Budget Vino

A great Bordeaux to end the month

I have drunk a lot of wine lately. Not sure why that is, but lets just say I have a backlog of reviews to post. Some were good, some were great, some were just bloody awful.

Last night, as I scrolled through the list of wines, I found myself contemplating which wine should close out the month of October. I decided to go with my favorite of the bunch- in order to end the month on a high note. So, to close out October 2006, I have selected a great Bordeaux wine- Chateau Latour- Laguens 2003.

I truly enjoyed this wine. It was a little thin, which made it taste like a delicious Pinot (my favorite varietal). I drank it alone, and also with some lavash bread and cheese. With food or without, it was simply great. I bought this wine a couple weeks ago at Trader Joe's, and I'll definitely be going back for a refill. At $4.99 a bottle, it is a true value wine. Give it a try, it's worth your time.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.

Comprehensive list of wineries in Napa, California

I just found this web page that provides a comprehensive list of wineries in Napa, California.

I doubt you'll find any budget wine there, but a good resource nonetheless.

http://www.napavintners.com/wineries/links.asp

Airplane awful- La Palma Cabernet Sauvignon

Almost 2 months ago, I wrote a review of a wine served on an airplane (see my September 7th posting). I loved that wine- so much so that I wrote the airline (Jet Blue) to tell them how much I appreciated their selection. This past Friday, I had a completely different airline wine experience.

Let me paint the picture for you.

On Thursday morning I, along with my boss, flew to Atlanta for some Friday meetings. Now if you've ever gone from the West to the East, you know that it is an all-day affair. The 5 hour flight alone doesn't kill your day, it's the 3 hour time change that really hits you hard. We went to our meetings on Friday, then went back to the Atlanta airport to catch our flight to the West coast. Due to a serious storm and a late flight crew, our flight was delayed by almost 2 hours. The sheer amount of travel over the two days, a nasty airport meal at Chili's, along with the annoying delay, left me a little on the angry/grouchy side. So, when the flight finally left and the beverage cart came around, my first thoughts were of red wine.

When the flight attendant (I used to call them stewardesses until I got chewed out for that by a Southwest employee) offered me Fish Eye Shiraz, I should have read the warning signs and changed my mind. Not sure if you've read my review of Fish Eye Shiraz, but I'm not a big fan of that wine. Instead of ordering a beer or a whiskey, I fell victim to my own stubbornness and opted for the other wine option- La Rosa's La Palma Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. This wine was TERRIBLE. Just AWFUL. I took one sip and almost spit it out. Worried that my anger/grouchiness were influencing my ability to rate this wine, I asked my boss to try it. He had the exact same reaction. I can't even explain what it was about this wine that was so bad. If I tried, I'd be here all day writing. Everything about it was just so damn bad.

I guess my conclusion from this experience is that while Jet Blue seems to have their stuff together when it comes to wine selection, the other airlines are definitely lagging. Don't fall into the trap I fell into. When on a plane, do yourself a favor and order a beer.

Recommendation: Don't buy it

Weekend Wine Recommendation- Black Mountain Pinot Noir

While Pinot's are one of my favorite wines, they also seem to be one of the most difficult wines when it comes to finding quality. I think I've found more excitement and disappointment with Pinot's than any other wine varietal. For this reason, I am always skeptical whenever I buy a Pinot. I hope for the best, but acknowledge that I might quickly be in for a bad time.

This did not happen when I bought Black Mountain's Pinot Noir. It retails for $4.99 at Trader Joe's California locations, and it is definitely worth a try. Pick up a bottle this weekend at Trader Joe's (or elsewhere if you don't have a Trader Joe's in your neighborhood) and let me know what you think. I'm curious to see if you agree with me on this one.

Happy drinking.

A Bordeaux budget red- Mouton Cadet

As I've mentioned in the past, I often find myself found in the California wine rut. I think this is a function of a couple of factors. First off, I live in California. The wines created locally are easy to find, and easy to buy.  Secondly, I tend to gravitate towards things I know or recognize. I have gone on many a wine tasting tour, and over the years have become very familiar with the offerings of California vineyards. So, when faced with brands I recognize versus international wines that I have never seen before, I tend to go with what I know. Writing this blog is definitely forcing me to modify my behavior- and I think I'm all the better off for it.

So in the tradition of looking at new and international wines, and in staying with the Trader Joe's theme, today I will be reviewing a Bordeaux red wine called Mouton Cadet. Trader Joe's claims it is one of their best sellers, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Mouton Cadet is a blend of three varietals- 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Cabernet Franc. Like the Rosso Classic (reviewed here), this wine is quite fruity. It's not as fruity as the Rosso, but it is fruity nonetheless.

After removing the cork, the one thing I realized very quickly is that when paired with the right food, this wine is dangerously easy to drink. For example, last night I cooked up some leftover chicken, poured myself some wine, and plopped down in front of my TV. I watched some junky reruns, ate my diner (which paired excellently with the wine), and drank my Mouton Cadet- slowly filling the glass as I neared the stem. Before I knew it, my dinner was gone, and so was the bottle of wine. I thought I was at most 2 glasses in. I was wrong- dead wrong.

Overall, I think this wine is pretty good on its own, and even better with a meaty kind of meal. I think anything overly spiced- like a curry dish, would taste awful with it. However, if you stick to the old meat and potatoes, you should be well on your way to a pretty enjoyable wine experience.

This wine sells at Trader Joes for $6.99 on the West Coast.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it

A "Classic" red wine starter- Rosso Classic

When I first set out to start enjoying wine a number of years ago (rather than just drinking it for the sake of getting a buzz), I stumbled upon Francis Ford Coppola's Rosso Classic. A few weeks ago, as I was in Trader Joe's looking for wine to review in this blog, I once again found myself looking at the Rosso Classic. The Rosso Classic uses Zinfandel as its base, and also blends in Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a great starter wine. It is not bitter, but rather very fruity, which when first entering the world of red wine is a great attribute for a wine to have. So, if you are just starting your journey, as I was years ago, you should definitely consider picking up a bottle of this one.

Recommendation- Definitely buy it

Trader Joe's wine reviews to continue next week

Unfortunately this week got away from me, and I wasn't able to review as many wines available at Trader Joes as I had hoped. So, i'll be continuing the theme into next week, where I will review another 2-3 wines.

Have a great weekend filled with cheap wine, and make sure to check back on Monday.

Weekend wine recommendation- Amaicha Bonarda

Given this is Trader Joe's week, it's only appropriate that I recommend a wine that is part of their extensive inventory.

This weeks Budget Wino weekend wine recommendation is Amaicha Bonarda. This is an Argentinian wine that is definitely worth a look. It sells at Trader Joe's for only $3.99- an incredible price for the quality of the wine you get. It comes with a black cork, and a nice little bite to it.

Give it a try this weekend and let me know what you think. I'm convinced this wine is a HUGE bargain. It can easily be passed off as a much more expensive wine at dinner parties (if you're looking to save some cash this weekend).

note: Thanks to Pelog blog (link on the right navigation) for the Amancha Bonarda wine image.

The story behind Charles Shaw wine (in case you've never heard it)

One thing I promised myself when I started this blog was that I would never review "2 buck Chuck" (Charles Shaw wine- $3 buck Chuck on the east coast). It's not that I have anything against Charles Shaw, it's just that every wine blog that mentions cheap wine seems to feel compelled to review it.

So, in order to keep my promise to myself while still giving accolades to the wine that is not only one of Trader Joe's best selling wine, but is also the wine that has had some of the greatest impact on the industry in recent memory, I've decided to blog about the story behind Charles Shaw.

This story has been written about many times over the past few years, but for most people the mystery remains. If you ask the majority of people about who produces Charles Shaw (box wine maker Franzia), or how they can produce wine so cheaply (by purchasing other winery's excess grapes for pennies on the dollar), only a rare few would know the answers. This is why I've decided to revive the story in this blog.

About Charles Shaw

Charles Shaw wine debuted in 2001, but did not gain significant traction until 2002. In June 2003, Diane O-Brien wrote an article at brandchannel.com that provides a great overview of the Charles Shaw story. I've included select passages from her article below.

"Charles Shaw, an investment banker with a passion for wine, came to Napa in the 1980s hoping to sell Beaujolais under his own name. It didn't happen. He left, and Bronco Wine, under CEO.. Fred Franzia (you might recognize his name from boxed wine) bought the brand name. Bronco Wine now controls 35,000 acres of vineyard in California and owns a number of wine brands including Forest Glen, Estrella, Montpellier, Grand Cru, Silver Ridge, Rutherford Vintners, Hacienda, FoxHollow, and Napa Ridge brands. Franzia labeled his two-dollar wine Charles Shaw.                        

The price reflects less on the quality and more on California's overabundance of grapes. With the dot-com boom in full effect in the 90s, vineyards were reaping the benefits and planting vine after vine. [The dot-com bust left the area] with little demand and a huge supply [of] good-quality [grapes]."

Within a year or so, Charles Shaw wines were selling more than a million bottles a month. According to O'Brien, "Charles Shaw [did] this all without an ounce of marketing or advertising. It hit the right target at the right time, with a good product (unlike boxed wine, Chuck is dry like more expensive wine -- no sugar added), and created a sophisticated package instead of dumping it in a tacky box."

I could not find current sales data for Charles Shaw wines, but I do know that however the wines are selling these days, the impact they've had on the industry is profound. As a wine maker once said to me- "I love Charles Shaw. I'd never drink it, but it sure got a hell of a lot of people who would never buy a bottle of wine to go out and give it a try." About 4 years ago, I was definitely one of those people he was referring too.

It's Puzzle Time

To kick off Trader Joe's wine review week, I asked my friend Jared to write about an experience he had a week ago while watching Monday Night Football. His story is not of football, but more about a bottle of wine with a puzzle for a label. Here is his story...

Puzzle Time- 2003 Chardonnay, $5.99 at Trader Joe's
Contributed by Jared Boldemann 

It started off like any other Monday Night. I got home from work, took a nap, then head over to my buddy's place to watch some good old Monday Night Football. Typically, I drink beer with my football- a lot of beer. For some wierd reason, on this particular night  I just wasn't in the mood for a silver bullet or Bud Light. I wanted something different. Normally, I would reach for a nice Gin & Tonic. Not on this day. Instead, I was oddly craving some wine.

So, with only $7.00 in my pocket, I decided to head down to my local Trader Joe's. While at Trader Joe's I found a perfect wine to fit my mood (which was flustered and confused that night.) The wine was called "Puzzle Time." It was a 2003 Mendocino County, California Chardonnay. It had hints of pear, vanilla, and good ole terra firma!! (if you watch Entourage you'll definitely get that last remark). At $5.99 a bottle, after tax I still had some money to spare.

Now, not only was this a smooth and delicious wine to accompany the tray of buffalo chicken wings and potato chips, but to my surprise, it also had a crossword puzzle on the front.

As I settled in and started watching the football game, I could feel the Puzzle Time bottle calling to me. The game was boring as all hell, and all I could think about was the crossword. I went to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle, and the rest is history.

The boring football game ended a couple hours later, but I still felt as though I accomplished something that night. Not only did I down a whole bottle of delicious cheap wine, I also successfully completed a crossword puzzle.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it (not just for the wine, but also for the puzzle)