[Romulus]

I have pulled a few corks in my time, and have learned that I consistently receive greatest pleasure and value from the southern Rhone valley: cotes du Rhone, Chateauneuf, and Gigondas go very well with Louisiana food. I’ll drink a GSM from Australia also and have enjoyed some immensely. But these are $15-$75 bottles, and that’s not my everyday price point. Thus my plea for plonk.

[CatoRenasci]

Understood. I like some Rhone wines very much, but if you held a tastevin to my head and said you must choose, red Rhones would be a ways down the list. At the top would be Burgundy (though it has become absolutely prohibitively expensive even at village level AOCs) at ages 8+, then equally classified Bordeaux and equivalent California Cabernet/Cabernet blends at ages 15+, then Barolo at age 20+, and then the Rhones - Hermitage at at least 15 and Cote Rotie at 10+.

I recognize mine is not a typical modern palate, but I'm an old fart and was trained by guys who were old when I was young. Most of the were graduates of Conegliano around the beginning of the 20th century, and all were active as winemakers in California before Prohibition.