Budget Vino

Introducing a new feature- Drew Wolfe's "Drewisms"

Today I am proud to introduce a new Budget Vino feature. Drew Wolfe , a viticulturist who manages vineyards in Monterey County, will be providing monthly insights on interesting tidbits and happenings in the wine world.  He studied Environmental Science and Analysis at Boston University, relocated to California in 2006, and has since been working in sustainable wine growing both in Napa and Monterey.

His column will be aptly titled "Drewisms", with his first entry to be posted today.

I am confident that you will enjoy Drew's unique wit and wisdom!

A blended red that really “holds up”- Pillar Box 2006 Red Table Wine

I’m about a month into a new consulting gig, and things are going pretty well. People are good, food is good, office is good…so on and so forth. Unfortunately, the commute is not. Roundtrip, it takes about 3 hours to get from my garage to the company parking lot. Without traffic, this drive is more than cut in half. Problem is that there is ALWAYS traffic (at least when I need to be at the office). My client offers a shuttle service from

San Francisco, but during my first few weeks, I opted to drive. This was a bad decision on my part (one which I have recently corrected). After battling traffic each day, I got back to the city aggravated and annoyed.

One day, as a winter rain storm battered the Bay Area and my drive time doubled, all I could think about was how badly I wanted a glass of wine. I didn’t need it per se, I just really wanted one! So, on my way home, I stopped off at the nearest BevMo and perused the featured reds. I came across a wine called “Pillar Box.” The label looked slick, and Robert Parker had given it a score of 91. I don’t usually give these scores much weight when making my buying decisions, but I was thirsty and really wanted to get to my couch. With no other evaluation criteria available, I decided to go with Mr. Parker’s words of praise. I bought the bottle, sped home, and finally got to relax after a frustrating trip through the rain. 

A little bit about “Pillar Box.” This wine is a 2006 red table wine from Australia. It is a blend of 53% Shiraz, 37% Cabernet, and 10% Merlot. While I have disagreed with Mr. Wilfred Wong on many occasions, I found myself completely in agreement with Mr. Robert Parker. This wine was great. It was smooth, dynamic, and just plain tasty. It was a great sipping wine, and it just got better as I drank more (for reasons other than my own tipsiness). Blended wines are always a bit of a gamble, but this one is a real winner.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.

Top bargain wines of 2007- per the Wall Street Journal

A good buddy of mine sent this to me last night. It’s the Wall Street Journal’s list of top wine bargains of 2007. The article highlights 9 wines in total, of which 3 are under $10. (Note that the other 6 wines cost no more than $10.99, only $1 above the Budget Vino price cap.)

A comment in the article that I really appreciate is this one-

“there have never been as many genuinely good wines available at low prices. The trick, in most cases, is to look beyond the usual suspects. The world right now is awash in wine as country after country, from Austria to Uruguay, improves its winemaking and seeks to compete in the international marketplace”

I liked this comment for a couple reasons.

1. It acknowledges that budget wine can be great wine.
2. It confirms what many of my top choices seem to indicate- that great budget wine is coming from countries other than the US and France.

The article is a quick read, and I recommend giving it a look. The link is here.

Let me know what you think.

Happy new year!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy new year and a healthy 2008.

In the upcoming year, I plan to drink a lot more budget wine, and I hope you'll join me in this journey!

Until '08...

71 is no 61- Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 71

So this was interesting. Almost exactly a year ago, I tried the Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 61. It immediately became one of my favorite budget wines. It was so good, that my friend and wine connoisseur Chad Richard chose to serve it at his wedding. Click here to read my review.

A couple weeks ago, I was at a local grocery store, and I spotted the Fess Parker Frontier Red label. I was so excited. I wasn't planning on drinking wine that night, but since I rarely see this wine at stores, I decided to alter my plans and pick up a bottle.  I noticed that this Frontier Red was the "Lot 71" release. The release I reviewed a year ago was "Lot 61." Figuring the two couldn't be all that different, I went home, let the bottle breathe (ie. opened it and let it sit for 30 minutes), and waited anxiously to pour myself a glass.

After my self-imposed wait, I took a sip of the Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 71. It was so bad. I was so disappointed. My mistake in this situation was believing that this wine could be consistent year over year. It most definitely was not. While I continue to endorse Lot 61, I would highly recommend you avoid the Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 71.

Recommendation: Don't buy it

Another winner from Cellar No. 8- Cabernet Sauvignon

I haven't had a decent Cabernet Sauvignon in months. For awhile, I thought that it was just me and my changing tastes...and then I tried the Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Over Thanksgiving, I went to Palm Desert (a few miles from Palm Springs, CA) to celebrate with some of my closest friends and their family. My family lives everywhere but San Francisco, so Thanksgiving used to be a non-event for me. That was until my buddy Ivan invited me to spend the holiday with his now wife and family. It started an amazing tradition that I look forward too every November.

This year, Alison (Ivan's wife) asked me to pick up some wine at the local Vons. I scoured the aisles for at least 10 minutes until I spotted a Cellar No. 8 label. (If you read this site regularly, you'll know that Cellar No. 8 Merlot is one of my all time budget favorites.) I picked up the bottle and quickly realized that this was not the Merlot, but rather it was the company's Cabernet Sauvignon offering. Remembering how much I love the Merlot, I decided to give this wine a chance. It was a brilliant choice.

This wine exceeded any expectations I could have had. It was so good. Everyone loved it- so much so that Alison asked us to return to the store the next day to buy a case. The wine was smooth, went beautifully with every dish that was served, and left no heavy aftertaste.

If you've taken my previous advice and tried the Cellar No. 8 Merlot, I encourage you to give this one a shot. If you haven't, this is a great intro to the world of budget wines.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it (a top choice)

Beaujolais nouveau is coming- Read this post to find out why you should care

If you've never had Beaujolais nouveau but you enjoy wine, then please read on. Until last year, I had never even heard of the wine, let alone wondered why I should care about it. Then I had my first Beaujolais nouveau experience.

As accurately written on Wikipedia, "Beaujolais nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November." The wine is only available this one time a year, and given the limited quantities, it sells out fast. Last year, I bought the last two bottles at the local Beverages and More, and that was only 4 days after the wine was released.

I am typically not a Beaujolais wine drinker, but this one time a year I definitely make an exception. The wine is just fun to drink. It is not complex, it has limited structure, but it is very drinkable and has a festive taste to it. I can't really think of the words to explain how a wine is "festive", so I encourage you to buy a bottle to understand what I mean. Definitely note that due to its short fermentation period (3 weeks), the wine has to be drunk really quickly, which for me has never been a problem.

To read more about the Beaujolais nouveau, check out the Wikipedia page. If you've read enough and want to give this wine a try, don't fret, the 3rd Thursday of November is almost here!

This gold rush isn't even worth walking too- Gold Rush Sierra Foothills Red Wine

I returned from the UK on Friday, October 26th, and the 8 hour time difference hit me hard. I'm already a bad sleeper, but throw in a big time zone change and I'm a certified insomniac.  The first nights back my sleep was miserable, and by the time Wednesday the 31st came around, I was a total crazy person. I could hardly string together a sentence, and I looked exhausted and weathered. Fundamentally, I just needed a good nights sleep!

I wracked my brain for hours thinking of potential solutions to my sleep deprivation, and after some careful deliberation, I hatched what I determined to be a fool proof plan. I was going to get myself a little drunk off a bottle of budget red wine. If I couldn't fall asleep naturally, well then wine would be my "Ambien" (a US prescription sleep aid for those not familiar).

I went to the store and bought a bottle of the first wine I saw- Gold Rush Sierra Foothills Red Table Wine. I got home, opened the bottle, poured myself a glass, and took my first sip.

Initial thoughts- totally awful.

Second sip- terrible.

Basically, this wine is just plain bad. I'd expand on why I came to this conclusion, but I wouldn't want to waste your time.

After 3 sips of this wine, I poured out the rest of my glass (which I pretty much never do), tossed the bottle, and came to grips with the fact that my "fool proof" plan had been foiled. Unless something truly magical happened, It was going to be another restless night.

Recommendation: Don't buy it

Enjoy Budget Vino?- Tell your friends, send me your comments

While I truly enjoy writing Budget Vino, what I really love is getting feedback from readers. I'm always striving to make this site better, and your thoughts are invaluable. If there is something you'd like to see, or changes you desire, definitely let me know.

In the meantime, please take a moment to send this site link to your friends (10 would be great, 20 would be monumental). If you enjoy the site, why not share the wealth? :)

Thanks for reading!
Dorian

A surprising wine find in a small UK town- Deakin Estate 2004 Shiraz

If you've read my previous post, you know that right now I am working away on a consulting project in Wootton Bassett, UK.  After work each evening, I return to my hotel, and am pretty much forced into solitary confinement until a co-worker picks me up for work the next morning. Why am I in solitary? Well, there is literally nothing to do in Wootton Bassett, or in the nearest town of Swindon. My only nighttime option is to check email and have a couple drinks.

(I've pasted in a map showing the location of Wootton Bassett and Swindon, as I doubt that any of you have heard of either town.)

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

This brings me to the great surprise of this trip....

The hotel I am staying at (The DeVere Hotel Shaw Ridge) is pretty darn nice- especially given its location. As part of the hotel's customer service program, each day, housekeeping places a complimentary small bottle of red wine on my hotel room desk (unheard of in the US). There the bottle sits all day, waiting for me to return to my room, graciously offering to help numb my boredom.

The complimentary wine is a Deakin Estate 2004 Shiraz from Australia. Now I'm not sure if it's the environment playing tricks on my taste buds, or the fact that it's provided at no cost, but this wine is actually really good. The Deakin is dark and rich. It's fruity, but without offense. Overall, it's a tasty wine that is most certainly comparable to so many other "definite buy" wines I've reviewed in the past.

I did a little research, and it looks like this wine can be purchased for about $5 a bottle in the US. For that price, I'll definitely be seeking it out when I return home. The company just released their Shiraz 2005 vintage. I'm curious how it compares to the 2004. Maybe I'll sneak a bottle home so I can compare...

If you're searching for a wine that pairs well with a bad day or a bad English meal (of which I've had too many to count), this may just be the one you've been looking for.

Recommendation: Definite buy (pending confirmation once out of tiny UK town)