To better summarize my above comment…
So much wine…So little time
Alright, we got a bottle of this last night for $6.99 and it was excellent. Big red, different than most of the Super Reds in this price range, but different in a good way. Fruity without being overly sweet, the cab blend lends a nice dry strong finish. A nice whole mouth wine but not overwhelming at all, and it was fun with the tacos we made for dinner too. This was a huge hit and this will be making it’s way back into the cart very soon. This would work well with any red meat offering from burgers to tacos to steaks. I want to make black and blue burgers on onion buns tonight and see if this keeps up with those giant flavors. I have plenty of confidance that this will not be swamped.
Pinotages are getting better. Many are undrinkably nasty due to a rubbery component I find off-putting.
Somewhere upthread was mentioned Marlborough Sauv Blancs from NZ. You are doing yourself a disservice if you do not at least try these if you like white wines. The upper end of their pricing tends to be 15-20 dollars US, but decent examples can be had for much less.
In my hand right now is **Brancott ** Sauv Blanc, $9.99 at Kroger.
That “cat pee” descriptor is generally used to describe SB aroma, rather than flavor. To me, I pick that up much more in Sancerre’s than I do NZ SB’s.
NZ SB’s like the Brancott I just sipped are generally citrusy, limey, grapefruity, smoky, grassy and quite acidic. Perfect warm weather quaffers they are.
Jackson Estate cranks out great NZ SB’s at a reasonable price. They are my favorite that I’ve tried, although there are many.
I did the black and blue burgers like I mentioned tonight and the Sebeka not only kept up just fine, it downright complimented them. Any wine that can hang with charred red meat, blue cheese, and onion buns is a killer in my book. It played pretty nicely with the blue cheese too. I don’t detect any of that burnt rubber that Foiegras mentioned, so if you’ve ever wondered about a pinotage this is a real cheap and easy way to start. We got two bottles and killed one, so the next test is to see what kind of sangria this stuff makes. It’s cheap enough to try and exotic enough to perhaps give a little something extra to our regular effort at sangria. I’m going to go with plums, watermelon, the Sebeka, a bit of soda water and maybe some mangos if I can get them at a good price.
Electra California orange muscat.
Gently sparkling, sweet without being cloying, and soft hints of orange and pear. It’s like sex in a bottle. $8.99 at my local retailer in Springfield, IL.
Last night I had a bottle of Frontera Carmenere, which, as far as a $6.99 grocery store wine goes, wasn’t a bad quaffer.
Here’s a tip for buying wines at a grocery store: many wines you can find at a store like Kroger that has a somewhat decent selection of wines are discounted because they are too old!
The Frontera Carmenere I had last night is a perfect example. It had a shelf tag proclaiming that it was on sale from $9.99 to $6.99. Then I looked at the vintage and it was a 2004 wine! Four years old is too old for most wines, as they deteriorate with age; and when I scooched the first couple bottles out of the way, viola! A 2006 vintage bottle of the same wine for the same price was behind them.
The other reason (besides a store trying to pawn off shot wine on you) to ensure that any wine you buy from a store like that is a younger wine is their questionable provenance. Wines that sit upright on a shelf under flourescent lights 24/7 age faster than temperature-controlled, laid-down bottles. While this may be more of a factor as the price and prestige of a given wine goes up, I still don’t want a crappy bottle no matter the cost.
Right now I am drinking a bottle of 2006 Big House White, also from Kroger, for $7.99. Without looking it up I think this wine is a Bonny Doon creation, but I could be wrong.
It’s a multi-varietal blend from CA, and it’s OK, but the threshold of expectations goes way down after you go below the $10 price barrier. It has Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, Malvasia, Viognier, Muscat and a few other varietals I can’t remember right now.
It has a Sauvignon-Blanc-ey character of acidity, with fresh and floral aromas (Viognier) and tastes more of a Southern Rhone white, likely due to Marsanne. Kind of a slight nutty, bitter edge complementing the citrus and melon fruit character.
It is a little thin to me, but since I smoke my palate can be wacky at times. YMMV.
Good for the price though.
Looking forward to my first taste of a non-vintage Red Zinfandel, Barefoot, that I picked up today also. I absolutely loves me some Red Zin…my favorite American red wine by far.