Re: Red Wine Drinkers - Save Money!!!
Read this bearing in mind that I've spent a fair bit of time in Napa Valley over the last 10 years, and that pre-ER my usual bottles of red were in the $25-40 range with an occasional $80-100+ bottle thrown in.
I tried the 2-buck chuck last year. Its not bad but thats an open statement since the wholesale stock changes from lot to lot periodically. The merlot was fine enough for a nothing-fancy glass of red and certainly good to cook with. I dont subscribe to the theory of using the "same wine to cook as you're drinking" or spending much on cooking wine. The heat so drastically changes the wine that its flavors will bear no resemblance to the original after. If doubtful, pour a glass of wine in a pan, heat it until it barely simmers, remove from heat, cool, and taste it alongside its original. Several of the "big name" chefs have broken ranks with the old french tradition and admitted that spending more than a buck a bottle on cooking wine is a waste.
Anyhow, back to the original scheduled program. The merlot is a little dry, has some complexity to it, its quite comparable to a typical four bucks on sale red. The cabernet I didnt like as much, it was a little too fruity. We didnt like either of the whites although my girlfriend liked a bottle of the sauvignon blanc so we bought a case and the case was composed of something different than that separate bottle, which goes back to these wholesale barrel stocks changing from day to day and week to week.
Having delved into inexpensive wines and not seeing my palate expire with prejudice, I investigated a little further. Our premium market here in Northern Cal, Raleys/Bel Air fronted their own 2 buck chuck offering called CA Arbor. It appeared to have more stability from one batch to the next. At $2 a bottle all three reds and both whites were as good as any $5 on sale bottle I'd tried.
Reading that "boxed" wine outside the US is far more popular than bottled wine, primarily because of the high shelf stability, freshness factor of tapping from an airtight plastic sleeve, and the convenience factor of using a tap for a week or two rather than fiddling with corks. Several "premium" box wines...although their makers are trying to change the name to "cask wines"
I tried several offerings from Hardy's in Australia and Black Box in California. These 3 liter (4 bottle equiv) sell for $16 to $25, or $4-5 per "bottle". I found these wines to be competitive with any $12-20 bottle I've tasted. No kidding. Last glass out tasted as good as the first two weeks later.
Looking "downstream", I tried Corbett Canyons Merlot in the 3 liter box for $8. Pretty good actually, in the range of $8-10 bottles of merlot. I havent tried any of their others, but I probably will. I tried Franzias "Vintner Select" reds and whites ($7 five liters). Better than 2 buck chuck or CA Arbor but not by a lot. The non-vintner select Franzias ($5 five liters) tasted like cheap jug wine but were fine for sangria or cooking purposes. Almaden wasnt as good as 2 buck chuck and even more variable.
Socially, even the Hardy's and Black box wines carry the "trailer park wine" stigma. At thanksgiving we had three other couples over and I served the Black Box wines. But I "poured" in the kitchen and served in the living room. One of the couples and the new boyfriend of a gal we know are all self professed wine connoisseurs. They loved them and asked what they were. Their admiration dropped to the ground when I confessed that they were from a premium "cask". There was some good natured ribbing about "gee, first you move out of your big house and now wine out of a box...when are you buying into the trailer park?". Interesting social experiment.
I've more or less settled on the Corbett Canyon as a 'standard', and now that the warm weather is around I'm going to try some of their whites.
We also had a blind champagne tasting party a little over a year ago. We universally decided that Dom Perignon sucked, and our two favorites were Piper Heidsieck ($28 locally), and Piper Sonoma ($11) even though they were the second and fourth cheapest in our 8 bottle tasting. We've settled on the Piper Sonoma as a 'standard' rather than our old Moet.