Cookaholics Bulletin Board

FWIW, I too know of and have had numerous inexpensive-but-good wines. My assessment above was based on having had several bottles of Santa Margherita and and having found it not good after the first couple years TJ's carried it (the first couple of years it was better. The same has gone for other TJ's wines, in my experience; they get a new cheap-but-good wine, and the 2nd or 3rd year it either declines in quality or increases in price. Some of their $5 Spanish wines, like La Granja, have followed the same path IMO).

The main problem with bringing a cheap-but-good wine as a host gift is risk. First, some cheap-but-good wines are cheap because the wineries that produce them are inconsistent, so your chances of having a bad bottle/year are somewhat higher. Second, if you buy a moderate-to-pricey wine from a well-respected label, if the particular bottle is bad, nobody will think of it as your fault, just bad luck. If you're bringing an obscure or a known cheap wine to as a gift, and that bottle is bad, it will reflect on your judgement and/or lack of thoughtfulness in the mind of many hosts and/or fellow guests. This is why I am usually much more conservative about wines I bring to someone else's house than what I would drink on my own.

In the world of cheap-but-good wines, though, the country of the season is Portugal (still). Douros can be had for $15 or less, and other surprisingly good wines for as little as $6.

Agree about Portugal. This is another of our house wines, both the duoro and white are very good. http://www.niepoort-vinhos.com/en/fabulous/
I have no experience with TJ wine. I had something once and was not thrilled but it may have been at my parents and they tend to pull out a partial bottle from months before.

Mary

I saw the Santa Margharita wine in Cleveland, and it was $25 a 750ml bottle, both at Costco and on sale at Giant Eagle. It's cheaper here in Canada, which is just strange unless different year? What's the Pinot Grigio go for in your neck of the woods guys?

Josh,

I agree. I am much more comfortable with the cheap and cheerful at home than what we bring as guests. The only exception is to the inlaws. They don't know wine, and have consistently enjoyed their Piat D'or more than any $$$ wine we have brought, so now we bring something inexpensive and fruity rather than aged, oaked, and complex.

Carey,

It's been my experience that folks who aren't into wine actually prefer the better cheap wines. Frequently higher-quality inexpensive wines are fruity, or boozy, or full of oak, or have some other simple, bold flavor which is more palatable if you don't drink wine much than the subtle flavors of an aged premier wine. Heck, *I* prefer simple bold flavors with some foods; I'd rather have the simple fruitiness of a cheap Barbera or Menage a Trois wine if I'm having it with BBQ grilled food, or very spicy food.

And for that matter, if you don't drink wine much, you're better off buying something moderately priced. Many, if not most, expensive wines are simply expensive without being any better. If you don't know your labels (or have a really good wine pusher), you're more liable to buy a $40 wine that tastes exactly like a $8 wine than you are to get something superior.

Josh,

When my FIL told Chris that "El Bastardo" (a truly wretched Italian blend that retails for about $11 here, which is bottom of the barrel pricing for Canadian LCBO's) was the best wine in the world (and better than whatever $$$ wine we had brought), we decided that Little Penguin, Radio Boca, Bin 555, and our other table wines would be the way to go. Truthfully nothing will rival the home made wines and grappa made in the backyard still anyway.

Carey, we like the 7.95 Casal Thaulero in red. I can't drink my dad's homemade red (too much tannin) although my Chris quite likes it.

And no one is answering my question about the SM. I don't get how it's cheaper here, unless it's a grade/year thing.

I've never seen it here, Jean....so maybe it's a popularity thing? (As in, not a commonly known brand = lower price?)

I believe the SM is about $12.99 at TJ's. I almost bought a bottle yesterday, but decided to wait since our minimal wine storage is full with DH's reds.

Carey,

Wait, you make wine in Winnipeg?