Looking for some decent wine

[SegRat]

Looking for some suggestions for a good bottle of wine for the wife. Preferably on the cheaper side. She tried a couple of bottles, but IMO they tasted like cheap champagne, however I have never tried wine before.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Red? White?

Do you have a Trader Joe's? A decent way to sample different wines would be to splurge on some "3-Buck Chuck."

Seriously... It ain't bad! I really like the Shiraz.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What stores do you have in your area? Might help narrow down what the options are.

[RomaGoth]

You might laugh, but I like Riunite. Pretty cheap and is a nice table wine. There is obviously better stuff out there, but for the price it is a good red wine option.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Barefoot is a good option. Also, if you have an Aldi in the area, their wines are good and usually run $4-5 a bottle. Buy 'em all and taste them at that price. Nothing wrong with some of the cheaper box wines either.

[mckerney]

Brassfield Estate Winery | North Coast Estate-Grown & Bottled Wines (http://www.brassfieldestate.com/)

Should be about $10 a bottle for whites, $13-15 for the reds.

[cuervo72]

ping: Ben E Lou, kurtism

[MrBug708]

Trader Joes is the easiest place to go. Another option is to find wine shops in your area and find out when they have tastings

[Lathum]

I second 3 buck chuck, also, if she like sparkling wine try proseco.

[cartman]

Another option is to find wine shops in your area and find out when they have tastings

This. There are so many types and varieties of wine that is difficult to say for sure what you'd might like. Getting to try a bunch of different ones will help you zone in on your search.

The price of wine in most cases is largely driven by marketing. When I lived in Italy, you could regularly get incredible bottles of wine for $5. Here in the US it became acceptable for wine to be $15 per bottle, so that is what people expect to pay.

[weegeebored]

I can't believe all the love for the 3-buck Chuck swill. One reviewer liked it (probably hired by Trader Joe's) and all of a sudden it's the darling of cheap wine world. IMO it's cheap but not good. Terrible, actually.

The Barefoot wines, however, are very good for the money. They will give you a better impression of inexpensive wines than the Charles Shaw crap. Try the Moscato if you like sweet/spicy (almost sweet enough to be a dessert wine) or the Zinfindel (more like a Shiraz) for a light red. (The Beringer Moscato is a little less sweet but still very good for about the same $$.)

You could also try the Columbia Crest Two Vines Vin 10 red or white, about $5-$6 per bottle.

I can make some other suggestions if you like. My wife and I are regular wine drinkers. We are not wine snobs; neither of us have the palette (nor the wallet) for that. It's also true that wine is really an individual preference so you or your wife may not like anything listed here.

One other suggestion is to stay away from the more expensive wines. I have a friend who is an avid wine drinker and he told me that once you drink the really good stuff it is nearly impossible to go back to the wines mentioned here.

[AnalBumCover]

Barefoot > Charles Shaw

[CrimsonFox]

I REALLY REALLY like Pinot Noir!
(The stuff Paul Giamatti orgasms over in the movie Sideways)

I've never had a BAD bottle.
My favorite is Ato Z Pinot Noir tho.

You can find nonexpensive bottles of it.

For whites I like Reisling although I have had "bad" reislings. The good ones are really yummy.

[Fonzie]

I'm a big fan of Razor's Edge wines, especially their Shiraz and Cab. Should be in the $8-10 range.

[Coffee Warlord]

I've been on a big Malbec and Tempranillo kick lately. Both are generally mild, excellent drinking wines.

And one of the best pieces of advice about wine I've ever heard is thus: "A good wine is one you like." You can find stuff you like for 5 bucks or 50, and price is a real bad indicator of quality in wine.

[Alf]

I could give answers, but the shipping costs from France to over there could be ugly :p. And you guys are in the "single cepage" wines, while all the subtelty of wines from over here is the balance (assembly) between various cepages. We do have "cepage" wines though (mostly in the Alsace area).

Now, for the US of A, I think "Hollywood" would be able to help too.

[cuervo72]

Seriously... It ain't bad! I really like the Shiraz.

I'm a big fan of Razor's Edge wines, especially their Shiraz and Cab. Should be in the $8-10 range.

Tried Yellow Tail's Shiraz last night, wasn't bad. I think I like it better than their Pinot Noir.

Just getting into having a bit of red wine in the evening, trying to distinguish the various types. Also trying to figure out how to tell those $10 wines apart.

[DataKing]

Give Penfold's a try if you like Australian. They do a very nice Cab and Shiraz, each for under $10 per bottle.

[B & B]

Lots of good suggestions here. If youre new to wine, then start off by trying as many different inexpensive ones until you find what pleases your palate.

Everyone is different and there are no right or wrong answers just drink what you like.

Suggesting a bottle for the wife is difficult without knowing her tastes. Generally women like a sweet white wine so Id recommend a German Riesling. Inexpensive and pairs well with many dishes. Head to a bottle shop and ask for some help in picking one out. At 10-20 bucks you can do just fine.

[cartman]

I can't believe all the love for the 3-buck Chuck swill. One reviewer liked it (probably hired by Trader Joe's) and all of a sudden it's the darling of cheap wine world. IMO it's cheap but not good. Terrible, actually.

It all depends on which grapes he gets to use. There is no standard 'Three Buck Chuck' vintage. He buys excess grape inventory from the vineyards to make his wine, so the quality can vary greatly depending on what is available.

[3ric]

Generally women like a sweet white wine so Id recommend a German Riesling. Inexpensive and pairs well with many dishes. Head to a bottle shop and ask for some help in picking one out. At 10-20 bucks you can do just fine.

Good suggestion, a semi-sweet Riesling is a very good beginner's wine and pairs well with spicy Asian food, for example. Once you've decided if you like it you can move on to a dry Riesling which is very good with seafood.

[SegRat]

My wife wants something sweet if that helps. Thanks for the responses.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Look to a Moscato wine if you want a sweeter white. Pretty hard to go wrong with anything Moscato if the person wants sweet. You can get it in a champagne or a wine. We make a sweet white Moscato at our winery and it's our #1 seller by a wide margin. Easy to drink.

[kurtism]

I'd actually recommend a Moscato d'Asti if your wife likes sweet and sparkling wines. Naturally effervescent, sweet but not cloying, and most bottles are priced at or under $15. Italian import, but it should be available at any liquor store worth a darn, and can likely be found in a grocery store.

[kurtism]

cuervo - pester me in the DCM for red suggestions. As far as Shiraz versus Pinot Noir, at the value wine level, you are very likely to get a much nicer bottle of the Aussie import than any Pinot. Once you start pricing bottles north of $20, the pinot gets a lot better. Alf can speak much better than I about the wonders in a great bottle of red Burgundy.

My general price point for value wine is $10-12 for white and $15-20 for reds. I am not a big sweet wine fan, so my whites are usually pinot grigio (a/k/a pinot gris), sauvignon blanc (particularly from New Zealand), or the occasional dry Riesling. As for value reds, I am a big fan of Shiraz, Malbec, and red Zinfandel.

[cuervo72]

Will do! And by $10, I mean whatever is on sale for 1.5L, so far. ;)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Wow. How long has two-buck-chuck been moved up to three-buck-chuck? I'm behind the times apparently.