Modern Vespa

I appreciate a good bottle of wine. This is a thread on your suggestions. Prices should be reasonable up to $30.00 US ... I'll start...

Good Wines for a reasonable price ...

Francis Coppola Diamond Claret , black label (2005) Cabernet Sauvignon , sonoma valley.... $26.00 cdn... (i'm sure its 25% plus cheaper in the US ) ... excellent !

How can it be a Claret if not from the Bordeaux region?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claret

Last night, we had a bottle of Frei Brothers Reserve Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (2008). Strong blackberry notes, smooth finish.

Paired with angel-hair pasta with stir-fried chicken, tomatoes, fresh basil; a little brie/baguette as an appetizer.

Didn't suck...

Wines produced in the US and South America do not follow the region rules. The naming is usually based upon the grape used or the type of wine produced. I don't know if this is true for Australia.

could be a trade name... just copied what was on the label...

I like the Coppola wines. At least the ones that I have had. I have been to the winery in Napa (Niebaum-Coppola). I also really like the Rodney Strong wines; I haven't had a bad one yet.

I just read the wiki... Claret is a style of wine developed from the Bordeau region.... its not exclusive to that region.. like the trade name Champagne etc.. but i could be mistaken....

You may assume it's a 'style' - here it has been known as the generic term for a particular type of Bordeaux wine for centuries, we aren't changing that just because some other folks subsume the moniker.

It's a bit like calling Coors or Miller 'lite' beer - it's gnats-piss in reality.

truth be tld your right about the beer.. its undrinkable ... nothing like a good guiness at an english pub... one of my fav nites out in Mtl...

Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet--15.99.
Bogle Russian River Pinot Noir--$15.99. I have a gluten allergy, and I do anything to be able to drink a coors or a miller, much less a guiness, ommegang or an old speckled hen. I'm relegated to this crap called sorghum beer, which really is gnats-piss.

I'm usually all for value: Lindeman's bin 65 chard. (Aussie) is c. $6 US, I'll also take a Clos Du Bois merlot (Calif.) c. $10 US for the basics. For a splurge (we just had these and they were excellent): a magnum of '86 BV (Beaulieu Vineyards) cab. (Calif.) (it was like drinking velvet!) and a 1/2 bottle of Pelee Island Winery (Ontario) cab. franc ice wine-yummy!

My huge sympathies - I know quite a few folk with Coeliac disease, bloody inconvenient. At least most products are adequately labelled these days.

Back in the 1960's I would drink Red Mountain. They don't sell that 1 gallon bottle of wine anymore, Cost $1.00

I almost opend a bottle of Dry Creek Vinyard Heritage Znifandel to go with my pasta tonight. Decided to save it a bit longer and opened my standby Knarly Head Knotty Vine Zinfandel instead. $9.95. Also drink a lot of Estancia Cabernet for $12.00

My wife and I split a bottle of red wine with dinner almost every night.

Lately we've been drinking Pares Balta Mas Petit, a Spanish red we discovered at (what else) a local Spanish tapas restaurant. Our everyday wine tends to be either Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon (big, BIG wine, fruit-forward, probably scorned by wine snobs everywhere) or Folie a Deux Menage a Trois (a mellow, very drinkable red that is probably scorned by wine snobs everywhere).

We're also big fans of Sangre de Toro (a Spanish red table wine) and occasionally, when we can get it, Tedeschi Winery's Ulupalakua Red, all the way from Maui.

Margerum "M5" Rhone Blend $27.00 (Santa Barbara)
McPrice Myers "Barrel 27" Syrah $28.00 (Paso Robles)
Audelssa "Tephra" (cab blend) Sonoma $20.00
Gamba 2007 Russian River Zinfindel $27.00
Willowbrook Pinot Noir (Mendicino) $23.00
Mantra Cabernet Sauvignon (2004- Napa) $20.00
Layer Cake (2007) Cabernet Sauvignon Napa $23.00

The "M5" is a great wine from any year. It is 5 Rhone grapes "Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Counoise".

Now, if we want to raise the bottle prices, I have a few more suggestions. The under $50.00 range has some really nice cabs and Syrahs in it.

Oh for the good ole days.

I like Meridian wines, especially their Merlot. It's about $10 USD.

Thanks Jim.
Living with this used to be a huge PITA. Over the years I've learned to deal with it.
I actually have the advantage of not being able to eat fast food and processed crap. I find that I eat much healthier due to this.

How about a nice Chateau Boîte from your local vintner. Comes in red and white. That's not Dragon Red.

Not knowing what is available in your area, it is hard to be too specific... but we have really liked the Malbecs from Argentina (Trivento and Cicchitti are good ones to look for) . They drink well for the money, a good bottle will set you back $15-25. The Zynthesis zinfandel is a nice value, as is the Educated Guess cab and the Klinker Brick zin. Also look for the Castle Rock pinot noir or the Boony Doon Big House.

Get your laughing gear around any Kiwi Sav Blanc or Pinot Noir or a Big Aussie Red Cab Sav.

I love the wine's from the russian river though they can get pretty pricey.. i'm going to see if i can find the Pinot Noir Bogle you reccomended...

Jess interesting selection you came up with.... i did try the Sangre de Toro years back and it was pretty good.... There were one or two yrs that the vine was not that great and i stopped , i'll give it another go soon...

Also nice selection and havn't tried any of them. I do like all the regions you mentioned so i'm sure there are a couple of top vino's in you list... I agree with the nice selection under $50 but we'll save that for another time ...

The Malbecs are an interesting vino.. i've had some really good one's... I'm going to try to find the Trivento, Cicchitti and pinot noir...

Man with all the suggestions were getting from all these posts so far i'm good for the next few months ....

Malbecs are excellent, cheapish drinking.

Claret is the English name for Bordeaux reds, and in that vein, I recommend Berry Brothers and Rudd Good Ordinary Claret.

"They" actually say that box wine is a good way to store the stuff. As the wine is served through the spigot the bag inside collapses. This keeps air away from the wine so that it does not oxidize.

The Bogle is a steal at that price point. I was amazed at how good it is. Castle Rock (another value producer) Reserve Russian River Pinot Noir has the same flavor profile and comes in at the same price point--another great value.

Doesn't anyone make their own? I made 190 gal this year.

I'm very proud of that and the fact that I can still type this.

I plan to make my first this next year and have long term plans for 36 vines in the back yard.

Astrale e Terra Arcturus... Cabernet $24... '02 was great... seems consistent year to year... http://www.astraleeterra.com/

Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes-du-Rhone Rouge Bordeaux-Rhône Blend $29... www.beaucastel.com

Domaine La Milliere Chateauneuf du Pape Vieiles Vignes '07 is a home run... $32.

Martino Reserva Old Vine Malbec... '02 was amazing for the money, $29

Peju Province Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley $32... Great cab... For a few more $$$, go for the reserve... great special occasion wine

Any of the Ridge Zinfandels... ESPECIALLY if you can come across a "late harvest"...

Just my $.02

We love Coppola's Rosso and our "House" wine. At $8.99 you cannot beat it...

Washington State makes some wonderful wines. Here is great little winery that produces superb wines: http://www.airfieldwines.com/

2 from Tejas:

Messina Hof Pinoit Noir (Private reserve not the Barrel reserve)
Messina Hof Merlot (Here the the barrel reserve is as good as the Private IMHO).

I have to trumpet the wines from the central coast of California.

Some of the best Pinot Noirs come from the Santa Rita Hills, especially Sea Smoke, or Bien Nacido like Ambullneo, if you can find it. I like cool climate Syrahs from the Edna Valley, like Tolosa. There are excellent Rhone varietals coming from the west side of Paso Robles. Denner is excellent. Tablas Creek is very authentic. Paso Robles is marked by so many micro climates it is difficult to generalize. There are cabernets and merlots which are grown too hot, IMHO, and there are wonderful Pinot Noirs like Windward.

If you are ever uncertain about the answer or generally want to know a good wine for a certain occasion, just call the ones who should know: AA

We just drank a Franciscan Vinyards "Magnificat" 2005. The price is all over the map from $30 - $60 (I paid $30). It is a very good California meritage, especially if you find it on sale.

When in doubt I go with a Chianti Classico Reserva, Amarone, or Barolo....you can never go wrong with those.

I just had some interesting wines from an Argentinian Vinyard named "Tilia". I had the Malbec, Bonarda, and Syrah.... skip the syrah and go for the other two. They were pretty cheap too - well under your price point.

I'll second that one. Also try a Ripasso -- the poor man's Amarone!

Yeah my wife and I do too. She usually gets one glass and I get the rest of the bottle. Of course, she is ready for a second glass by then so I have to open another bottle. Wish she would keep up.

You my friend need to try some local wine. We have quite a few great local wines, red, white, sweet etc that you need to put on your list. I noticed you were chatting about Pinot Noirs. You need to check out Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir that has just been released, the 2007 as well check out their 2007 Village Reserve Chardonnay.

Did you know that the 2006, I believe, Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Terrace Chardonnay recently beat a multitude of Burgundy and Californian Chardonnays in a big tasting this year? The judges weren't aware that there were any wines other than the Burgundies and Californians in the tasting.