Best reasonably-priced wine/food matches?

[Bitser]

Lived in New Zealand, c.2002-3, and have returned several times since. I'm keen on the wines, which I think are among the best on earth. But perhaps the best known wine, Marlborough sauvignon blanc, often has a grapefruit whang, acidic and slightly bitter, that puts me off.

Just tasted a wine that lacks the aggressive citrus punch, and highlights aromatic tropical fruit with a soft, mouthfilling richness. Saw it at the local wine shop— a new Kiwi wine— and gave it go. Glad I did.

I'll be back in town Monday and will order a case. Our previous case-lot sauv blanc has been Mud House, which is excellent. But I like this better. It's a steal at $13-16, considering the quality. NZ sauv blanc isn't a wine to cellar and age: the younger, the better.

 

[Bitser]

A delicious red that compares well to Beaujolais crus, from an outstanding California winery, for ten bucks?

The best Beaujolais cru wines —Morgon, Fleurie, and Moulin-à-Vent— pair beautifully with fresh bread, cheese, and charcuterie. They also complement roasted or grilled chicken. At $20 per bottle and upwards.

So I was amazed to find a comparable red from J. Lohr, a classy outfit with upmarket reds, selling for $10-12 a bottle. The grape, similar to gamay noir, is valdiguié, genetically tagged to southwest France. Grown in in the cool windy Arroyo Seco valley, it yields an exceptional wine.

Best served at cellar temperature (55°F) or slightly chilled, it opens with dark berry and pomegranate flavors and a peppery bite. Slightly acid and mouthfilling, it's a great quaffing wine for summer evenings. The finish is clean with a hint of spice.

Like most gamay-based wines, it doesn't age well and should be enjoyed in 2-3 years from the vintage date.

If your local shop doesn't have it, pester them. It's worth the effort.

 

[Bitser]

Looking over the cellar ld me to consider our changing preferences for wine.

We pretty much quit eating beef a couple years ago, so I don't buy much cabernet sauvignon with big tannins that cut through fat. Likewise, Bordeaux-style red blends.

We've also mostly given up lamb (alas!) with the Rhône reds, syrah and grenache, that go so well with it.

We have some lovely wines in the cellar that need to be opened, so a few lapses in our regimen are in order.

With more veg dishes and salads on the menu, I'm buying more white varietals and blends, with wines from Airlie in Oregon topping the list. Harken barrel-fermented California chardonnay is a mainstay with omelets and quiche.

Also, more fish from a community-supported fishery share that brings us a frozen package of Alaska seafood each month. I've been stocking pinot noir for the salmon and various whites, especially New Zealand sauvignon blanc and Torrontes from Argentina, with pinot gris and pinot blanc.

We drink more rosé, with Pedroncelli dry rosé of zinfandel a favorite.

Have you changed your choice of wine lately?

 

[Bitser]

Forgot to mention that our most opened red is zinfandel or primitivo, which goes with the tomatoes I grow in greenhouse and the resulting sauces. Likewise, Italian red blends and Barbera D'Alba.

I've also bought more Beaujolais crus— Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent–
which go well with roast chicken, along with similar California wines such as the J. Lohr Valdiguié mentioned above.

 

[Bitser]

Been drawing down the cellar, so no new wines to gab about— you're welcome to post about any you like.

My toolkit for wine is quite simple. I saw this sort of corkscrew in restaurants, and got several, with this heavy metal one my favorite.

Friends have expensive, high-tech rabbit thingies that take up lots of drawer space and seem quite awkward to operate. At least they get dropped pretty often. I tried those two-blade things that break the seal and rotate the cork out, but they shave off bits of cork that end up in the glass.

I finally settled on a simple foil cutter and a likewise simple but quite efficient screw.

It takes a stout grip to hold the bottle and work the screw, but the cork comes out intact: no woodsy bits. Then you reverse the rotation and disengage the cork (speaking of which, that's a beaut cork: look at the color.)

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Our toolbox is similar. The waiter's corkscrew is getting a bit hard for my arthritic fingers, but I think it adds a little zing when using - like a pro. My favorite is like your second one - I think it might be an OXO branded one.

And we have a travel corkscrew in the SUV's glovebox, because you never know when you might pick up wine and cheese on the road.

 

[dragnlaw]

I try to multi task as much as possible...

 

[Bitser]

What wine would you pick to go with human flesh and ketchup?

 

[dragnlaw]

First, I brine my body with an oaky Chardonnay for about 3 days.

Salt & pepper all over.

Then baste every 20 min. with the best Merot, (for this you will need several bottles especially if continuously filling the neck cavity which really imparts an incredible feeling taste.

 

[Bitser]

Bravo!

 

[Bitser]

Tomorrow (17 November) is National Zinfandel Day. One of those sub-postal events, but I'm only too glad to celebrate my favourite red. Just ordered a half-case of Zin, from a source that's been reliable and inexpensive. $16 per bottle.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Well I just landed in Ohio, 4 days ago, and I´m going to try every wine in sight.
I´ve been accustomed to Chilean/Argentinian wines; and I can assure you, they have some excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Carmenere, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, plus a few other varieties which are pretty rare.
I´ve got no idea what a Zinfandel tastes like, so that may be a first choice. I cook a lot of spicy food, so a Syrah (or Shiraz) often works well; however, a while back I was given an Aussie Shiraz - it was horrible.
So I´ll be in touch in the next few weeks, just to give you my thoughts, for what they´re worth! I´m not a wine "expert" by any means, but I do enjoy a good glass of wine with a good meal.

 

[Bitser]

Never been to South America, alas! The malbec is renowned. I've had some grand cabs (Los Vascos) and red blends (Alamos). If you fancy oysters or seafood try a bottle of dry Torrontes.

Looking forward to your impressions.

 

[Silversage]

Thaks for looking in. To celebrate 1000+ views, I'll invite other wine buffs to post reviews of your favorites. The only rules are that the price be $8-20, and the wine be widely available.

Bitser seems to be gone. It's too bad - I enjoyed reading this old thread. It would be nice to see Steve drop in again, too.

I cellar and drink a lot of wine. Most are in the under-20 price range of this thread, but several are WAAAAY outside of it. The problem is that those aren't bottles that you just pop open and knock back on a Friday night. Since my wife doesn't enjoy drier wines, I would have to drink the whole bottle.

What I would like is to have a glass of something special with a meal, then save the rest for another meal. That just doesn't work. A VaccuVin can add a couple days, but you can't keep opened wine long term.

I've seen the Coravin advertised for years, but never bit the bullet. This week I got one for myself. I'm excited - now I can have my cake and eat it too!

 

[dragnlaw]

As much as I love my wines, I'm so sorry I cannot bring any knowledgeable conversation to this thread.

But I do understand your excitement for that Caravin. I had heard about it, or something similar, just not worth the expense for me though.

When I open a bottle I immediately pour half into another bottle sized at 375ml. I have a good ringed rubbered cork. It does keep for several days this way, with the air exposure being limited to the narrow neck. At one time I had several 375ml bottles and often, while bottling, I would use them. Very handy.

I know good wines are to be enjoyed with good friends. Except, as you have said, that is not always possible. It's a shame that more wineries don't use those half bottles.

 

[taxlady]

Wow, Coravin even has a systemt that lets you keep sparkling wines for up to 4 weeks.

I never heard about Coravin before. Is the argon better for keeping wine fresh than nitrogen? My ex knew someone who had the big nitrogen system for keeping wine from oxidizing, but didn't find it much better than the Vaccuvin, even though his system cost several thousand dollars. I have seen those in some restos and bars.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I do know that I do not enjoy any wine with Merlot in it. What is it about Merlot that makes it taste unpleasant? I know that lots of people really like it.

It's psychosomatic. You saw the movie SIDEWAYS, right?

 

[taxlady]

It's psychosomatic. You saw the movie SIDEWAYS, right?

Nope, I can't say that I ever even heard of it. And, I dislike those wines even before I know they are or have Merlot.

 

[Silversage]

Nope, I can't say that I ever even heard of it. And, I dislike those wines even before I know they are or have Merlot.

Merlot has the same varietal fingerprint as Cabernet Sauvignon. They are actually 'siblings', both descendants of Cabernet Franc.

My Sommelier teacher put us to a challenge. Get a decent Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot from the same vineyard of the same vintage, preferably from a cooler climate (where the differences are less obvious). Blind taste them. He said that even top Somms usually can't distinguish. Sure, I said.

Well, I bought one of each from Crossfork Creek, 2019, Yakima Valley, WA, both in the $25-30 range. Blind tasted (I label the bottoms and have my wife mix up the glasses). Some trials they seemed subtly different, but I couldn't tell which was which. I did this a half dozen tries, and only hit about 60% correct. That's not much better than guessing.

 

[IC 2.0]

Merlot has the same varietal fingerprint as Cabernet Sauvignon. They are actually 'siblings', both descendants of Cabernet Franc.

My Sommelier teacher put us to a challenge. Get a decent Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot from the same vineyard of the same vintage, preferably from a cooler climate (where the differences are less obvious). Blind taste them. He said that even top Somms usually can't distinguish. Sure, I said.

Well, I bought one of each from Crossfork Creek, 2019, Yakima Valley, WA, both in the $25-30 range. Blind tasted (I label the bottoms and have my wife mix up the glasses). Some trials they seemed subtly different, but I couldn't tell which was which. I did this a half dozen tries, and only hit about 60% correct. That's not much better than guessing.

100% correct. Not to mention that a huge number of red these days (especially Cabs) have Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah etc. in there as part of the blend.

It's funny how so many people are predisposed to judge something based upon a label or a past experience. Things change, times change. Can't get stuck in the past.