Oak Grove Petite Syrah---good, and cheap

Had a glass of this with some apps. at Russian Tea Time last night before the John Williams recital.
Afterwards I googled it because I hadn't had it before. Paid $9 for the glass and it turns out to be about a $9 bottle retail. I'm not going to beat the dead horse of restaurant mark-ups---they have their reasons--- but the good news was that it was might tasty for what one ought to be able to get it for in the store.

The nice thing was it had a bit of pepperiness that was a welcome relief from all the soft, jammy "fruit bombs" that seem to dominate this price category. So it held up to a bit of food.

I will say that the few reviews I read on line faulted it for a short, weak finish. I didn't notice that too much, perhaps because I wasn't "tasting", just drinking along with a meal.

If you're looking for something under $10 to have around for informal gatherings, light meals, etc., I'd say it's a very worthy candidate.
If it turns out to be over $10 in our market (I haven't checked), there are probably better values.

Petit Syrah is one of my favorite grapes. I have found that most of the cheap ones are pretty decent. In the 10 (at least on sale) and under range I would suggest Windmill, McManis, and Di Bartoli from australia (dont know why it isnt called durif, but its not). The readily available Bogle is usually pretty good too. I have never had the Oak Grove, but I will look for it.

-Will

Looks like you have a fairly comprehensive familiarity with affordable PS's. I can't swear Oak Grove stacks up against the competition, but I enjoyed it last night. I look forward to trying your recs. Have heard nice things about McManus, among others.