Question for the corks

[brenda]

Got any good wines to recommend in the under $20 range?

[xenon]

We've been on a chianti kick recently. This one is our current fave:

https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/sangiovese/castellare-chianti-classico/p/17799750?glia=true&s=1411&&pid=cpc:Core+Catalog+-+Shopping%2BUS%2BWASH%2BENG%2BSPART::google::&gclid=Cj0KCQiAh4j-BRCsARIsAGeV12DXSXsUFW8gSunELxhzjDFm40D04Vojnv8bENSyExnYg7-r6LSAwxcaAq7UEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[brenda]

We love the reds. Thanks!

[Mik]

Southern French, Spanish and Italian reds. Great with food, lots and lots of very good $10-15 wine. Avoids the jammy excess of California and the Southern Hemisphere.

[brenda]

@Mik
$10 is even better. I love when a $10 bottle drinks like a $30+ bottle. We've been fortunate to find some, but they don't usually stay at $10.

[Mik]

Right now my average bottle price at home is around $7.50, but that is because i have found some really spectacular closeout deals over the last couple years and I buy quantity. Helps to know the wine folks.

[Loki]

@brenda

Pinot? Burgundy? Rioja? Shiraz? What style do you like- light, medium or full bodied? Lots of “sugar”? Sweet or dry? An interesting taste or smooth? I am no expert but I have found that people consistently like either smooth or “interesting” wines.

[Mik]

I don't know about Brenda, but my favorites are:

Pinot noirs - Oregon especially, Burgundy (I wish - such a crapshoot but incredible when you hit), some Californias. South America shows promise but not there yet.

Rhones and other Southern France - the perfect food wine

Great cheap Bordeaux - it;s out there, you just have to find it. Chateau Sabatey is a good pick.

Italian reds of all sorts - such variety of styles and grapes!! Montepulciano di Abruzzo, Chianti, Piedmontese Nebbiolos (wish i could afford Barolos), Barberas

Zinfandel when I can find it in the old style I like - spicy, dense, but not so jammy

Spanish reds of all sorts, like Italians - so much great $10 wine.

[bachophile]

I was going to recommend montepulciano d’abruzzo but mik beat me to it

Also good veneto wines, like valpolicella.

For us it’s usually either Italian or local for reds.

Whites for us are mostly French.

[Klaus]

Link to video

[Mik]

@bachophile That's a great chart! Italian wines can be intimidating until you get used to the regions and styles. The used to be the world's largest producer. Not sure if they are still or not.