Cheap, everyday, widely available stuff.

WINE TALK
41

Don’t forget about BestWinesOnline.

42

By widely available I was definitely thinking of stuff produced for mass distribution and easily available at most grocery stores or chain liquor store. Those on my list I can easily find at Total Wine, Whole Foods and most grocery stores in the area.

43

+1. I wish they were. Happy to get a bit of basic Baudry where I am. Gonon, too. The idea that these basic wines are “widely available” is funny.

If I take the OPs intent to mean wines that are floor-stocked all year around by a decent sized distributor and widely available at retail, hmm…

  1. Argiolas Vermentino.
  2. Columbia Crest H3 Merlot.
  3. Cambria Pinot Noir
  4. Guigal CdR.
  5. Beringer Napa Chardonnay.

Am I excited by that list? meh. But I bet I could find one of them almost anywhere run half-decently and be OK drinking it.

44

Count me in the camp of the Guigal CdR.

My list varies from time to time, but these are the ones commonly on the list:

  1. Guigal CdR
  2. Chapoutier Bila-Haut Cotes-du-Roussillon
  3. Borsao Garnacha

and two white wines on the list

  1. Domaine Lafage Cuvée Centenaire Cotes-du-Roussillon
  2. Four Vines Naked “Unoaked” Chardonnay
45

Really?

I’m down in the shitlands of Central Florida, where oaky Napa Cabs and buttery Chards rule, and yet I have no less than 4-5 sources for Baudry: Uncle Marty, Chambers, Crush, Weygandt, Cave Tareau, and so on. I’ve never had a problem getting my hands on every Baudry cuvee in any year, except for the more limited Franc de Pied.

You may have a point on the Clape VDA, but it’s really not hard to find if you look. And it goes to my central point: There are top-tier wines in the marketplace for this $20 price, even for country bumpkins like me, sometimes you just have to look a little bit more.

If by widely available, the OP meant at outlets like Total Slime or grocery stores, then have at it.

[cheers.gif]

46

if your point is thst thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can buy virtually any wine from one of the 4 stores in the country that carries it, then yes, virtually any non allocated wine is “widely available”. However, it seems unlikely that OP was just asking for a list of $20 hits at CSW and Weygandt, no? And the economics of shipping 1-4 bottles when you’re in under $20 range are not very favorable.

Far more interesting than the self back-pat of how much wine we order from the best stores is the more difficult questions of what to order when you’re sent into a generic “Wine & Spirits” store (or the booze section of your local Publix, as the case may be) with instructions to bring back a decent wine for all. Surely there must be a few times a year when social circumstances separate you from your trusty stash of artisanal grape juice.

47

Yes, David, that was exactly my intent, being that I am so foreign to the term humble.

But even to your further narrowing, then I go back to my initial post. Some of those “artisanal” wines are readily available. Whether it is Total Wine, ABC, B21, etc., Lanessan, Camon La Pelouse, Thivin, Tour St. Bonnet, are pretty easy to find. If you are sending me to a grocery store, sheez, really, then I go NZ Sav. Blanc all day long baby! Or beer.

48

We drink a lot of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc ($8) and Cloudline Pinot Noir ($13). Available at Target and most grocery stores. Mass marketed for sure, but I find them both enjoyable and a great way to bring down the average cost per bottle.

49

[quote="D. Zylberberg]

Far more interesting than the self back-pat of how much wine we order from the best stores is the more difficult questions of what to order when you’re sent into a generic “Wine & Spirits” store (or the booze section of your local Publix, as the case may be) with instructions to bring back a decent wine for all. Surely there must be a few times a year when social circumstances separate you from your trusty stash of artisanal grape juice.[/quote]

I don’t buy wine at grocery stores.

50

51

Robert’s list is excellent, even if the wines aren’t widely available. and the Gonon is the jewel, but, that said, the Gonon is now over $20, and is anything but “widely available.” Faury and Voge both make good N Rhone CdRs that are more widely available and under $20. Both are quite good though neither touches the Gonon IMO.

I don’t think the Clape can be found for that price either.

Otherwise:

Monsanto CCR if lucky, Antinori or something if you’re not.
Baudry (yes, Baudry is rather widely available, at generic wine stores if not at supermarkets)
Pepiere, Luneau-Papin, or pretty much whatever Muscadet Sevre et Maine makes it to the USA will be decent at least and better IMO than NZ SB
Tons of Beaujolais, I’ll add Vissoux. And for wide availability Jadot Beajolais Villages can be quite decent.
Pichot Vouvray (not the best Vouvray, but widely available and tasty)
Often an AOC Chablis can be found in this range

52

In that category try the La Vieille Ferme Blanc (not the red - though I’ll use that for cooking) at around $8. It’s a wine that stands on its own regardless of its bargain status.

When I poured it at one of my blind wine dinners everyone liked it and guesses were at a much higher price point.

Generally I’d rather spend $15 and get a truly great Muscadet but as you say M. Ollivier wines aren’t available everywhere.

53

If these are “widely available,” I need to shop where you shop.

54

Monsanto chianti
St Cosme CDR
Bila Haut
Chateau Ste Michelle HHH sauv blanc
Louis Martini cab
bunch of CB Bordeaux from 2009/2010
Simonnet Febvre chablis
Novellum chardonnay
Tenuta delle terre nere Etna Rosso
almost any Spanish grenache or monastrell
I’ll probably get laughed at, but Trader Joe’s Barbera d’Asti
Colosi nero d’avola
lots of Provence rose

55

For cheap, everyday wines these are a few of the California wines that I drink regularly.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cab
Sebastiani Sonoma Merlot
Sebastiani Sonoma Cabernet
Mondavi Napa Cabernet
Clos Du Val Napa Merlot

The Columbia Crest is a PNP weeknight wine for me. Last case cost something like $6.50 a bottle.

I regularly buy either or both of the Sebastiani wines for around $10.00 each with discounts, sales, rebates etc. Last 4 or 5 vintages (2007-2011) of both have been a good value for table wines. Drink on release or up to 6-7 years old. Younger or older, I find that they are almost always better with a hard decant and an hour or two or air.

I have been buying Mondavi Napa Cabs for a long time now (starting with the 1973 vintage) for future drinking. These suit me best when they are between 6-8 years of age. I have a so-so passive cellar, with a good cellar, I think that they would last much longer. On sale, with case discounts, etc. they can often be found for around $20.00 each.

I love the Clos Du Val Merlots when they get to be about 6-7 years old. Again, a hard decant and a few hours of air and they open up very nicely. On sale, with case discounts, etc. they can often be found for around $20.00 each also.

Happy hunting!

56

Oh yea, forgot about those, all strong recommendations. The 2011 Vissouxs are smokin!