Everyday wines

[agustinyparaiso]

What is a good entry level price for everyday drink?
I have been drinking the Pacific Peak Merlot from Bevmo but do you have any suggestions?
I like good wines but we are 5 ppl in my house and it can get to be expensive drinking an average of 2 bottles daily

[wondersofwine]

I live alone so a bottle can last me for three or four days. Maybe that's why I rarely buy one for less than $15. However, I do like some very fruity Rioja wines (Tempranillo grape) that sell for under $10 (one is on special now for $5.99 by the case). Some German Riesling wines I like are around the $12-15 price. Bogle red wines and Columbia Crest are other places to find good value. Some of the large Australian brands are low-priced. Have you tried the Jacob's Creek Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blend? Some find it pretty decent.

[agustinyparaiso]

Thank you I will try it,

[Innkeeper]

We just enjoyed a nice Tuesday night dinner of grilled Kielbasa, fresh bakery rolls, and nuked green beans. Washed it down with one of our favorite "everydays"; Vina Alarba Old Vine Garnacha (Grenache) which goes for a whopping $7.99. The '03 is barely on this side of huge, since it was a very hot summer there, and weighs in at 13.5% alcohol. You don't notice it amongst all the fruit and spice.

[immolation75]

For my wife and I, we love the German Rieslings. Excellent on the porch on a hot summer night.

[robr]

I really like the 2003 Robert Modavi Private Reserve Pinot Noir. Light, silky smooth, fruity but dry. And, it's great with all kinds of food, I paid $10.

Another inexpensive, and even better Pinot is Cartlidge and Brown. Also $10.

[flycaster10]

for years i have been under the impression that cabs are heavier/bolder than merlots. so i have explored the cab type.
this past weekend a friend told me that merlot is heavier than cabernet.
is that so?

also, can you provide a rule of thumb heavy to light scale for these wine/grape types.
zin>syrah>cab>merlot>pinot nior

thanks!

[robr]

I think that all depends, on the weather for that year, on the type of soil, the elevation of the vinyard, the way the wine is made by the producer, and by individual variations in the plants themselves. However, the ratio of heavy, bold reds to the lighter is something like this (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong):

Cabernet Sauvingnon
Malbec (Argentina)
Zinfandel
Merlot
Syrah
Pinot Noir
Geniovese (Italy)

And there are some others, like Cabernet Franc, which I'm not sure about.

Also, some regions blend these, so you never get a pure single variety of grape in a bottle, like in Bordeaux, they blend Merlot with Cabernet, and sometimes Cabernet Franc, and in Tuscany, they blend Geniovese with Merlot, and sometimes other grapes, to make Chianti.

It's actually a lot more complex than this, but this is how I understand it.

[This message has been edited by robr (edited 07-28-2005).]

[wondersofwine]

Welcome to the board Fly.
As a general rule, the Cabernet Sauvignon is a more tannic grape than the Merlot, thus making most Cabs less approachable in their youth. The Zinfandels tend to be higher in alcohol percentage by volume than the cabs and merlots so may sometimes taste "hot" from alcohol but are not necessarily very tannic. I agree that Pinot Noir is towards the lighter end of the scale as a general rule although some are vinified in a style that makes them medium- to full-bodied. I might place Syrah above Merlot as more full-bodied.

[winoweenie]

All depends on what the winemaker is doing with the grape. As a general rule I tend to agree with WOW. WW