How much do you spend on wine?

IMO buying cheap wine is like being cheap shoes... that said, there are some great values on good wines from Eastern Europe that are not widely known in the US.

bingo drzzt, I have a small number of bottles from france and italy, but I find that the best value comes from countries like romania, hungary, the ex-yugoslavia and bulgaria. they are all so proud of their wines, and you can get wines almost as good as anything coming from the states for a few bucks a bottle. if you drink wine like that for your normal table wine, you can drink really good wine every now and again. I started this year trying Australian/New Zeeland and South African wines. my feeling is that they are overated.

My favorites: Australian Shiraz blends and Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. B

I think Tokaj is definitely my favorite white (Hungarian). I have a nice collection of the stuff now (30 bottles or so) and have my friend bring me back a case each time he comes back to the US from Budapest... like $6-20 a bottle there and just spectacular IMO. Austria also makes great wine, there is an icewine from the Durnstein wine region that is every bit as any from Canada for about 1/3 of the price (E11 or so)

Lately, some great values have been coming from Chile and Argentina. Regards, Tony

Surely. Well, I adore cooking, so much so that I nearly made a career out of it (decided I would keep it to myself though), so naturally I am...well let's just say quite fond of wine. I tend to run only to $20 a bottle, being in college -- most expensive purchases were a Baron Pichon-Lounguevue (disclaimer, I can't remember how to spell some of these precisely, and I don't feel like running to the wine captain to see, sorry.) and a Reumineu-Lacoste Sauternes, both around $75, I think. Some of my 'go to' wines for company and such (am not giving vintages, as I've been drinking these for years, and find them relatively consistent) : Castle Rock 'Russian River Valley' Pinot Noir (California): My everyday Pinot -- it knocks Saintsbury's standard offerings off their pedestals (Garnet, et al). Fetzer 'Echo Ridge' Gewurtztraminer (California): I have a great fondness for Gewurtz, I drink Alsacian, German, and California Gewurtzes, and this one has a pleasant amount of sweetness plus all the lychee and exotic spiced apple Gewurtz is noted for. Lovely with Turkey, if accompanied by sausage stuffing and yams -- and it even stands up to fresh cranberry relish. Good for wine neophytes. Good if you need a slightly sweet aperitif. Good for dates. If it was cologne, it would be a fresh Oriental. Trimbach Gewurtztraminer (Alsace): Similar to above, but dry. I enjoy it acompanied with a tasting plate of smoked fish (trout, salmon or sturgeon) toasted bread croutons, a selection of cheeses, sliced peaches and grapes. Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel (California): Seghesio makes a variety of Zins, and this offering is stellar for ~$14. Fruity, spicy, and peppery, with a balanced level of tannin. My barbequed rib wine. Also good with pork loin roast coated with mustard, coriander, cumin, black pepper and rosemary. For a decent foray into Eiswein, I enjoyed Bollig-Lehnert's '99 Riesling. Admittedly it is just a Mosel, not a Pfalz or Rheinhessen, but it went beautifully with a tart I made of lemon cream with strawberrys. I get distinct apple notes from this. Around ~$30 for a 375mL. There are a few others, but my brain is failing me for the moment... Regards, Huntsman

There are many, many excellent wines from Spain, Italy, and France that don't cost much money. If you steer clear of big-name appellations, that is. A bargain Bourgogne, for example, might mean a crackerjack village-level wine that only costs $35 a bottle. Shoes are different. Yes, certain brands like Santoni cost a lot less in Europe than in the US. Yes, certain brands are offer more of a value than others. But if you're going to buy at retail in the US and you want EG quality, you're going to have to pay. There is no Santa Claus in shoe.

That's true, however the issue is knowing which $35 bottles are decent and which aren't, which can be difficult w/o sampling. I think the better Eastern European vineyards are a bit more of a sure thing and the most expensive vintages are still relatively inexpensive (at least in Europe, they are kinda hard to get in the US)

My point was that you can go into a decent wine shop, buy a $10 or $15 bottle of French, Spanish, or Italian (and I should probably include Portugese here, too) wine from an appellation that you've never heard of, and have a positive experience. Some will be excellent, some merely good, but it will probably be a positive experience. You simply can't do that with $35 and a Bourgogne or a Bordeaux.

That's a fair point. I think you could do quite well with a variety of California reds or whites as well and there is some great stuff coming out of the Pacific Northwest as well. I'm on an eastern European/Australian binge right now although I do like a good California cab.

True, but very little coming out of California and the Pacific Northwest qualifies as a bargain. Something's wrong with the space-time continuum when run-of-the-mill Zins bring upwards of $20 per bottle.

I am a 10-20 guy. One of my favorites is a merlot.cab blend from Spain called Gotim Bru Castell de Remei. It's about 12 or 13 here in Boston and it is great table wine. Other notables are Boony Doon's Big House Red 11 or so, or Chappellet Chenin Blanc at 11 or 12. Slightly higher I like David Bruce's Russian River Valley Pinot Noir at 20 or so. Going higher, I am a sucker for Chateauneuf du Pape Brunel les Cailloux about 26/28. When I want to go full bore, Justin Isosceles, depending on vintage maybe 60. Although there is an ad for a New Canaan CT liquor store which has it at 50 for the 2001. This was in the Sunday NYT. All this talk of wine and cocktails has made me thirsty.

Wine is one of my passions. Living in the San Francisco area gives me a tremendous opportunity to visit many of the best vintners in the country and I've put together a rather modest cellar (300-350 bottles) of primarily Big, Bold Reds - Cabernets, Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs and a few Syrahs, Merlots, Beaujolais, with a few Chards and the odd Viongier. My favorite Vineyards are: Cakebread (Amazing Cabs), Markham (Great Zin, Pinots and Merlot), Picchetti (Italian reds - Sangiovese, and an awesome Zin [bellicitti vineyard]) , and Niebaum-Coppola (Rubicon, RC reserve Syrah and the Edizione-Pennino Zin). Most of my favorites are available only at the wineries or through their wine clubs.

Great call on the Cakebread Cab. It is awesome. Recently a friend of mine who loves it had a bottle over dinner at the Palm in NYC and was raving about it. Evidently it was a while since his last bottle. Subsequently, I was in a great store in Chapel Hill, NC a month ago that stocks it. I couldn't decide whether or not to buy it or not. I decided to hold off and wait till I am back down and have it over Christmas. I have been looking forward to that for a long time.