Do you have a house wine?

Is there a certain type of wine that is always in your home? I'm trying to pick out a couple of reasonably priced, go to wines to always have on hand, for example Joel Gott Zinfandel and Achaval Ferrer Malbec. What are your everyday wines? I'd be especially interested to hear your Pinot and Syrah picks. Thanks.

I go through phases with table wine around the house, but two low-priced wines that I find myself going back to are:

Bonny Doon Ca'Del Solo Big House Red - A fragrant and slightly spicy red. If you like syrah, this should appeal to you as a table red. Usually around $8

Dry Creek Chenin Blanc - Not the best to drink on it's own, but pairs well with a variety of foods as a table wine. Dry, but full of enough fruity flavors and good acidity to stand up to a lot of meals. Also around $8 - $10.

Best,
Michael

I have a house red and a house white for about half a dozen bottles at a time, when I get tired of those choices and want to try something else.

I do like having Big House Red and Big House White on hand.

Mrs. Davooda insists we keep Honig Sauvignon Blanc on hand and chilled at all times. That's the trouble with visiting Napa - the $7.00 Buena Vista will no longer do

I, on the other hand, have been chipping away at six cases of Screaming Jack California Syrah we scored for $7.50 per bottle and will continue until it's gone

i change it seasonally- at the moment cotat sancerres

Kilikanoon Shiraz Killerman's Run

This summer, Famega Vinho Verde. Lightly effervescent, refreshing, and relatively low in alcohol (9.5%) make it just the thing on a hot summer weeknight. Plus it usually runs only $6 a bottle.

McWilliams Shiraz, Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. Always.
Well, except when Monkey Bay is on sale at dom's for $8.69 a bottlle.

Though Pinot Noir is not nearly my favorite varietal, the GF loves it. We really like Joseph Drouhin's 2005 Laforet Bourgogne Pinot Noir. Nicely balanced, medium-light Pinot Noir with a little more body and for me taste than other Pinots at its level. You can get it at Binny's for around $11 if you join their free frequent members list. Really a gem at this price point. We've probably gone through almost a case since April or so. It's our "everyday" wine. Cheap enough to not jump off a building if you happen to not finish the bottle and nice for a couple glasses of wine on a regular night.

Bster

Root1 Cabernet Sauvignon is also very good at the $12-$14 price point and I believe available at Binny's and/or Sam's. A little spicy and full-bodied. I'd let it open up for 10-15 minutes before drinking. A very good buy.

Bster

One of the best Merlots I've ever had - and Merlot is my least favorite varietal next to Chianti - is the full-bodied, fruit-forward, Cab-like Napa Cellars 2002 Merlot which went for around $13-$16 and may be hard to find. I do not believe Sam's has it, Binny's may. I did see it last week at a liquor store in Lincoln Square whose name escapes me.

Really tastes like a Cab, everyone I've recommended it to loves it!

Cline Zinfandel 2005 Contra Costa Ancient Vines - probably find it at Sam's or Binny's for around $12-$15. Really good. Anything from Cline is generally pretty good especially their Zins. Very consistent.

Lastly, Casa de la Vega 2005 Tempranillo. Cannot remember if it's Spanish, Chilean or Argentinian but very spicy, full-bodied gem of a value at around $13 or so sold at Sam's and Binny's.

Bster

My go to white is the 2004 Vina Nora Albarino Peitan - flinty, slightly acidic, goes great with food. $9.99 at Binny's.

My summer red is the 2005 Stefano Farina Dolcetto de Diano d'Alba. I'm gazing forlornly at the last bottle laying on top of my trash can, time to stock up again. This is a very light red, but with enough acid to stand up to food. Nice bouquet, just a very interesting little wine. Great with pastas and vegetables. Only $7.99 at Binny's, this is a bargain.

I've always loved Bourgognes, dating back to the days when you could get a reliably decent one at decent prices. But of course it started to become a crap shoot 20 yrs ago, so I decided to start trying pinots. Less of a crapshoot, but less of a burgundy as well.

A few months ago I tried a Louis Latour pinot vin de table--Domaine de Valmoissoine. Oh boy! A real French tasting pinot, light and lovely, and at a good price. It's the house wine now. I am sooooo happy I found it.

Geo

Fast Eddie wrote:My go to white is the 2004 Vina Nora Albarino Peitan - flinty, slightly acidic, goes great with food. $9.99 at Binny's.

My summer red is the 2005 Stefano Farina Dolcetto de Diano d'Alba. I'm gazing forlornly at the last bottle laying on top of my trash can, time to stock up again. This is a very light red, but with enough acid to stand up to food. Nice bouquet, just a very interesting little wine. Great with pastas and vegetables. Only $7.99 at Binny's, this is a bargain.

God I love dolcettos. Look for the La Slina dolcettos- so good.

I like Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull Zinfandel it's a good everyday red that doesn't break the bank! At least once a month you can pick it up at Binny's for $5.99. Another red would be Bogle Merlot. As far as white goes, it's either Ecco Domani Pino Grigio or Hess Select Chardonnay again both under $10

I always have some New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, often Kim Crawford when it is on sale in the low teens. Lots of Rose, often Spanish like Marquis de Caceras. I am going to pick up a case of the Borsao rose at Wine Discount Center at 5.79/bot, though I have never tried it (I have always thought that their red wines are a good value and the Wine Speculator gave the rose an 89). I have a lot of different red wines that I usually keep for a couple of years or longer, so I dont really have a house red.

-Will

WllG--I've recently had Kim Crawford's pinot (in fact my guy is getting me some in at $15/bot), which I very much liked, but I've never tasted his sauvignon blanc. What's it like, and what's the cost?

Geo

We have been steadily making our way through a case of Menage a Trois from Folie a Deaux. A refreshing, lightweight red. It was $7/bottle at Costco, but I don't know if they have any more of it. Haven't found a house white yet, maybe b/c we don't drink much white.

Geo- KC ($15 Sam's) is not one of my favorite NZ Sauvignon blancs, which is why I prefer the Villa Maria ($12 Trader Joe's) for the $. KC is a bit too buttery for me, not quite a chardonay, but rreminds me of that, but I would never tell someone what they like or dislike, so I would recc you buy one of each and see which you prefer. I like my sauvignon blancs, very crisp, of course some people don't like the dryness of a SB. I've probably tasted all of the NZ Marlborough Sam's and Wine Discount sells, from Oyster Bay, Nautilis, Brancott, Dashwood, Omaka Springs, Tohu, Giesen ( a good $9 wine) Governor's Bay(please take a pass on this one) Nobilio, and I always return to the Villa Maria, or the Monkey Bay ($9). I actually prefer the screw top on the Villa Maria, to the cork on the Monkey Bay.

nicinchic and Geo - if you are in the market for Sav Blanc at the $15 price point I would throw in to the discussion Honig Sav Blanc, which I can buy downstate for $15.10 (w/case discount). It is a Napa Sav Blanc that delivers all the bang for a reasonable buck (Spottswoode Sav Blanc - also Napa - is $35). More grassy than melon-y, dry, crisp, and with a lingering finish not normally found with SB, it is more subtly nuanced, IMHO, than the Marlborough Sav Blancs. Mrs. Davooda and I were on a lengthy Marlborough kick a few years back (when they were much more inexpensive than now) and our palates grew weary of the heavier gooseberry, kiwi fruit and honeydew tones.

Just another option and usually available at Sam's/Binny's, etc.

Davooda

nicinchic wrote:Geo- KC ($15 Sam's) is not one of my favorite NZ Sauvignon blancs, which is why I prefer the Villa Maria ($12 Trader Joe's) for the $. KC is a bit too buttery for me, not quite a chardonay, but rreminds me of that, but I would never tell someone what they like or dislike, so I would recc you buy one of each and see which you prefer. I like my sauvignon blancs, very crisp, of course some people don't like the dryness of a SB. I've probably tasted all of the NZ Marlborough Sam's and Wine Discount sells, from Oyster Bay, Nautilis, Brancott, Dashwood, Omaka Springs, Tohu, Giesen ( a good $9 wine) Governor's Bay(please take a pass on this one) Nobilio, and I always return to the Villa Maria, or the Monkey Bay ($9). I actually prefer the screw top on the Villa Maria, to the cork on the Monkey Bay.

I like the Villa Maria too, though it's often $12-14/bottle here in Kansas City. You can get it at Costco for $10, though. I was surprised at how much I enjoy Brancott, which is under $10 at a regular liquor store (Batson's on Johnson Drive is my usual), I think.

I also quite like the Kim Crawford.

And I used to think I was picky about my Sauvignon Blancs.

Davooda thanks for the recc. I will give it a try. I usually pass on domestic SB, as I just have never found one that compares to NZ. They always seem to have a more rounded, buttery taste to me. I really like the crisp, grassy, kiwi notes. But, maybe my fondnes is also somewhat mental after visiting and falling in love with NZ. Good memories and I'll always remember the taste of a SB as we overlooking the ocean and vineyards.

I must admit to being with nicinchic on my preferred SB flavor profile: I like edgey, sharp, and decidedly grassy SBs, pretty much orthogonal to the standard chard and CA SB. So I'll certainly give Villa Maria and Honig a try. Might even hit Costco tomorrow, after Gomer's (our local small-scale version of Sam's), and if I do, I try Aaron's suggestion.

I learned about SBs one year when I was starving in Paris. I started out drinking Gros Plant de Nantais and after I ran out of Tums, a friend put me on to an SB from the upper Loire that I could afford. That's how I learned to love grassy SBs.

And so long as I'm here:

ISO--the name of the northern Italian red grape that makes such a weird and wild light orange-ish looking wine. I know Heitz (of all people) used to do one, long ago. I used to buy it from an old Eye-tallian winemaker over near Fairfield when I was at Davis...

Geo

I find the comments interesting on the KC sauvignon blanc, which is usually around 12.99/bot at wine discount center, I think. While I like it because it is a bit more complex than some of the other NZ's, it is still a typical crisp, grapefruity wine. I dont think that it is anything like some of the malo/oak treated american ones. I like the Villa Maria and monkey bay also. I am not sure that I have had a bad NZ sb. I have always liked Sancerre's, which are getting too pricey for everyday drinking, and the NZ's are a great substitution.
I have not had a lot of the NZ pinot, but I have been happy with the ones that I have had. Cloudy Bay makes an excellent one, which is better, and sometimes cheaper, than their overpriced sb. Considering that most of the NZ pinot vines are 5 years old or less, there may be some truly great wine coming from there in another 5-10 years.

-Will

Geo wrote:ISO--the name of the northern Italian red grape that makes such a weird and wild light orange-ish looking wine. I know Heitz (of all people) used to do one, long ago. I used to buy it from an old Eye-tallian winemaker over near Fairfield when I was at Davis...

Geo

that would be Grignolino
http://www.cal-italia.org/varietals/grignolino.html

According to my wine board friend Roberto Rogness
http://winecamp.squarespace.com/journal/2006/3/23/vinexpo.html

Heitz does make one

http://www.madwine.com/hegr20.html

mhill95149 remarks:

that would be Grignolino

It would, indeed! And I'm just astounded to see that Heitz still makes it. I'll most definitely see if I can't rustle some up here in KC.

If you've never experienced this rather oddly-composed wine, you really should. Consult the description on the site mentioned

http://www.madwine.com/hegr20.html

When I was in grad school at Davis, all the wine/vit profs would venture down I-80 to near Fairfield to visit this wonderful guy, Cadenasso, who basiclly made a bunch of wine in his barn, and sold it out of his basement. He was wonderfully entertaining, old-school Californian. His grignolino was simply amazing--tart, fruity, and the lightest color, definitely orange, you've ever seen.

He also made a fruity, delicate, floral thing he called 'chenin blanc' but was more likely some obscure muscat. Wonderful in the Summer.

Ah, memories!

Tnx mhill!!

Geo

http://travelenvoy.com/wine/CentralVall ... Winery.htm

WillG wrote:I find the comments interesting on the KC sauvignon blanc...While I like it because it is a bit more complex than some of the other NZ's, it is still a typical crisp, grapefruity wine. I dont think that it is anything like some of the malo/oak treated american ones.

I would agree with this, too. I didn't find it oaky.

Talk about your Costco bargains! I went there yesterday to get the Villa Maria, which I did, only to see a Louie Latour Ardeche Chardonnay for--get this!-- $4.99! I trust Louie Latour. I knew that this not-quite-in-the-Burgogne-region would nevertheless have *some* of those qualities about it. That's what Latour does for a living, sell wines that taste like Burgognes are supposed to taste.

And this one certainly smells like a...well, let's just say a minor Macon Blanc. Right enough. It's a bit flabby in the mouth, and it has a sort of coarse texture, like you could feel a bit of the grape skin, but dang! it still tastes pretty right. Hence, at that price, it's a nice little wine to use at all times except when you need A Better Burgogne-style white.

Geo

Geo wrote:Talk about your Costco bargains! I went there yesterday to get the Villa Maria, which I did, only to see a Louie Latour Ardeche Chardonnay for--get this!-- $4.99! I trust Louie Latour.

Yeah, not a great wine, but a heck of a good buy at $4.99. I sent an email about that wine to the KC listserv a week or so ago. Incidentally, I believe it's the Grand Ardeche rather than the Ardeche, the former of which has a little more oak. I can't remember why I think this is true, but I do.

You're right Aaron--its name is "GRAND Ardeche". Its provenence is V.d.P des Coteaux de l'Ardeche.

This is the counterpart to Latour's V.d.P. pinot Domaine de Valmoissine.

Geo