Good Red, Dry, and cost effective

[hotwine]

Welcome to the board, SFI. There are many possibilities to fill those requirements, but we need to know how you define "not too expensive". If you mean under $10, your choices for one that is "good, dry and smooth" are rather limited.... but if your ceiling is $20, or $50 or $100 per bottle, there are many more options. The higher the price ceiling, the more options you have. If you'll look down the board at the listing of varietals, you'll see threads on Pinot Noirs/Burgundies, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc. And you'll also see threads on specific geographic regions.... Italy, Rhone, NW wines, etc. You'll find wines discussed that meet your requirements in each of those threads. Please read a bit, using the search function, and see if you can narrow your preferences.