Delicious Wines - Page 9

one quick example: rosenblum vintner's cuvee. it's always right around $10. zin blend, really delicious.

Yep. Friends Red from Sonoma is a pretty good buy at $11, as is Fiction.

not to stomp on the fun, but my worst wine experiences have consistently been $10-12 Cali wines, blend or no blend. I suppose it doesn't help that I find 16% ABV Zins to be gag inducing (and to be fair, I have the same criticism for overripe Primitivo)

I've had some awkward stuff from South America too.

Whites at that price can be fine, reds, noooooooo.

You guys must have too much gold leaf stuck on your palates. Over all the tastings I've been at or portfolio pours I've attended, I've tasted literally dozens of good wine in that category, both blends and varietals.

When I started 20 years ago, the going rate for a decent non-plonk cab was $10. BV Rutherford was the gold standard. Mondavi Napa was expensive at about $15.

These days the price for decent drink-now cab is closer to $20 and $10 is not good. If I want a red for under $15, I get Bordeaux every time.

this would hold more weight if it didn't come after our discussion of great sub-$15 values from multiple regions of France.

kyle, the fact is you taste way more than I do so I have no doubt that you are more up to date. but every once in a while I have a cheap CA red, usually not bought by me, and I am always underwhelmed and sometimes disgusted.

I also find a lot of bottle variation at that level (probably due to the high production quantities). Seems like I'll try one and like it then the next two bottles will get poured down the drain or used for cooking.

Not I. I drink quite a bit and at various points in the price spectrum, but I generally find that I need to get to at least $20 to get something that I really like. Throw out the dozens and I will give them a try if I see any.

A

i'm with my little round buddy on this one. but we may be talking at cross-purposes. Are California wines generally a good bargain? no. But are there good bargains in California? Sure. And are those bargains usually blends? I think so.

I don't bother with California reds. I have never had one that I thought was a better value than a less than expensive French red. I also feel this way about Italian reds, I can't really get into them. Cheap Italian whites are usually decent. Somebody gave me a bottle of Pino Grigio with a screw cap over Christmas that surprised me, but I never usually drink white unless it is a Riesling, or expensive Chablis that I didn't pay for.

with the exception of some great Barberas, Dolcettos, and non-Chianti Tuscans, Italian reds I find a little spotty in the sub-$15 range, but they really excel in the $20-60 range where I think they can be great values (not cheap values, rather they can rival the quality of some much more expensive examples from France and the US).

as my history of poasting in the Wine Thread shows, I am a huge promoter of sub-$15 Italian whites and IMO these are the best values out there. Roero, Vernaccia, Gavi, Falanghina, Vermentino, etc. Not pinot grigio though, usually too weak and can't hold a stick to the others.

Yeah, I am not much for white and I was expecting something dump worthy. My g/f wanted to open it so I did and I had a whole glass. I was surprised.

NY Times article