help with wine

[stevebody]

NT,

My wine tasting group publsihed a chapbook guide to discovering wine two yeaqrs ago. The group was composed of three wine shop owners, four wine salespeople, one professor who teaches viniculture, and one garden-variety Microsoft millionaire. We developed a list of baseline, low-cost bottles that we thought accurately represented each varietal. Here's that list. Please bear in mind that these are only our opinion and some of the folks on this forum may have valuable alternate suggestions. To learn each individual grape, though, these will help with the basic flavors without breaking your bank.

Cabernet: Alexander Valley Cab
Merlot: Blackstone California
Pinot Noir: Flynn Oregon Cuvee
Sangiovese: Di Majo Norante (Italy)
Syrah: Pepperwood Grove
Zinfandel: Kenwood or Ravenswood Vintners Blend
Rhone Blend: Perrin Cotes du Rhone
Bordeaux Blend: Chateau Cantenac Brown
Chianti: Velo or Fattoria Petroio
Chardonnay: L'Ecole No. 41 (WA)
Viognier: Callaway
Sauvignon Blanc: Waterbrook (WA)
White Bordeaux: Chateau Thieulley
Reisling: Heyl zu Herrnsheim (Germany)
Gewurtztraminer: Dopf & Irion (Alsace)


Get other opinions, based on the same idea: What is the best expression of the basic flavor profile of this grape? That's a great way to start.