Cheap Wine Recommendations

[brewer12345]

Thanks for the recommendations all. We had a little party with some friends and some blind tasting. The cheap wine that went over the best was. . .Charles Shaw (aka "two buck chuck").

But did people actually like Chuck's wines? I'm all for frugality, but a beautiful wine that complements your meal is worth a little more pocket cash, if necessary.

 

[sgeeeee]

Cheap Wine Recommendations?

I recommend RED.

I've had that. It's not bad.

 

[HFWR]

Bottle of reds, bottle of whites...

 

[martyb]

MD 20/20
Ripple

Man, that's just plain nasty!

 

[audreyh1]

I'm crazy about the McManis wines http://www.mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com/wines/ - especially the Cabernet Sauvignon for a whopping $10.99 a bottle.

OK - from this discussion I can see that we're living a little high-on-the-hog.

Why don't any of the restaurant wines taste any good? I occasionally order a glass of wine with dinner, and it's never as good as the "cheap" stuff I drink at home.

Audrey

 

[califdreamer]

Why don't any of the restaurant wines taste any good? I occasionally order a glass of wine with dinner, and it's never as good as the "cheap" stuff I drink at home.

Yeah, I agree with this observation. I think restaurants have such a high mark-up on wines by the glass that many times they have to compromise on quality to price it where they want it. Most restaurants will want to recover the wholesale cost of a bottle in one glass.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - does Gallo still make Old Paisano? Reminds of the Terhorst visit to a supermarket in Lafayette, LA.
Old Mr P. gave me a memorible hangover in college.

Or Pommerelle Loganberry half and half with Rainer beer.

I don't drink wine anymore.

heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh

 

[bongo2]

But did people actually like Chuck's wines?

They did. All the wines we tried were on the inexpensive side (Yellow tail, Dancing Bull, Lindeman's, Jacob's Creek, Sutter Home), and my friends are not wine connoisseurs. So, perhaps the best description would be that Chuck was the favorite for a bunch of people that don't really like wine. Chuck is weak, sort of like a lite beer for wine, so that makes sense. To it's credit it didn't have any of the off flavors that some of the other cheap wines had.

My personal favorite was the Dancing Bull, but Jacob's Creek was pretty good as well. Chuck was too weak for my taste.

I'm not sure that having a weak tasting wine is necessarily a bad thing. When I traved to Italy and France years ago (haven't gone lately) I was very surprised by how weak the wines were. They were good, they just didn't have the bold flavors that everyone seems to prefer here. Perhaps where people drink wine all the time they prefer weaker wines just like Americans prefer weaker beers.

 

[brewer12345]

I'm not sure that having a weak tasting wine is necessarily a bad thing. When I traved to Italy and France years ago (haven't gone lately) I was very surprised by how weak the wines were. They were good, they just didn't have the bold flavors that everyone seems to prefer here. Perhaps where people drink wine all the time they prefer weaker wines just like Americans prefer weaker beers.

Hmmmm...

What you are referring to as "weak" is a stylistic/climate difference. European wines (wit many an exception) are classically balanced, with some acidity offsetting the fruit and intended to accompany food and so not overpowering. Merkin and Aussie wines are (with many exceptions) typically grown in warmer regions than thse of Europe and tend more toward very ripe "fruit bombs" with little acidity/balance and often they overpower food.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Anyone try Fusee by Three Loose Screws? The Cabernet is very nice, but you need to let it breathe for around 20 minutes.