I always hear that there is a vast sea of terrible muscadet, but the worst examples that I ever run across here are more anonymous than truly terrible. In that case I’d much rather have a lean, anonymous muscadet than a fat, buttery chard.
The importer bit is the best suggestion yet though; far more reliable than varietal.
I think the muscadet that makes it over to the US are much better then the vast majority of the wine produced. Machine harvested, yeasted, under ripe stuff that for the most part we never see, thankfully.
Lots of great answers, so far.
Going for an unknown cheap white, I agree about sauvignon blanc. The muscadet, reisling, albarino, or a cheap Alsatian are typically fine with me, as well. I shop by how I like the label. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
For reds, it is tougher. I think I’d grab a mystery zin in that bind.
In this category of price, one critical rule: no wines that are named for an event of characterization of something! Nothing, like “The Thinker,” or “Mommy’s Little Secret,” or any of the new rage for wineries pretending they are SQN and tossing non sequitur names around on crap wine.
If I were remaking Sideways, wines with dipshit names would be my substitute for merlot.
New script:
Jack: If they want to drink The Bon Vivant, we’re drinking The Bon Vivant.
Miles Raymond: No, if anyone orders The Bon Vivant, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f*cking The Bon Vivant!
As far as whites it would be Gruner Veltliner or Verdejo.
If bubbly count as well I pick something pink otherwise it would be Argentinian Malbec, always many to choose from.
If the rules are that I have to take a random wine from X grape, where the wine could be from anywhere and made by anybody – mostly, I’ll just drink beer. Or water. Or tea. Or rat piss.
I suppose my best option would be to pick something like Chenin, where there’s a great chance it will be from the Loire. There are also some palatable South African chenins. But I’ve had some horrible chenin from other places. Scratch that, the best answer is Assityriko, because I’ve never seen one from anywhere but Greece, and most of those have been decent.
For red, I think my choices would be Nerello Mascalese or Frappato, because the options for origin are similarly limited. Those folks answering Sangiovese and thinking of inexpensive Chianti are going to be pretty bummed when their bottle shows up and it says “Wine of Origin Mendoza”.
Totally agree with you…and I’d also add that any wines that throw in the descriptor “dark” are an immediate HELL NO for me.
i.e. the Apothic 'Dark’s or Menage a Trois 'Midnight Dark’s of the world
Another vote for Verdejo. Red…guess a Barbera.
White: Muscadet (Pepierre)
Red: Cab Franc (Guion)
White: Reisling (Fingerlakes)
Red: Cotes du Rhone
White–Muscadet, Riesling, Languedoc-Roussillon blends
Reds–Languedoc-Roussillon blends or Loire Cab Fr
For me AUTRIAN Sauvignon blanc is not only a “drinkable” cheap alternative, but belongs to the hightlights of the country and of my wine-life.
From 7/8 € up to the best examples at 30/35€ …
For a bargain red I would always take a variety mix from Cotes-du-Rhone or Languedoc … sure from a good producer
Hmm. I don’t know what the US market is like for inexpensive, dry Riesling (which would be one of my go-to choices in northern Europe), but I would say that in the market I face, I would by now describe it as a pretty safe choice and rather unlikely to be “utter crap”, regardless of whether it is from Alsace, Austria or Germany. I drink a fair amount of rather inexpensive, dry Riesling at home too (at a price of five to ten euro a bottle) and while these are rather carefully selected, there is, in my experience plenty of good alternatives to choose from. Certain inexpensive Italian whites may be pretty dependable as well but are less likely to be charming based on my gusto. Fortunately, for Riesling lovers, the grape tends to provide a lot of wine for the money, at least where I am located. Grüner Veltliner is another good option I forgot to mention alongside Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.