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I'd like to have some wine on hand for the ladies...

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7% alcohol? That is practically a wine cooler. I have no objection to wine coolers, but that's pretty weak for a bottle of wine.

Moscato generally isn't intended as a dinner wine but instead as a dessert wine. They've very sweet. They have high residual sugar, hence a low alcohol %.
 
oxidation

never stumbled upon a bottle of vinegar hanging out in one labeled as wine? It happens. rather common, even for unopened bottles that were improperly corked.

and once opened, a bottle will lose it's freshness quite quickly. After a few days, an unfinished bottle is approaching the realm of cooking wine.

captain-obvious2.jpg


And by the way...no I've never had an improperly corked bottle of wine.
 
Between 10-20$, find some Riesling from Washington State (Columbia Valley) (Eroica comes to mind). Sparkling white: Moscato D'Asti is always a favorite. If you live by a Costco, they usually have quite a few choices in that price range.

Moscato D'Asti does not have to be only a dessert wine. It is sweet, but pairs very well with light food like salads. It is also a great casual wine drinking wine.

If you can get some German Rieslings and New York Rieslings, try them, they are better (in general) than the ones from Washington state (a distant 3rd place), but you may not be able to find them in your price range. I particularly like the Rieslings from the Pfaltz region of Germany.

One of my favorite Moscato D'Asti is Saracco which costs roughly 13-16$
 
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Are you serious? How can a bottle of wine go bad? Wait you mean you don't drink the whole bottle? What's wrong with you?

If the bottle of wine was stored incorrectly (ie vertically) the cork dries out and the wine goes bad. When a bottle has been corked, the second you open it, it smells like dirty socks. Not pleasant.
 
The prices are comparable to what you find in any fine dining venue - duty free of course! 😛

Now it all makes sense. You definitely can NOT buy a good bottle of wine for $10 at a fine dining venue. But at a grocery store, there are a lot of good options for $10.
We like wines with a bit of sweetness, but some, like Barefoot, are too sweet without any other taste.
We buy more Riesling and Gewurtz than anything else.
 
You could probably find something for 10/20 bucks. It won't impress some super wine snob - but you can find something drinkable.

Living in San Luis Obispo - I've been trying local wineries. I've come to like Wolff Vineyards stuff: I like their Petite Sirah and Dry Riesling. They both come in around 20 retail. I like the Petite Sirah with a big fat steak... in fact, I know what I'm doing tonight.
 
You're right about the expensive stuff not being as good as the cheap stuff.

I'm a big fan of riesling and I've had some expensive stuff and some cheap stuff. My favorite is one from the Niagara peninsula in Canada called Cave Spring. About 14 bucks a bottle. They have a special reserve sometimes that goes for 17-18 but I've tried that and the cheaper one is still better. Of course 14 bucks a bottle is expensive so I only get it once in a while as a treat. More often than not I try to pick up the cheaper brands.

If you're looking at just keeping a bottle on hand for a lady friend, stick to one of the main stream varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot are fairly common reds but unless she's a wine drinker, she'll probably prefer white wine like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. They're less acidic and more fruitier. A good compromise is White Zinfandel, it's blend of white and red so its pink, fruity and sweet. My fiancee loves that.

Sutter Home or Beringer both make a good White Zin. Beringer also makes a White Merlot that's pretty good too. Those should both be around your $10 price range.

Edit: I was wrong about the White Zin. It's not a blend but how they process the Zinfandel grapes.
 
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all people like different types of wine. What one is eating also influences that...

I used to rollerblade with two chicks after work...it started where they needed someone to make them feel safe while skating this big out of the way park we have. They would cook a pizza for me after.

We started adding wine...mostly red due to it just going really good with pizza. I learned a lot and one of them was good wine at a store is pretty cheap (under $20 almost always, a lot of times under $10). This was back in the late 90's...I haven't really tracked pricing since.
 
I need some way of archiving the info in this thread. I'm pretty sure there is enough here to start up a collection over night.
 
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