CC
For wine, $15-20 price is the sweet spot for me. Anything over $20 is a rarity with my middle class income but there are countless great wines in that $15 to $20 price range.
There is a wine that can usually be found for around $12-13 that I am very fond of and it is Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel. I've been drinking it for years and have yet to run into a bad bottle. Holds up well with long storage at room temperature so it's durable as well. Great value.
I think this is the first wine thread i’ve ever seen. Yay!
Anyway, I’ve been stuck on chianti’s for the last few years.
The ones i’ve been happy with are EccoDomani,Bella Sera, and
Bolla (also valpollacella and bardolino).
Also,try Apothic Red. Its a California blend and delicious!
Alittle sweeter that the aforementioned reds. Salute!!
Rheinhessen Sweet Red from Aldi. Best red I’ve ever had. The Mosel Reisling is pretty good, as well.
Self ping for later perusal.
While I *used* to buy wines in the $10. range, it almost impossible to find really good $10. bottles....that you would buy again.
I especially like the *Tohu* branded Chards and Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand. Consistently bright and slightly sweet. They are running between $12. and $14./bottle. [sometimes they are on *sale*].
If you have a hang-up about buying wines only from the USA...I’d suggest the selections from Washington state...especially Chateau Ste Michelle, Snoqualmie, or Columbia Crest. I’d put up Chateau Ste Michelle’s Rieslings against anything from Europe.
Check out the selections in your wine purveyor from Argentina and Chile.......often good buys and excellent full-bodied reds. I find once you find a brand you like from SA....you can’t find it again.....consistent stocks are hard to find, in some cases...I miss finding Argentine *Trumpter* reds, pinots.
The *BEST* wine I ever had was a Saint Clair from Marlborough NZ [’04 Sauv Blanc] ...IIRC, Wine Spectator rated it a 98 that year.
We make a run every month to *no-tax* NH for booze, cigs and fireworks....it’s what we do. :)
We primarily buy wine at a Costco in Virginia, usually Cabernet. The Black Box Cabernet is actually fairly good, and at $15.89 works out to just shy of four dollars a bottle. There’s also a Robert Mondavier Cabernet which is very reliable at $7.99. Stretching your budget a bit is the Francis Coppola Claret, $11.89, which is well worth the extra two bucks.
As if you did not have enough ideas, I like any Merlot from the state of Washington—Columbia Crest, Chateau San Michelle.