20 Great Value Wines: How to drink good wine when gas is $5.00 a gallon or more

The current economy has most of us cutting back on non-essentials, driving less, and trying to find ways to save a few bucks. Below is a list of wines that you can afford by cutting back on two gallons of gas or less (most are under $10!). For specific recommendations on wines, wine regions, wine pairings, or anything related to value wines, leave a comment. Have a favorite wine under $10 that I missed? Let us know about it! (Image: WINE AND MONEY© Kvkirillov | Dreamstime.com)

Here are my top picks for value wines, producers, and wine regions. Keep in mind that an 85 is a “Very Good” wine and shouldn’t be overlooked. Too often reviewers and magazines want you to think that only 90 point wines are worth drinking…this isn’t the case and can become quite expensive! An 85 point wine is a wine that I consider to be very good, and would buy again.

Keep an eye out for my report next week on the best wineries and wine regions when it comes to quality and value!

Twenty Great Value Wines: (Click here to download this as a shopping list in PDF Form)

Sparkling

N.V. Riondo Prosecco Veneto IGT -$12 (Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT): Sealed with a traditional cork requiring a cork-screw. A little sweet, hint of yeast, a little fruity, not a lot of fizz but quite refreshing. Overall good appertif, nice flavors. My rating: 87 pts, GV (Good Value)

N.V. Roederer Estate Brut -$21 (USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley): This is the most expensive wine I put on the list, with all the others being $12 or less. But for the price, you get good value here. Apples and citrus on the palate, a very crisp wine with subtle nuttiness and caramel. Nice finish- a great bottle of a special dinner on a budget. My rating: 89 pts, GV Read more

Wines for Spring Part II: A Shopping List - 20 wines to kick off any springtime BBQ!

Part II of my Spring Wine Guide (Read Part I here): The chill of winter is ready to be packed away with your snow pants and wool sweaters in exchange for bathing suits and tank tops. If you’re like me, this time of year you’ll also transition from drinking big red wines every night to more Champagne, crisp whites, and Rose. Sure you’ll still have a big Cabernet or Barolo with a nice dinner indoors, but on a warm spring or summer night its best to kick things off with one (or two, or three!) bottles of a light, slightly chilled wine.

Here are my recommended wines for this Spring organized by Country and Price, with truncated tasting notes (Pink text = Rose wine, Green text = white or sparkling wine, Red text = red wine):

Read more

WBW #41: White Friuli Wines

Today is the forty-first installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) (www.winebloggingwednesday.org). This month’s host’s are Jack and Joanne at Fork & Bottle and the theme is Friuli Wines. As you may know, I love Italian wines and was especially excited to have a good excuse to seek out a good bottle of Friuli.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine is made in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (seen in the image above linked from wikipedia.org). The region produces some of the best wines in Italy which are made from Tocai Friulano, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio as well as a few others. I’ve chosen a Pinot Grigio for this month’s WBW.

So last night our friend Donna stopped by to say hello and Kim and I successfully talked her into staying for a glass or two of wine and dinner (thanks for coming over Donna!). While I prepared lamb burgers, grilled parsnips and plantain fritters (recipes to follow in the next day or so), we popped the cork on the 2005 Pighin Pinot Grigio Grave del Friuli. I found the wine for $12 at the Wine Source in Baltimore, but it can be found online from anywhere between $11 and $18. This wine turned out to be quite a value.

Pighin has two vineyards (as well as two wineries) totaling 180 hectares (roughly 400 acres) in the area: a Risano vineyard in Grave del Fruili (which is the home of the wine I chose) and one at the Caprivo vineyard in the Collio area. This 2005 Pinot Grigio from the Risano vineyard had a deep pale gold color. The nose was filled with peach, pinapple, jasmine, and floral notes. The wine had very good acidity from the get-go which subsided a touch through the mid-palate and kept going nicely through a crisp finish. I found some mineral/wet stone taste in the wine as well that was quite nice. Overally, it was a great wine- the acidity would be a great match for a mussels in garlic/butter sauce tossed with linguine and drizzeled with some lemon. My rating: 88 pts, VGV (Very good value)

Kim and Donna both enjoyed the wine as well both noting good fruits and acidity.

Thanks again to Joanne at Fork & Bottle for the excellent choice. Make sure to check out her page which will have a review of all the bloggers who participated in this round of WBW!