Budget Vino

A blended red that really “holds up”- Pillar Box 2006 Red Table Wine

I’m about a month into a new consulting gig, and things are going pretty well. People are good, food is good, office is good…so on and so forth. Unfortunately, the commute is not. Roundtrip, it takes about 3 hours to get from my garage to the company parking lot. Without traffic, this drive is more than cut in half. Problem is that there is ALWAYS traffic (at least when I need to be at the office). My client offers a shuttle service from

San Francisco, but during my first few weeks, I opted to drive. This was a bad decision on my part (one which I have recently corrected). After battling traffic each day, I got back to the city aggravated and annoyed.

One day, as a winter rain storm battered the Bay Area and my drive time doubled, all I could think about was how badly I wanted a glass of wine. I didn’t need it per se, I just really wanted one! So, on my way home, I stopped off at the nearest BevMo and perused the featured reds. I came across a wine called “Pillar Box.” The label looked slick, and Robert Parker had given it a score of 91. I don’t usually give these scores much weight when making my buying decisions, but I was thirsty and really wanted to get to my couch. With no other evaluation criteria available, I decided to go with Mr. Parker’s words of praise. I bought the bottle, sped home, and finally got to relax after a frustrating trip through the rain. 

A little bit about “Pillar Box.” This wine is a 2006 red table wine from Australia. It is a blend of 53% Shiraz, 37% Cabernet, and 10% Merlot. While I have disagreed with Mr. Wilfred Wong on many occasions, I found myself completely in agreement with Mr. Robert Parker. This wine was great. It was smooth, dynamic, and just plain tasty. It was a great sipping wine, and it just got better as I drank more (for reasons other than my own tipsiness). Blended wines are always a bit of a gamble, but this one is a real winner.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.

This gold rush isn't even worth walking too- Gold Rush Sierra Foothills Red Wine

I returned from the UK on Friday, October 26th, and the 8 hour time difference hit me hard. I'm already a bad sleeper, but throw in a big time zone change and I'm a certified insomniac.  The first nights back my sleep was miserable, and by the time Wednesday the 31st came around, I was a total crazy person. I could hardly string together a sentence, and I looked exhausted and weathered. Fundamentally, I just needed a good nights sleep!

I wracked my brain for hours thinking of potential solutions to my sleep deprivation, and after some careful deliberation, I hatched what I determined to be a fool proof plan. I was going to get myself a little drunk off a bottle of budget red wine. If I couldn't fall asleep naturally, well then wine would be my "Ambien" (a US prescription sleep aid for those not familiar).

I went to the store and bought a bottle of the first wine I saw- Gold Rush Sierra Foothills Red Table Wine. I got home, opened the bottle, poured myself a glass, and took my first sip.

Initial thoughts- totally awful.

Second sip- terrible.

Basically, this wine is just plain bad. I'd expand on why I came to this conclusion, but I wouldn't want to waste your time.

After 3 sips of this wine, I poured out the rest of my glass (which I pretty much never do), tossed the bottle, and came to grips with the fact that my "fool proof" plan had been foiled. Unless something truly magical happened, It was going to be another restless night.

Recommendation: Don't buy it

A tale of 2 Sebeka's, part 2- Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage from South Africa

After a well needed break, I got back into work mode this past Monday. I must admit that my vacation made me a little soft (and a little heavier), and a full day's work was hard to get through. By 5pm I was definitely in the mood for a nice glass of wine. Luckily, before I left for my trip I picked up a bottle of Sebeka's Cabernet Pinotage (click here for review of their Shiraz). When I got home, it was on my counter, calling out to me...

I opened the bottle faster than a 5-year old opens a Christmas present. I poured myself a nice big glass, swirled it around, and took a big sip. This wine was fantastic! To my surprise, it was even better than the Sebeka Shiraz that I enjoyed so much a couple weeks earlier. It was thick and tasty. It had an awesome aftertaste and was totally smooth.

Like this wines Shiraz cousin, I bought this bottle for $5.99. So, if you find yourself with $6 laying around, and you're questioning what to do with it, I think I've got an answer for you- Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage!

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.

An update on Coppola's Rosso Classic

Months ago, I reviewed Coppola vineyards Rosso Classic. Click here to read the original review. In that review, I suggested you definitely buy this wine. This past Saturday, this recommendation was taken to a whole new level.

My friends Meg and Christian invited me over to their place to help them choose wines to serve at their wedding this summer. In total, we blindly tasted 11 wines. 4 were red. Of the red wines, 1 was terrible, 2 were good, and 1 we unanimously agreed was perfect for their nuptials. This wine (#5 I recall) was super tasty, and we could all envision it being served with just about any food- dark fishes, steak, pasta, you name it. It was the ideal choice. The brown bags came off all the bottles, and to our surprise, the big winner of the night was Coppola's Rosso Classic. At less than half the price of every other red we tried, this classic came through once again (again proving the most expensive wine isn't always the best one).

The Rosso Classic has adopted a new label, but the taste is better than ever!

Recommendation: Definitely buy it (with greater emphasis than ever before)

What to do after a massage? Le Jaja de jau

Back in late January, I was in a car accident. Actually, let me rephrase that- a taxi cab decided to accelerate into the back of my car while I was stopped at a stoplight. My neck and back were thrown out pretty bad, and I was suddenly plunged into the world of doctor visits and chiropractic care. To supplement my rehabilitation regime, I decided to go for a massage. The woman I went to worked for my chiropractor. She was 8 months pregnant, and I swear she threw all of her baby weight into the massage. I can't recall a moment of pain more excruciating then when she went to work on my left shoulder! When the massage finished, I lifted my crippled corpse off the massage table and headed home.

On the way back to my apartment, my buddy Jared (of Extreme Home Makeover fame) called and convinced me to stop by his place. He had visited the local corner store, and found a cool looking Syrah-Grenache mix for under $10. After being tenderized for 60 minutes, a glass of wine sounded awesome.

The wine Jared picked up was a French wine called Le Jaja de Jau- a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache. According to Poppingcorks.com, ""Jaja" is French slang for inexpensive, easy-to-drink wine, the sort you might find by the carafe at a bistro, or at a party."

This wine was great. The first sip was excellent, and it just got better. It was full, tasty, and was a killer wine to dive into after an hour of being pulverized! If you can find it, definitely give it a try.

Recommendation: Definitely try it

Budget Vino wine tasting results- Part 2: The Crimson Red

Here it is, part 2 of the Budget Vino wine tasting results.

On Sunday night, we were scheduled to taste 6 wines. However, when we started tasting our 3rd wine, we realized that we were actually tasting 7. Mistakingly, we were given both the 2004 and 2005 releases of the Stephen Vincent Crimson Red. This gave us the unique opportunity to compare and contrast 2 years of the same wine.

About the Stephen Vincent Crimson Red: This wine is a blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine #1- Stephen Vincent Crimson Red 2004

Definitely buy it: 67%

Consider buying it: 33%

Don't buy it: 0%

Some Comments:

• "Funky and interesting. I could drink this all day"
• "Great. I've never tasted a crimson before!"
• "Would go great with a steak"
• "Nice tasty oak flavor"
• "Mellow nose with a substantial taste"
• "Big wine"
• "Spicy with a woody/oak aftertaste"

Wine #2- Stephen Vincent Crimson Red 2005

Definitely buy it: 0%

Consider buying it: 30%

Don't buy it: 70%

Some Comments:

• "Great smell, but I really don't like the taste"
• "'2004 is way better than the 2005"
• "2005 tastes younger than the 2004"

Clearly the 2004 was the big winner!

This time, a red wine with 24- Abrazo del Toro 2005 Tinto

Another week, another episode of 24. Friends Brett and Kory were on hand once again to enjoy TVs greatest action drama, but this time we opted to watch it at the bachelor pad (my place). Last week was a riesling with Thai food. This week, we went the red wine and pizza route. I struggled with what wine I should buy, but luckily I was mining through my blog comments, and I found a reader request to review the Abrazo Del Toro Tinto wine. I really appreciate when people suggest wines for me to try, and I was happy to have an option when I went to Trader Joe's on my way home from work.

So a little bit about this wine. As you can guess from the name, Abrazo Del Toro Tinto is not an American wine. It comes to us via Spain (vino tinto is Spanish for red wine). This wine is a mix of grenache and tempranillo.

Back to the review...

As we waited for the pizza to arrive, Brett and I decided to give this tinto a try. The wine was tangy at first, but actually mellowed out pretty quickly. The second sip was definitely better than the first, but it still wasn't great. From this limited sipping, we concluded that the Abrazo Del Toro was not a wine either of us would choose if we were just looking for something to sip on.

Now, while this was not a great sipping wine, it did go extremely well with the BBQ chicken pizza we ordered. The flavors worked really well together. The more pizza we ate, the better the wine got. When we were done eating, we revisited our previous conclusion about this wine, and modified it slightly.

Here's what we came up with-

This wine would not be on the sipping list. However, it would be a good inexpensive option (it retails for $3.99 at Trader Joe's) if you were having a bunch of people over to eat some heavier food like pizza. It would also be a good option if you were looking for a "follow-up wine." 

To find out what I mean by "follow-up wine", come back tomorrow morning. I'll have a whole post devoted to this gem of a trick.

Recommendation: Consider buying it

Try this wine!- Fess Parker Lot 61 Frontier Red

This weekend wine recommendation comes my way by some friends at a great company- Simple Star. If you have a moment, check out their Photoshow.com website. It truly is the premier site for creating multimedia shows with your digital photos.

Anyways, these guys are serious wine drinkers, so when they recommend something, I definitely listen. They recently told me about Fess Parker's Lot 61 Frontier Red. This wine contains the following blend: 43% Syrah, 17% Grenache, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Carignane, 5% Mouvedre, 5% Sangiovese, 3% Cinsault and 3% Petite Sirah.

This wine is excellent. It's smooth and mellow. It's full bodied with no major after taste. It's a great wine that I'd rank up there with some favorites like Cellar No. 8. It's not the easiest wine to find in retail locations, so do what I did and go online to order a bottle. It's worth the wait.

When Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz don't mix- Mattie's Perch

Austrailia is known for its excellent Shiraz wines. It is not known for its Cabernet Sauvignon's. After trying Mattie's Perch, I understand why.

I opened this bottle of wine as I was getting dinner ready the other night. I wanted a glass of red to sip on while I prepped my meal. I took sip number 1. It was awful. It was sour. It was burnt (but not corked or turned). I wondered if my pallette just needed to adapt. So with that, I took sip number 2. No better, maybe even worse. Sufficed to say, I did not get through even 1 glass of Mattie's Perch.

For me, this wine has joined an elite group- those wines that I have opted to dump down the sink rather than push through and finish the bottle. This is not a group I ever wish a wine to join!

Recommendation: Don't 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