Favorite cheap wines...

[DitchPanda]

Pretty straightforward...what are some good bottles under $10?

[roadwarrior]

Black Box Wines

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, DitchPanda said:

Pretty straightforward...what are some good bottles under $10?

Under $10, I haven't found many that are consistently good. $10-15 there are actually quite a few raging from decent to very good. Concha & Toro is my fallback. I cook with it, and drink it, (often at the same time).

 

[Junger]

Kirkland brand will be pretty decent for the money, if you have access to a Costco with wine.

[gim]

Can't drink wine.  I'm allergic.

[Bird]

Costco has the best deal on wines that I've seen.

At Walmart ? I'd say Barefoot or maybe Apothic.

[TnRiver46]

I’m no help here! Yuk 

[DitchPanda]

8 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’m no help here! Yuk 

No electric grape juice for you?

[TnRiver46]

24 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

No electric grape juice for you?

Negative ghost rider! I like grapes but not wine haha

[Darth-Baiter]

Ditch'

 

I'm not great at calling out specific wine labels.  unless they are from my area.  Sonoma/Napa.

 

at the risk of offending my entire neighborhood:  let me offer you this.  look at Argentina and Italy.  for some reason, their wines are inexpensive.  an Italian Aglianico or Argentina Malbec is GREAT!!!  I've had $12 bottles that blew air up my pant legs.  very good.  this one bottle of Aglianico I had at a restaurant.  probably paid $20 for a glass.  the waiter showed me the bottle and I walked across the street to look for it.  it was $15.  hahahha..  I felt dirty, but I bought a couple bottles for home. 

 

it is my understanding that an Aglianico or Malbec is the same grape as the Merlots we like.  easy drinking, boozy, and full of jam.  

 

I dont drink much anymore, but I still like a sip here or there.  

[Captain Phil]

Barefoot Pinot Grigio. $6 a bottle at my local store.  

[Deleted account]

3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

as the Merlots we like.

Wow, that's some sweet tooth,   Agreed up till I got to the Merlot part, yuk! Argentinian wines are pretty good for the most part, I prefer Chilean (from the valleys they stole from Peru), My great uncle had a vineyard not too far from the Huacachina that we ran around as kids, (and drank little wine too).

[scaleface]

Hermanoff Cherry 

[galyonj]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:55 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Negative ghost rider! I like grapes but not wine haha

 

Same.

 

But I'm also the chef de cuisine at my crib, which puts me in a bit of a bind.

 

I know enough about the generalities to know whether I want a dry white or whatever, but I can't stand drinking them.

 

So I tell SWMBO what I'm looking for, she picks a winner, and we end up with pretty good food.

[TnRiver46]

6 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

Same.

 

But I'm also the chef de cuisine at my crib, which puts me in a bit of a bind.

 

I know enough about the generalities to know whether I want a dry white or whatever, but I can't stand drinking them.

 

So I tell SWMBO what I'm looking for, she picks a winner, and we end up with pretty good food.

Can vouch, I’ve had some samples and seen the photos 

[galyonj]

I need to fix you a plate soon.

[Darth-Baiter]

i wouldnt catagorize Merlot as sweet.  jammy maybe.  not the ones i get.  less complex, but not sweet.  

[casts_by_fly]

6 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

it is my understanding that an Aglianico or Malbec is the same grape as the Merlots we like.  easy drinking, boozy, and full of jam.  

 

 

Malbec, merlot, and aglianico are all different gapes.  The first two commonly originate from France and the third from Italy.  Malbec is now more associated with Argentina since the wine makers in Argentina have done some great things for the grape.  In France it was mostly a small varietal (called Cot) and a bit of a blending grape (some in Bordeaux reds).

 

The commonality to the three is that (depending on source) they can be fairly fruit forward with jammy or stewed fruit flavors like plum and blackberry.  Old world merlot may be a little less so and more balanced, but new world merlot will usually be fruit forward.  Younger Malbec from the new world will be similar.  Aglianico will vary depending on the maker, but is usually a bit less fruit forward and will have more acidity.  Same fruit notes though.

 

[Jig Man]

If you want to try a variety look up wine insider.  During the lock down my wife bought several cases of red, white, and mixed.  They came from all over Europe and Australia.

[casts_by_fly]

On 11/6/2022 at 2:14 PM, DitchPanda said:

Pretty straightforward...what are some good bottles under $10?

 

I'm a wine snob so grain of salt time.  I'd say none.  Under $10 bottles can be 'acceptable' but I wouldn't class any as 'good'.  You might find $12-$18 bottles marked down to $9.99 which are good, but going on MSRP you're not going to have any under $10.

 

That said, if you're looking for the most value for wines in the $10 range, typically look at portugal (largely unmarketed for regular wine), Chile, and Argentina.  Certainly pre-pandemic when shipping prices were good you could find some really good value wines.  I suspect that costs have pushed the half decent $10 wines to $12-14 now.  European, Australian, and American wines in the $10 bucket are going to be from lesser makers, larger productions, and/or lower quality areas.  Sometimes you find a gem, but you're going to go through a lot of rocks.

 

For varietals, Sauv Blanc and pinot grigio will give the best value in whites.  Malbec, Cab, merlot, and the range of portugese grapes (like Touriga National) will be your value reds.  They are all among the easier grapes to grow and have pretty high production volumes. I don't recommend cheap pinot or chardonnay.  Pinot is too hard to grow to sell it cheap.  And cheap chardonnay usuall has been oaked to death or is otherwise boring.  

[KSanford33]

4 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Barefoot Pinot Grigio. $6 a bottle at my local store.  

I can second this one. The other one I really like -my favorite actually- is Araldica Fazzoletto. It's a red, has a picture of Julius Caesar on the bottle, and has a red do-rag on the neck. I can't tell you anything else about it, other than it's goooooood! ?

[casts_by_fly]

52 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

I can second this one. The other one I really like -my favorite actually- is Araldica Fazzoletto. It's a red, has a picture of Julius Caesar on the bottle, and has a red do-rag on the neck. I can't tell you anything else about it, other than it's goooooood! ?

 

That's an interesting bottle that I would like to try.  I had to look it up.  It's a Barberra Passito.  I love barberra (northern italian grape varietal) and I love the appassimento method (using partially dried grapes in full or in blend and sometimes passing regular wine over the pressed dried skins).  It adds a lot of sugar to the wine but it also really pushes the fruity jammy flavors.  Valpolicella ripassa (baby amarone) has a similar process.  I've never seen it with a barberra though.

[KSanford33]

2 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

That's an interesting bottle that I would like to try.  I had to look it up.  It's a Barberra Passito.  I love barberra (northern italian grape varietal) and I love the appassimento method (using partially dried grapes in full or in blend and sometimes passing regular wine over the pressed dried skins).  It adds a lot of sugar to the wine but it also really pushes the fruity jammy flavors.  Valpolicella ripassa (baby amarone) has a similar process.  I've never seen it with a barberra though.

I'm no wine connoisseur by any means, but I know what I like. My good friend's wife is a sommelier and she said that wine was definitely an under-the-radar favorite.

[Captain Phil]

I am not a wine snob.   I buy what I like regardless of the label or the price.  To me, dry white wines are like drinking paint remover.   Sweet wines are like drinking candy.   Pinot Grigio is just mild enough to be enjoyable without assaulting my stomach lining.  If I'm going to drink red wine with a nice steak, I like Chateauneuf Du Pape.  It has a dry smokey flavor that goes well with red meat.   I never drink a lot of it, just enough to enhance the meal.  My wife and I have "wine time" every evening about 5 PM.  We sit and talk about everything that is on our minds.  If you want a happy woman, spend a little time talking with her every day.  Barefoot Pinot is our #1 choice.

 

Funny story.  My doctor once asked me if I drink alcohol.  I told him I drink a glass of wine every day.  He said "How big is your glass?"  ☺️

[Deleted account]

45 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

If you want a happy woman, spend a little time talking with her every day. 

I have that down to a science, after about 5 minutes she's all like "GO FISHING ALREADY!"...