge deal, just funny to read how easy it is in other states.

Same answer
 

Rex Goliath Pinot Noir. About $8. Slip the clerk $5 if it makes you feel better. :)

It's been my experience that's it's about 50/50 whether a $15 bottle of wine will be better or worse than a $10 bottle of wine.

I just discovered 2 Up Shiraz from South Australia at Costco for under $10.

Villa Maria Riesling 2004, New Zealand. Quite delicious, I found it on par, if not better, than my other favorite Riesling (Chateau St. Michelle).

\Anybody have other Riesling recommendations? It's by far my favorite white.

Rudi Wiest 2005 Rhine River Rheinhessen Riesling: $10.00

http://www.rudiwiest.com/

If you can find Juan Gil in your neck of the woods, I'd recommend giving it a shot. Some friends served it at dinner, we bought a case the next day. Just now I did a google check on the price (I remembered it was less than $30 but couldn't remember how much) and it came up for sale on the internet at $16.99 a bottle. It also showed a RP rating of 90 if you're into that. Very nice Spanish red that works well with food, but could be enjoyed on its own.

For a merlot in the same price range look for the American Winetasters Society merlot. I haven't tried the latest release, however, past releases have been very nice at the price. AWS is not a vineyard - the 2003 was from the Stags Leap district, the current 2005 release is from Oakville.

A number of good Zins in and around this price, Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel may be a bit over $20, can be found for a bit under. Gallo's Rancho Zabaco Heritage Vines Zinfandel is nice and in your price range, the less expensive Dancing Bull makes a great party wine at <$10/bottle.

And to bring back to Italian, which is where the OP started try Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese

Cheers,
Jeff

E. Guigal makes some pretty inexpensive reds that are pretty good. I'm also a big fan of Arva Vitis wines from Spain. Those should all be in the $10-$20 range.

Sirecca, haha I think that is very funny :)



Thanks to all the replies so far. FreakwentFlier, I have recently tried Dancing Bull and thought it was very reasonable for the price I paid, I believe $9.99.

Thanks, keep up the suggestions!

Franciscan Cabernet .Can be found in Sam's club for $19.00 In my opinion a really well put together wine especially the 02 and 03.

If you're near one of their venues, check this out:

http://www.bestcellars.com

One of my weekly pilgrimages is to the location on Boylston in Boston Back Bay. The wines in the bins on the walls are $15 or less, and I've never been disappointed yet...the staff is particularly knowledgeable and helpful. Frequent free tastings too :D