First time poster... Comments and perhaps a question...

[goindownsouth]

I have lurked for some time and, sadly, my imbibing historically has been limited to beer - albeit really good craft and imported beer.

Anyway, over the past several years, I have dipped my toes in the proverbial water of wine. My wife is Hungarian, so I am certainly well aware of Kekofrankos, Nemes Kadarka, Egri Bikaver, and of course Tokaj.

Other than that, I have found myself drawn to the very drinkable reds like Sangiovese, Tempranillo (sp?), Grenache, Dolcetto, and Chianti.

I have never had Bordeaux or Brunello... While I have read about both and am sure I would enjoy them, I am not sure they are within my middle class budget...

Recommendations are always welcome. I am hardly a snobby wine person. I like my short cafe'-like wine tumblers very much and do not see myself using stemware anytime soon.

I live in Greenville, South Carolina - a state that apparenly does not know the meaning of locally grown wine. There is virtually none, and what is here, I have heard, is not very good. Across the border in North Carolina there are allegedly some stellar wines being made. Time will tell there.

So, there you have it... I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.

Be well,
Dan

[Kcwhippet]

Welcome to the WineBaord, Dan. You have a good start there, and you can get some very nice Bordeaux at prices that definitely won't break the bank. A few of the members here will be sure to post some good suggestions.

[Drew]

Welcome Dan, Ye should try our maiden land's wine, red zinfandel, to dive into your wine experience. It is a great summertime red that pairs very well with southern bbq. [img]http://wines.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

Drew

[TheEngineer]

Welcome to the board and I'm sure others will chime in as well. There are definitely a few Bordeauxs that are very solid and wont break the bank.

I would also look for the vintage. If you see anything from 2000 and 2001 then go for those. 2004 is okay and 2003 is atypical (warm season saw wines that were very...overly ripe...out of balance). 2005's are good and slowly starting to come out.

so at the $10 to $15 mark

Trois Croix is around the $10 mark and generally is good.
2005 Haut Sociondo, Cotes de Blaye is around $10 and is good.
2004 Bonnet is also around $11
2004 Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc is closer to $15

Plenty to try...I'll look for more examples later... Brunellow at that price might be much much much much much harder...I think the cheapest I've seen is $20 at Trader Joes....

[wondersofwine]

You've probably tried more Hungarian wines that 95% of us. Have you tried Valpolicella (the regular table wine, not the expensive Amarone)? You might enjoy it.

[Innkeeper]

Without trying to presuppose WOW, methinks she might be refering to the Valpolicellas know as Ripassos. They are made by taking journeyman Valpolicellas and refermenting them over the pomace of the very expensive Amarone. That gives you a rich wine that may remind you of your Hungarians at the $10-$20 price points. Highly recommended.

[winoweenie]

Welcome to the board Goin'! You really have some fun times lurking down the road. IMHO you'll have more fun than a 6-pack of hops at the senior prom. WW