no expert here but Pinot Noir is my red of choice too. While I keep searching for value in $15-20 bottles there is often more disappointment than not. On price, I keep returning to Mark West ($11-12). An Oregon favorite is Benton Lane (~$25) but admittedly I don't/can't afford to try more from OR.
My wife and I visited central California over the holidays and stopped a few San Luis Obispo wineries. One that stood out was a reserve Pinot from Edna Valley but at $40 was over the budget.
What do you guys think about box wines?
I'm more of a Mad Dog 20/400 guy. Not that others haven't tried to save me.
Sempre in bilico.
mileage hound
We had a 5gal batch of "ok" red wine made from table grapes that we decided to put out in bulk for a party to save us from bottling it. At the time, a nice plastic container with a spigot salvaged from the lab seemed like a great idea as it had contained NON-denatured ethanol.
Apparently, there was a lot of ethanol left in the plastic that leached out because after sitting overnight in the container the stuff had become unpalatable racing fuel.
I'm too old to drink crappy wine now. Most of the box stuff I've seen is zinfindel and similar bad stuff.
2012 goals: Fastest race times since 2006.
We've Got Big Hills
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
zinfindel and similar bad stuff.
Whoa. Why the hating on zinfandel? I enjoy me some Ravenswood.
Just personal taste. I like fuller body.
This is good stuff. I am so impressed. I enjoy wine but I know very little about it. Definitely want to learn more. I will say... I've come a long way from my high school days of chugging Arbor Mist and Boones Farm.
So tell me about Malbecs. Know of any good ones?
~Sara It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. ~ Jimmy Dugan
Um. There are almost no wines with fuller bodies than a good old vine red zin.
This is good stuff. I am so impressed. I enjoy wine but I know very little about it. Definitely want to learn more. I will say... I've come a long way from my high school days of chugging Arbor Mist and Boones Farm. So tell me about Malbecs. Know of any good ones?
I suck about recalling brand names but I had three or four really good tasting Malbecs and all were from Argentina. I like these very much.
oooh. Old vine zins are awesome. I never realized they were a good red until about a year ago. Until then, when someone mentioned zinfandel I always thought of the rose' colored sweet wine. Imagine my surprise. Old vine zin along with malbecs are a staple in our cupboard.
I found a couple of good wines (for me) at World Market: Yalumba (Australian) syrah~viognier blend and a couple of decent Malbecs (Argentinian)
For everyday consumption, I'm hooked on a cab~merlot blend
Au bon Climat is the best terroir driven shit in the country...
Does Jim Clendenen still own AbC? Look to his budget-minded buddy Randall Graham for affordable (mostly Rhone-varietal) reds from Ca del Solo....though he's a year-to-year crapshoot. Also, Qupe used to be co-owned by Mr. AbC (maybe it still is).....some other good drinking there, also of the Rhone variety.
I'm throwing the Rhone varietals out there since you've mentioned liking "fuller-bodied" wines, and you've got a soft spot for berry wines. Several grapes in the Rhone varietal category will manifest nice berry flavors, as well as a slew of other palatal niceties.
Hell, why not look at some (actual) Rhone areas......Gigondas and Sablet are next-door neighbors to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and in good years make spirited, delicious wines. Even some terroirs in Languedoc are getting their own AOC's (Minervois, etc.)...and are undervalued.
I know that recommending Rhone varietals to a Pinot fan might seem a bit odd, but I'm under the impression that you're still learning about what you like. Good luck.
"Race Across The Sky"
If you're looking for a budget pinot, best of luck. It's notriously difficult to grow, and most inexpensive bottles are doctored one way or another and not so hot. There's a lot of wonderful domestic PN for $20-30, but french PN that's decent and affordable is super hard to come by, although way amazing when you get the right bottle.
I don't work in the wine industry, but am an enthusiastic amateur. A couple of years ago I passed the Wines and Spirits Educational Trust advanced wine tasting exams (with distinction, I might add). The WSET exams are used in the progression towards MW - not that I have any pretentions of attempting that.
I think we are lucky in the UK to get some very decent French Burgundy. Most of the really good stuff is very pricey, but you can usually find some good Burgundy for under £15 - maybe $25 (?).
We quite often go on holiday in France, and I always come back with at least 5 cases. (Not all pinot).
At Christmas I opened a sublime Romanee-Conti. Probably the best wine that has ever passed my lips.
I presume your experience is with some sort of rose Zin? Yuck.
A red Zinfandel is about the fullest bodied red around (and is sometimes very, very good).... but you might try a Barolo. Rich, deeply concentrated, full bodied, tannic and quite acidic. Barolos are never opaque, much like a pinot, but don't let this fool you. They pack a punch. Typical aromas include tar, roses and chocolate.
You could also look at an Amarone. Very big-bodied, much less acidic than a Barolo. Easily over 15%. Of interest, in the novel "Silence of the Lambs", Lecter chooses an Amarone to go with the liver - not a Chianti. He was a man of impeccable taste.
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