[chef4life]

Anyone drinking wine and have a bite right now?

 

[ams21]

Do you have favorite wines that are 12 dollars or less? I love good wine, but on a college budget I have to be careful!

 

[mikelm]

If there's a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, go there. They have quite a few drinkable wines in the under-$10 range. For instance, I think their $5 German Champagne is quite good. Dom Perignon it ain't, but DP ain't $5 a bottle, either. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/drinkbeer.gif

I heard a story that some years ago, a blind tasting of California wines was held at the CA State Fair, and a Two Buck Chuck came in first in one category...to considerable embarrassment all around. Anybody know if this is real, or is it one of those too-good-to-be-true stories?

Mike

 

[brianshaw]

I've heard that story also but have no idea if it's true or not.

In addition to TJ's there are many places discounting wine lately. Maybe there's a glut on the market? There are many good wines available at decent prices. Now is the time to be quaffing.

 

[midlife]

If there's a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, go there. They have quite a few drinkable wines in the under-$10 range. For instance, I think their $5 German Champagne is quite good. Dom Perignon it ain't, but DP ain't $5 a bottle, either. :beer:

I heard a story that some years ago, a blind tasting of California wines was held at the CA State Fair, and a Two Buck Chuck came in first in one category...to considerable embarrassment all around. Anybody know if this is real, or is it one of those too-good-to-be-true stories?

Mike

That's true but I've had 'in-the-know' people tell me that bottles submitted to those fairs are brought by the winery reps so "integrity" can be an issue. It was inferred that the maker of Charles Shaw (Bronco Wine) and its owner are not above personally shepherding the contents of submitted bottles. No proof, just passing along some thoughts from people in the biz.

 

[phaedrus]

There's a lot of bullshit in the wine biz. Much of the flowery language and superlatives drop away when the label isn't visible. Cheaper wines regularly pound expensive wines in blind taste tests. Those same tests done with blacked out glasses have revealed that even some self appointed experts can't reliably tell red from white based on taste alone./img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif

 

[chefross]

There's a lot of bullshit in the wine biz. Much of the flowery language and superlatives drop away when the label isn't visible. Cheaper wines regularly pound expensive wines in blind taste tests. Those same tests done with blacked out glasses have revealed that even some self appointed experts can't reliably tell red from white based on taste alone./img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif

I love this quote.

I worked for a wine lover for 18 years. He has a huge wine cellar filled with French and American wines.

Even he says that it costs about $7.00 to make a bottle of wine...all the rest is EGO!!!

 

[midlife]

Well, I'd have to say that wine lover hasn't had to buy a ton of decent Napa Cabernet grapes in a while. 2015 prices averaged $6800 a ton. Using a Cornell University figure I found of 2.6 pounds per bottle yield would put the grapes alone at almost $9.00.

That said, anyone in the wine biz has seen $5 bottles score as high as $40 bottles time after time, especially in blind tastings. I've also seen experienced Somms pick high quality/price over low with astonishing accuracy. That's why I always tell people that the best bottle of wine for them is the one they like best..... that they can comfortably afford.

I think the last figure I saw for Trader Joe sales of Charles Shaw was something like 18 million cases a year. I doubt that the majority of those people are forcing it down.

 

[jimyra]

Don't overlook the fine selection of box wines.

 

[midlife]

I don't know if that's meant to be sarcastic or not. I frequent a wine board where that would be a 99% sure bet.

In a store where they sell that much Charles Shaw I'd bet there really ARE box wines that are measurably better. We often drink 3 or 4 wines we buy there that run between $5 and $8. We've also tried many times that number that we'd never buy again.

 

[scott livesey]

Don't overlook the fine selection of box wines.

drinking one now, Bota Box RedVolution. it is red blend, not to dry. reminds me of the no-name red wine I had in Italy and France.

small wineries are popping up all over here in central North Carolina. Most of the local ones use muscadine or scuppernong, are sweet to semi-sweet, and are best for desert or sipping. I could never figure out how "experts" find tastes of chocolate or leather or tobacco or ______ when tasting.