http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x79079Oh my.
franksolich is busy in real life, but he doesn't want the primitives to think he quit watching them--not a chance.
Anyway.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 02:56 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Original message
Inexpensive wine recommendation.
Yeah, I know...I haven't drank anything really in many years, but I do still miss having a nice glass of wine with dinner.
I went to the wine shop yesterday to find an inexpensive red to put in my Sunday gravy today. I picked up a bottle that was only $3.99. It's Tisdale Merlot out of Modesto, CA. It doesn't even have a vintage year on the bottle.
I poured a little bit in a glass to taste while I was cooking and was really surprised. It's a nice fruity wine, not in the least sweet and it's very smooth. I always expect a cheap red to be somewhat more harsh, but it wasn't at all. It was very good with a nice berry flavor.
So if you aren't near a Costco where they sell two-buck Chuck, this is a good replacement.
Red China makes some good wines, or so franksolich has heard.
WhiteTara (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 03:30 PM
Response to Original message
1. when I lived on the west coast, I never paid more than $4.00 a bottle. Now that I'm in Arkansas, there is NOTHING less than $9.00. And it was stuff I wouldn't drink before. I finally found a nice Australian merlot (Foxhorn) for about $8.00 a liter and a half bottle.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 03:55 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Response to Reply #1
2. I'm right next door in Oklahoma, and haven't drank anything alcoholic for years. If I need to get wine for cooking, I have to make sure to do it by Saturday coz they're not allowed to sell any alcohol on Sundays, still!
Yeah, sure, we know, the wine's for.....cooking. Yeah. Got it.
GoCubsGo (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 04:06 PM
Response to Original message
3. Thanks for the recommendation. Here's another rec....
Tisdale is sold around here for around three bucks per bottle. I'll have to give it a shot some time. I haven't tried it because we have an Aldi here. They sell Winking Owl for $2.99. I understand it comes from Gallo Wineries. I like the Shiraz, and the Merlot and Cab are also decent. In fact, I like the Shiraz better than some more expensive bottles I've had recently.
When franksolich tippled, he always liked St.-Louis Beajolais, that bitter red wine that tastes like the blood of one's enemies. It was great.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 05:48 PM
THE DEFROCKED WARPED PRIMITIVE, #09 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message
4. Just about anything for more than five bucks that comes from California is a good deal. California plonk is vastly superior to the red ink from any of the wine snob countries. If it comes in a bottle with a cork, you pretty much can't go wrong because some care was taken to monitoring the chemistry before bottling.
Still, taste it before you cook with it to make sure it hasn't gone horribly wrong while it's aged in the bottle. Anything you can sip and enjoy is fine to cook with.
If it makes you make a face, something's wrong with it and it'll ruin your food.
For the record, I like Beringer's selection. It's more expensive than a lot of them but since I cook with it and don't guzzle it, I pay the price.
Yeah, sure, the defrocked warped primitive doesn't guzzle. Right.
beac (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 10:11 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Good advice to taste before adding to your dish. One in eight bottle of wine is "corked", so I am told.
This is also why people should never be shy about sending back wine in a restaurant. If it tastes bad, it probably IS bad. And the restaurant gets reimbursed by the distributor, so you aren't hurting them by asking for a new bottle.
WhiteTara (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 10:42 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. my personal rule for wine is older than 2 years for red, less than 2 years for white. For drinking, minimum 13% alcohol, for cooking, it can be as low as 11%.
Arkansas Granny (1000+ posts) Fri Aug-13-10 03:38 PM
Response to Reply #4
22. I like the Beringer's, too. I don't cook with it often, but I enjoy a glass now and then.
Granny probably "enjoys" a glass a lot more often than "now and then."
Dover (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 07:20 PM
THE WHITE CLIFFS PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
5. I rarely drink it anymore either. But I too enjoy using wine for cooking so I buy my favorite smoothm enjoyable cheap wine, Ste. Genevieve (a Texas wine). I don't like buying the large bottles for cooking however, because unless we serve the remainder as a drink with the meal I've got a lot leftover which just goes bad. What a waste! So instead I buy them in the small pint sized bottles that come in a four pack, usually white an/or merlot. I'll look for Tisdale next time and give it a try.
Fun fact: Did you know that Texas had an established wine industry well before California? However, Prohibition ruined it and current 'dry laws' are still holding it back in many counties although overall it's been experiencing a renaissance in Tx.
beac (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 10:07 PM
Response to Original message
6. What a coincidence! We drank our first bottle of Tisdale Merlot last week (also lured in by the low, low price.) Since that was not bad for the price, I bought a bottle of their Cabernet at the store yesterday. Haven't opened it yet. Will report back when we drink it.
In other words, the primitive will report back in about ten minutes.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 10:41 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Response to Reply #6
8. That IS a coincidence.
I never would have bought it if it were just to drink, even though I know there are some very good inexpensive wines out there. I would have bought Chateau St. Michelle or Clos du Bois. This was definitely a great surprise and a little better than not bad, I thought. I love when things happen like that.
beac (1000+ posts) Sun Jul-18-10 10:55 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. We usually spring for a decent bottle, but I couldn't resist the bargain and I always feel safer trying a cheap bottle of red vs. a cheap white. Life's been a little rough, so we've been treating ourselves to wine with dinner more often. And if that bottle isn't breaking the bank, I'll feel a little less guilty.
Stinky The Clown (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-19-10 09:58 PM
THE SPARKLING HUSBAND PRIMITIVE, #05 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message
13. The wine biz today is such that it is almost impossible to get a bad bottle of wine
For four bux you can expect what you got - a perfectly drinkable, if unexciting, wine. Ten bux starts getting quite complex, Fifteen bux is seriously good wine. Twenty bux makes your socks go up and down. Fifty comes with a casket and a one way ticket to heaven.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Tue Jul-20-10 07:46 AM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Response to Reply #13
14. There were a couple of bottles we tried just for drinking a few weeks ago that I would definitely not purchase again. One was Barefoot Riesling, pretty tart and not very enjoyable. Bill, never a real wine drinker and still isn't, picked up a large bottle of Gallo Chardonnay, yuck!
Yeah, we know; hippyhubby Wild Bill prefers homemade corn liquor.
Stinky The Clown (1000+ posts) Tue Jul-20-10 07:08 PM
THE SPARKLING HUSBAND PRIMITIVE, #05 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Reply #14
17. Barefoot is a brand that appears regularly at pot lucks out this way
Drinkable, nice enough wines. Again, not exciting but not bad.
EFerrari (1000+ posts) Tue Jul-20-10 03:08 PM
DOUG'S STUPID EX-WIFE, #03 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message
15. Hard to rec because stuff that is inexpensive out here is not in other states. I couldn't believe what they charge for CA wine in TX, for example.
But, the Barefoot label does pretty well across the board, reds & whites. It's about $5 a bottle here.
ETA: I see your post about the Riesling and admit, I've never tried that. Their chard is okay, merlot and cab ditto.
hippywife (1000+ posts) Tue Jul-20-10 06:33 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Response to Reply #15
16. Hi, Beth!
I imagine if that Tisdale was only $3.99 here in OK, it must be next to nothing out there.
GoneOffShore (1000+ posts) Tue Jul-20-10 11:50 PM
Response to Original message
18. Big House Red or White in a box.
Not bad stuff.
Retrograde (1000+ posts) Wed Jul-21-10 01:33 AM
Response to Original message
19. Trader Joe's carries Two-Buck Chuck at least in California. The same guy who produces it has a second label, also $2, that some local grocery stores carry.
Two Buck Chuck can be very variable: the producer, who knows everybody in the business, buys up odds and ends from various wineries and blends what he has, so sometimes - like with the current case of merlot we have - you get a decent cheap bottle, other times it's barely good enough for deglazing a pan.
Gallo has some decent lower-priced wines, but it's been a while since I've bought any.
Tanuki (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-12-10 12:07 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. We recently tried an Australian wine called "4 Emus"
The price was good, and we all enjoyed it with dinner and vowed to buy it again.
beac (1000+ posts) Thu Aug-12-10 01:47 PM
Response to Original message
21. Report on Tisdales I have tried:
So far, my favorite has been the Shiraz. Definitely tastes like it costs more that $3.99. The Cabernet is also decent as is the Chardonnay. They aren't going to knock your socks off, but $4 for a bottle to go with a simple supper on the porch is a mighty good deal in my book.
pengillian101 (1000+ posts) Sun Aug-15-10 02:06 AM
Response to Original message
23. Well, I am more of a beer gal, myself
My sis liked wine and gave it up all-together also. Too much anything runs in families for certain.
