VERY easy to drink, and one of my go-to Malbec's.

I also highly recommend Southern Right Pinotage. Very delicious, dark berry flavors, dry finish.



Winery: Walker Bay
Region: South Africa
Varietal: Pinotage

Berliner--what is the general view of boxed wine in Europe? Here in the States, its seen as cheap, but there is definitely an undercurrent to move more towards it. Lots of studies saying it keeps wine better, despite its social stigma.

2009 Mamete Prevostini Botonero

Italy, Lombardi Region, $15.99

I don't drink a lot of Italian wine. My initial impression of it when I first started getting into wine was that it wasn't as good a value as Argentinian, Aussie, Chilean, or Spanish wine and not as good and worth paying up for as French. It's a hugely popular region though and I've been trying a few more lately. This is a Nebbiolo with soft tannins and very fruit forward with a slight tar spice. I was first turned on to it but a buyer at my favorite wine shop who used to be a Sommelier at one of Mario Batali's restaurants. I had a couple of glasses with a pizza last night. Very tasty and a bargain for the price.

Lots of Malbecs getting recommended. Achaval Ferrer is my go-to malbec:



I'm almost to the point where I won't buy anything else unless I can't find this. This is their entry level wine is usually a little under $20/bottle. They also have a Malbec/Cab/Merlot blend called Quimera which is usually in the $35-40 range and a 3-4 First Growth/Old Vines Malbecs in the $70-90 range. Their first growth Malbecs are some of the best wines of any variety that I've ever had and often get 95+ ratings. The entry level Malbec is pretty terrific too though and I think I like it even more than the more expensive Quimera.

So this:



la mozza i perazzi morellino di scansano

is what I ended up buying when I couldn't find any beers that I can't find out west this past weekend. It's primarily Sangiovese and is a pretty good Italian value wine. Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali are investors in the vineyard and it is a house wine at Batali's Mozza restaurants in LA.

I also drank these over the weekend:



CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 1999

Classic Tempranillo from the Rioja Region of Spain. Bright Dark Fruits and well balanced tannins. CVNE only makes a Gran Reserva when the harvest is exceptional enough to warrant one. A little too pricey to be an every day drinker at ~ $60/bottle retail but still an exceptional value. It's a truly remarkable wine that drinks like $200 bottle.



Delas Freres Cote Rotie, 2004

From the Rhone Region of France and a Syrah dominant blend. This was my favorite of 10 wines at a recent Rhone tasting. Well-balanced spices and very herbaceous. There's some fruit on the palatte but it's starting to brick and doesn't have a lot of peak drinking life left. But that's why I was able to buy it for $30/bottle when it used to sell for $75. Still a very enjoyable red.

i drink this



it's four dollars

2006 Aleph Malbec, Argentina, Mendoza

I really enjoyed Aleph's 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon a few years ago which was a big repeat purchase for me until my wine shop ran out of it. I hadn't seen any new vintages come into stock again until recently when they got both the 2003 Cab and this 2006 Malbec.

I opened up the bottle last night and had a few glasses with a rib eye. It's a well balanced and bright fruit forward wine and a steal at approximately $15/bottle. I'm sure I'll be buying more.

a good example of what a strong oregon pinot noir is. 2008 was a great year...probably my favorite right now.

Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley 2003

I probably bought this 5-6 years ago when I liked good wine but still didn't know that much about it. It's an ole reliable and a very good wine but for the price really doesn't pack much "wow" factor. I've been looking for the right occasion to drink it -- its too pricey for a regular drinker but I like to serve wines that I like more for company. I decided to break it out Saturday and drink with Beef Bourgenoin. I doubt I'll buy more but it's still pretty delicious.



Tintara Shiraz, S. Australia 2006

Had this with leftovers last night. Nice fruit and spice...very good value for about $10.



Duckhorn Merlot, Napa Valley 2008

Went out to lunch today and had a bottle of this.

a bottle of wine at lunch. nice.

Very nice. That's my kind of lunch, especially with the Duckhorn--just not a weekday/non-vacation day lunch. Are you Don Draper, bg?

Thoughts on Thanksgiving wines? I've never been a fan of beaujolais nouveau. Favorite sav blancs, rieslings, pinot gris', pinot noirs, red zins, others?

I'll suggest the Ponzi Pinot Gris (2008) from Oregon. Very reasonably priced at $17.

Stumbled across a few smackdowns of that article. The first is by Slate's former wine critic

http://winediarist.com/i-smell-a-slatepitch/

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2011/11/11/the-false-promise-of-cheap-wine/?plckOnPage=10&plckItemsPerPage=10&plckSort=TimeStampDescending

All those would work. I'll add Albarinos for a white or Riojas for a red.

We're having a bottle of Fort Ross Pinotage, 2006 from Sonoma Valley with our turkey.

just picked up a bottle of this at the grocery store for 10 bucks.

last night I had the last bottle of our wedding red, the Elicio Granache/Merlot



It's tasty, not boring and not too dry. I like a wine that drinks well on the first pour, and this is it. It only gets better as it opens up. It's from the southern Rhone Valley.

I usually buy the $ 10-15 range, it may be that guy spent about 4 big wine a year. Fortunately, my budget.