everyday wines

[californiagirl]

I am a looking for everyday wines at a good price point. I mostly drink full bodied reds, but enjoy all types. Can anyone suggest any good steals under $10?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Calgirl, and welcome to the Wine Board. Go back a year on this thread and find a wealth of information. Two of our more recent posts were the Pacific Estates Cabernet and the Cecchi Chianti Classico. Both great and both under ten.

[californiagirl]

Thanks, IK. Is there anything in a Zin you could recommend?

[Drew]

Just a few dailys that can be had at $10 or under case buy.

Easton Zinfandal (Calif)

Castle Rock Zin, Cabernet or Pinot Noir (Calif)

Milton Park Shiraz (Aussie)

McManis Cab, Merlot, Syraz (Calif)

Paringa Shiraz, Merlot (Aussie)

Drew

[winoweenie]

Hi Caligirl. See if you can find any of the Bogle Reds. Petite Sirah, Cabernet, Merlot, or Zinfandel. All well-made and well-priced. WW

[newsguy]

californiagirl,

in addition to those listed above, i can highly recommend 3 wines. first two are zins; last one is a blend of several red varietals including zin and is a big, spicy wine. shop around and all 3 can be had for $9.99:

Rosenblum Zinfandel Vintners Cuvee XXV

Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel

Bonny Doon Ca' del Solo Big House Red California

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 03-15-2004).]

[Kcwhippet]

You might try a visit to the Albertson's on Truxel Road for a decent selection. Even better is the BevMo on Greenback in Citrus Heights. Lots of selections at both places and some good advice from the folks there.

[californiagirl]

Thanks for the great ideas.

I had a cab at a restaurant recently from So. Africa, I believe the name was Ecselsior(sp). Does anyone know if this is a restaurant only brand, or any idea where to locate it? It seemed to me that it would be priced in the same range.

[Innkeeper]

That a good one CalGal. The Excelsior sells for $8.99 retail.

[Kcwhippet]

We carry that one also for about the same price, so you should be able to find it easily.

[This message has been edited by Kcwhippet (edited 03-15-2004).]

[zenda2]

An everyday Zin (a blend of zinfandel, petite sirah, carignane) that I like is Laurel Glen's "REDS". Tasty, a 'house favorite', nicely priced. Sells around here for $8 or less.

http://www.laurelglen.com/reds.html

Another red blend that I buy often is Hedges 'Columbia Valley Red', or 'CMS' (Cab, Merlot, Syrah). Delicious, and won't break the bank, goes for $9-10 here.

http://www.hedgescellars.com/

Both of these blends are a good introduction to the more expensive offerings from these two wineries. When the 'bottom of their ladder' offerings are this good it indicates excellent stuff available above 'em.

[absentme_bass]

My new fave ((usually on sale)) is Talus Zin & Cab. I can usually find it about 5.99 on sale. They make a merlot if you are down with that too.

I havent tried any of these wines so far, ill be lookin. I actually do most of my shopping at "that albertsons on Truxel" for the Sacto peeps.

My usual picks in that range are Blackstone Zin, Kenwood ANY RED ((when it is on sale, typically 8 - 17 bucks off the shelf)), Yellowtail Shiraz, Clos du bois Cab/Zin, Forest Glen Merlot.
I have been testing out different bottles in a controled manner lately, like alot of merlots for a while, or alot of sonoma/napa zin for a stretch, so i dont always strike gold. Choke it down and move on to the next bottle heh heh

cool board BTW

[vinman]

Wow! All good wines recommended! But if you want to venture a bit further...
Santa Rita 120 Carmenere, Roberts Rock Shiraz/Malbec, Manyana Tempranillo, Jest Red, The Stump Jump, Rooderberg Red, Rene Barbier Red, Goats do Roam, Cline Vin Rouge...just to mention a few!
Vinman

[californiagirl]

amb- welcome to the board! It is a great place with very helpful advice and info- great people too!!

I have found one of the best places for "everyday wines" to be Cost Plus Imports. Their ad is in the Taste section of the Sac Bee every Wednesday, and you'll find some good things on sale. Also, check out their prices every day. They have some tasty wines for between $5-8 per. They also have a decent selection of imports.

As far as Zins go, try Seghesio Sonoma Zin. Cost Plus does carry it, should run you about $11-13 or so. Let us know if you like this one!

[This message has been edited by californiagirl (edited 05-20-2004).]

[hotwine]

CG, you're right about Cost Plus, have found their prices to be as low as one's likely to find. But have been disappointed in Cline Syrahs from them lately..... seem to have been heat-damaged (cooked).... so I won't be buying more from CP until the end of the year. (Will also now suspend wine-shopping at the warehouse clubs in this area, for the same reason.)

[californiagirl]

hotwine- how do you know when this has happened? What does it taste/smell like?

[single malt]

My suggestion to you prabably wont be taken well but Trader Joes has some great new wines for very cheap. I recently tried a Montepulciano named TATO, it has a mosaic tile label. It is the best deal at around 4.99. Really impresed with what the new wine buyer for T.J.s is doing.

[absentme_bass]

I just bought a Kenwood Zin at the Bel Air on Truxel and El Camino for $9.00, 9.00 off, and it looks like it will be good until 6-2. No card or nothin, just ON SALE [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]


And I have also heard good things about Trader Joes...

[hotwine]

CG, in my experience a cooked wine has dead fruit with no complexity of flavors or varietal identifiers. In the case of the Cline Syrah, the cooked stuff can't be identified as Cline or even Syrah.... it's just juice that's dead in the glass and ready to meet the drain monster.

[californiagirl]

TJ's does have some good prices... just IMHO, don't buy into the 2 Buck Chuck thing. Tastes like watered down wine and gave me an upset stomach.