Got the stones to recommend a wine UNDER $8?

WINE TALK
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No one, especially those of us with hundreds of bottles in our cellars having an online conversation with other of like or greater means, seems to ever want to delve into what cheap wines they’d recommend.

Do you have a wine < $8 that you’d buy a case of? What is it?

What’s the most inexpensive wine that you’d actually recommend to a fellow wine geek?

I’ll go first:
2005 Mommessin Vin de Pays d’Oc Syrah.
$5.90/bottle from Trader Joes
Since last year I’ve drank about 2 cases of this.

I found this to be just a good honest red wine. Plenty quaffable, genuine varietal character and taste, no oak, good but restrained black and red fruit… old world austerity, but without any funk, decent grip and a bit of acid structure. I’d rather drink this than any of those $12 to $20 internationalized syrah/shiraz-based fruit bombs that seem omnipresent these days.

2

I don’t dare respond about Trader Joe’s wines or Father Saxon will flip me shit about Three Buck Chuck.

Okay, I’ll respond. They have a nice Morgon and a nice CdR Villages for $5.99 right now. Soon they’ll have the 2008 Josefina Rose, which normally goes for $4.99 in these parts. I love that wine.

I’m looking forward to the $8.99 Marlborough sauvignon blanc I picked up last week.

3

We offer MANY nice things under $8.99 and the runaway hit is this (caution: strong pimp hand now descending to bitch slap high prices):

Bodegas Gallegas Destino Blanco, Galicia $6.99
A sort of Galician cousin to our beloved Brontolo Bianco*: really drinkable and refreshing with a yellow straw colour and golden glints, a lively citrus fruity nose and clean, balanced and crisp on the palate. Just 11% ABV by volume, nicely packaged and priced to move.


*Brontolo is a line of $7,99 LITERS from Puglia named after the Seven Dwarves. Brontolo is Grumpy.


Also:

Ronchi di Cialla CiallaBianco 2000, Colli Orientali del Friuli-Cialla $8.99
A wondrous melange of Ribolla Gialla (60%), Verduzzo Friulano (30%) and exotic Picolit (10%), this aromatic beauty is just coming into its prime at nine years of age when most Italian whites would be dead, dead, DEAD. Instead, it is vibrant, very much alive and just waiting for the chance to liven up your next meal with its unique range of white fruit, toasted almond and exotic spice aromas and a long smooth, dry finish.


Cherubino Tinto Castillo de Olleria 2007, Valencia $8.99
A smooth, soft blend of Bobal (75%) and Tempranillo (25%), this wine is much darker and more complex than any sub $10 weeknight quaffer has a right to be. Pair it with something braised or a nice roast bird and imagine you are on holiday in the Spanish countryside…

All of those get 10% off on any mix and match purchase of six or more bottles on Sundays and Mondays as well.

4

I’d happily recommend most of the Columbia Crest Grand Estates line. Also the White Riesling and Gewurz from Chateau Ste. Michelle are incredibly easy to like for their refreshing and crisp flavors.

5

Went to TJ’s today for fage 0% greek yogurt ($1.50 cheaper than G-store) and checked out the rosé section No '08 Josefina yet… but a 2008 Fat Bastard rosé for $6.99 that we had tonight. Not bad and better than some of the mid teens rosés we have had this year. I’d have to say it’s the best under $8 rosé I’ve had this year (only one)

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Commercial post. Consider yourself banned. [berserker.gif]

7

Clos LaChance had a cellar sale earlier this year; I picked up several cases at $3-$7 a bottle, but that was unfortunately a one-off.
However their unoaked Chardonnay - glittering emerald throated or some such - can often be found in Safeway for under $8; if you like unoaked Chardonnay then I highly recommend it.

I have to keep buying cheap wines for my wife’s tennis team, and I try not to buy anything I wouldn’t be prepared to drink myself.
Fortunately my local Costco usually has a few options. Meridian Chardonnay goes down well.

8

I have always had Ch. Ste. Michelle’s Riesling as my “go to” under $10 white wine … actually it is available here in the burbs of Seattle for $4.99-$6.99 most of the time. Excellent QPR, a bit on the sweet side but great to cook with and a solid quaffer too. Looking for something to pair with seafood, chicken or pasta during the week, this is a no-brainer.

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2006 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet. Picked up a case awhile back at a local wine store for $7.98 each. My wife loves it and I can enjoy it also.

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I got some '02 Roty Bourgogne for $9.99 a while back - bought all they had, (8 bottles I think.)

We used to buy Beringer Chardonnay by the case on sale for $7.99 from Safeway. It was always a HUGE hit with friends & family. Pretty nice stuff for under 8 bucks!

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I few years ago I found a Chianti called La Maestra that was $4.99. It was one of the best Chiantis I ever had. I’ve tried googling the wine to no avail.

I went through 2+ cases of that wine. Besides being a superb wine, I remember vividly the bottles as they were bottled in the thinnest wine bottles, it was like they were made of plastic. An empty bottle of Shafer HSS weighed as much as a full bottle of Maestra!!!

I guess the weight of the bottle is not necessarily correlated to the qualityy of the juice inside! [wow.gif]

Otto

15

Too bad I missed this one as I think their cab and meritage are great QPR’s even at the $15 range.

16

2007 Farnese Montepulciano (soft, earthy and delicious) $6.98
2007 Perrin Reserve Cotes Du Rhone: $7.99 - nice drinker!
2008 Terra Andina Carmenere: $6.98 - Great mocha overtones. I could drink this all day long.
2007 La Vielle Ferme ‘Cotes de Luberon Blanc’: $6.99 (blend of Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne)
2007 Finca Luzon: (mourvedre/syrah blend): $7.59
2007 Augey Bordeaux: $7
2008 Cono Sur Pinot Noir: $6.99
2007 Dona Paula ‘Los Cardos’ Cabernet: $6.99 - Great everyday table wine. Crowd-pleaser. Same goes for their Malbec.

Easier yet, go to your local wine shop and tell the wine staff you’re looking for good value wines under a certain price point, and they should be able to give you some recommendations and also tell you what their customers are really liking. :slight_smile:

17

It is sad that, as you imply, some people are somewhat embarrassed or “ashamed” to discuss or recommend certain wines because they are cheap. I am most happy to discover a good wine - the cheaper, the better.

My favorite sub-$8 wine is undoubtedly the 2007/2008 Bodegas Marco Real Homenaje Rosado, which, I’m sure, I’ve mentioned many times on this board, other boards and my blog as well. I don’t even know how many cases of this I’ve gone through since I “discovered” it over a year ago.

A quick check showed me that this is available in the US (though not widely, it seems) - Stirling Fine Wines in NJ, for example, sells this now for $7.99.