dirt cheap wines

[helenas]

...i entered the local winestore clutching Andrea Immer's Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. I was determined to stock on value-priced wines (that according to this guide do exist). After browsing through jug wine section , i finally ended with a bottle of Delicato Family Vineyards Shiraz 2001 and italian Citra 2000(?)Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. We opened Citra for the dinner that night and it was plain awful (i mean the wine).

So next day we tried Delicato. I'm not a big fan of shiraz, but guess what? We were pleasantly surprised. Nothing sophisticated here, but it was really a pleasant wine to drink and a perfect accompaniment for a weekday dinner.

Just wanted to let you know, in case you tried some nice cheap wines and would like to share them. In the meantime i have Wilfrid's Fat Bastard to try...

[Fat Guy]

What price point are we talking about here? Are you paying the standard $7.99 for Delicato?

That particular Citra is lousy, but the Trebbiano is acceptable as a wine for summer quaffing -- and as a cooking wine.

There's plenty of good wine out there for under $10 per bottle, and you can find it if you're willing to do some tasting. At that price point it's not entirely productive to go looking for a bottle someone else recommends. Many times the best deals are on odd batches that might not be evenly distributed.

Are you familiar with Best Cellars?

http://www.bestcellars.com/bestcellars/default.asp

They have 100 wines for under $10.

And that's not even the biggest collection of under-$10 wines in New York City. At Sherry-Lehmann, which has a bum rap as an expensive wine store, there are 140 wines under $10, many of which are not the usual mass-produced suspects.

http://www.sherry-lehmann.com/

It's probably not worth the expense of shipping, but it's worth looking at those lists to get some ideas.

[John Whiting]

I'm interested that FG (together with most lists) sites $10 per bottle as the upper price limit for decent cheap wine. In the UK it's £5, which is about $7.50. (That's the cut-off point for the Wine Society's cheap list, and the wines included aren't rubbish.) This in spite of the absolutely swinging government tax. Why is decent wine so much more expensive in a wine-producing country?

France, of course, makes the pricing in both English-speaking countries look ridiculous. Incipient Puritainism, I suppose.

[mogsob]

In London (and at Waitrose, no less) La Cuvee Mythique sells routinely for 4.99 GBP and Dr. Thanisch's Berkanastler (sp?) Doctor Kabinett sells for 7.99 GBP.

In NY, those same bottles sell at Sherry Lehman for $15 and $28 respectively.

Needless to say I bought quite a bit of each.

[helenas]

FG, this particular Delicato was in 1.5 liter bottle and was about $10.

And i think i tried all decent wines in price range of $10-$15, and decided to

look into lower price range for weeknights, which presumably should allow us to splurge during weekend.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I promise you that the best $10 wine you will ever buy is Domaine de Pepiere Muscadet, It tastes like a bottle of wine that is worth 3-5 times the price. And they make a luxury bottling that costs something like $12 which can age for 10 years. The wines are loaded with fruit and they have laser beam acidity with a long, long finish. I couldn't think of a better wine to drink with some chilly and briny oysters or clams. It truly meets the definition of killer juice.

[GordonCooks]

Hogue Late Harvest Reisling - 5.99 ea

[LaNiña]

I promise you that the best $10 wine you will ever buy is Domaine de Pepiere Muscadet, It tastes like a  bottle of wine that is worth 3-5 times the price. And they make a luxury bottling that costs something like $12 which can age for 10 years. The wines are loaded with fruit and they have laser beam acidity with a long, long finish. I couldn't think of a better wine to drink with some chilly and briny oysters or clams. It truly meets the definition of killer juice.

Where do you get it in NYC, Steve?

[jaybee]

I promise you that the best $10 wine you will ever buy is Domaine de Pepiere Muscadet

That sounds like a good tip, Steve. I recall that years ago, when Pruniers was in its prime, their house wine was a Muscadet. It was bottled for them and very inexpensive.

67 Wines and Liquors sell it for $9.99

67 Wines

[Robert Nesta Marley]

I promise you that the best $10 wine you will ever buy is Domaine de Pepiere Muscadet, It tastes like a  bottle of wine that is worth 3-5 times the price. And they make a luxury bottling that costs something like $12 which can age for 10 years. The wines are loaded with fruit and they have laser beam acidity with a long, long finish. I couldn't think of a better wine to drink with some chilly and briny oysters or clams. It truly meets the definition of killer juice.

Where do you get it in NYC, Steve?

why, at bar demi on 17th street, nina.....this really sweet yet very mod place in gramercy park. perhaps steve could imagine spending $24 on a bottle of something he so highly recommends..... and i bet they wouldn't charge him corkage after quaffing that with you.

[Liza]

If the kind folks at Bar Demi still have some of that award-winning Capricious cheese, I'll bet they could persuade even a few more Egulleteers to attend...

[Robert Nesta Marley]

it's eight months old, same age as the wheel that won the award in washington. weren't you there, liza?? i know someone here told me they were there....i think it was you....sorry but my memory is approaching 30.

[Liza]

We were there in Washington and D. loved the cheese. But we saw that Bar Demi had some Capricious at a recent tasting and were wondering if there were any leftovers...

[Robert Nesta Marley]

absolutely. it's showing impressively, especially for a domestic cheese...ha ha.

[Steve Plotnicki]

perhaps steve could imagine spending $24 on a bottle of something he so highly recommends..... and i bet they wouldn't charge him corkage after quaffing that with you.

Why spend $24 on a bottle of wine when you are friends with the importer and he trades you for olive oil? Anyway, I can think of better reasons to visit bar Demi like visiting the management .

[tommy]

[Toby]

I promise you that the best $10 wine you will ever buy is Domaine de Pepiere Muscadet

Where do you get it in NYC, Steve?

Nina, the wine store on 1st Avenue between 22nd and 23rd Streets (1st Avenue Wine, I think it's called) has Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet for $8.99.

[Robert Nesta Marley]

Anyway, I can think of better reasons to visit bar Demi like visiting the management  .

and maybe bringing her some of that olive oil....

[winodj]

What, Mad Dog 20/20 isn't good enough for you?

Seriously though, I've found this awesome Tuscan, Villa Puccini 1998 I think... runs about 10-12 bucks a bottle. Very versatile as I recall.

[LaNiña]

Okay so it's not *dirt* cheap - but I happened upon an Argentinian malbec (2000), Cavas de Valle, it's $13.95 retail. Really, really liked it. Much better than all the other Argentinian malbecs in the lower end that I've been trying. Went back to buy more, and they sold out and don't know when they'll get more.

If anybody sees it, please let me know - and try it yourselves!

PS Wilfrid - this is the one I was talking about last night.

[swissmiss]

A good, cheap wine is Robert's Rock, a shiraz-malbec blend from South Africa. It is not widely available in stores but can easily be ordered and costs about $6.50 a bottle. I don't know much about wine but enjoy this one very much.