Wine Suggestion Please

[JM Aggie08]

Slingshot 2007 is pretty awesome, affordable red.

 

[KB]

Some people are allergic to red wine (reds have more sulfites) so have the option of a White or Two. Also the wines you pick should be paired with whatever food is being served.

Since we don't know the food, I would pick wines that can be consumed on their own. For reds, pick a fruitier, less oaky wine. So a shiraz or merlot, instead of a zinfendal or cabernet savignon. I like the Shiraz from Jacobs Creek and Black Opal.

For whites, a white merlot (blush), pinot grigio or gewurtztraminer would work well.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I have no idea what wine distribution is like across the US since I live out west, especially when you get someplace somewhat less urban like upstate New York, so it's kind of impossible to recommend anything specific. For people that have no idea, I just play the easy card and say buy Chateau Ste Michelle. It's like $12, you can buy it anywhere, and while it's nothing special, nobody will be offended by whatever random cheap wine you got instead.

Here's a good resource!
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/wine-pairings/sunset-international-wine-competition-00418000079821/
That J Lohr syrah is good dry red and should be easy to find.
http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/wine-pairings/

 

[Wyndru]

Wow this is great, thanks! So much info to digest, but I'll see what I have available at the store I go to.

I won't bring a screw top or a box either haha. Although some of the people I know that are going would prefer that.

 

[soulcougher73]

For cheap wine i recommend Little Penguin which are $7/bottle here. All are good. For about $10-15 Gascon Malbec is really good. And a new fav at $30/bottle is 'Francis Ford Copolla Directer's Cut - Cinema'. Very good, but i dont buy many $30 bottles.

 

[Fritzo]

Wow this is great, thanks! So much info to digest, but I'll see what I have available at the store I go to.

I won't bring a screw top or a box either haha. Although some of the people I know that are going would prefer that.

A lot of wines are moving to screw tops...it's not a big deal. Some have plastic/rubber corks too.

 

[Fritzo]

For cheap wine i recommend Little Penguin which are $7/bottle here. All are good. For about $10-15 Gascon Malbec is really good. And a new fav at $30/bottle is 'Francis Ford Copolla Directer's Cut - Cinema'. Very good, but i dont buy many $30 bottles.

I haven't been a fan of any of Copolla's wines so far. They seem to be flooded with tannins, making them "medicine-y" tasting. They may be doing that on purpose to make the flavoring more complex, but all I get is bitter.

 

[Rakewell]

OP, stay away from shitty wine. If you want a good and inexpensive wine, you can't go wrong with a Malbec.

This is an excellent one:

http://www.wine.com/V6/Trumpeter-Malbec-2011/wine/116013/detail.aspx

$11 per bottle, minus 10-15% for a case. A great deal.

 

[Rakewell]

I haven't been a fan of any of Copolla's wines so far. They seem to be flooded with tannins, making them "medicine-y" tasting. They may be doing that on purpose to make the flavoring more complex, but all I get is bitter.

I concur. Plus, I think they're way overpriced for the taste.

 

[soulcougher73]

I haven't been a fan of any of Copolla's wines so far. They seem to be flooded with tannins, making them "medicine-y" tasting. They may be doing that on purpose to make the flavoring more complex, but all I get is bitter.

Yeah i never liked them in the past. But i was in CA recently and my aunt wanted to take my wife and I to his winery in Sonoma. So we did the tastings and most were drinkable but nothing special. Then she broke out the "Director's Cut" series and OMG yummy. The 'Cinema' one was my favorite. Very smooth and goes down without much bite at the end.

Worth a try if you can find it and dont mind the price. They are $30 here in KS.

 

[TheNinja]

People will usually bring a white and a red and typically they are chardonnay and merlot. I hate chardonnay and merlot isn't the best red IMO.

What I would probably do is pick a price point (you can get good wine for $15 a bottle for sure) and go a store like BevMo and ask a wine guy there. Tell them if you want something heavy/red for seasoned wine drinkers, or if you are looking for something a little lighter, sweet, etc. THey will have good suggestions for you.

My favorite reds are probably Zinfindels and Malbecs.
For whites....call me a pansy but I enjoy a decent Reisling if it isn't overly sweet. Pinot Grigio is good too. Did I mention Chardonnay sucks?

 

[soulcougher73]

OP, stay away from shitty wine. If you want a good and inexpensive wine, you can't go wrong with a Malbec.

This is an excellent one:

http://www.wine.com/V6/Trumpeter-Malbec-2011/wine/116013/detail.aspx

$11 per bottle, minus 10-15% for a case. A great deal.

I'll have to look for that one. Both my wife and I really like Malbecs. Our 2 fav we've tried so far are Gascon and Septima Malbecs.

 

[Rakewell]

I'll have to look for that one. Both my wife and I really like Malbecs. Our 2 fav we've tried so far are Gascon and Septima Malbecs.

I love Gascon and Septima, both really great wines. PO'ed though, because they're at least 5 dollars more expensive here in NYC, than they are other places in the US. (18-19 per bottle here.) I don't understand how that can be.

 

[deadlyapp]

Don't rule out screw tops. They simply don't allow the wine to breathe like a cork would, if the winemaker is worth their salt they have aged them appropriately in a controlled cellar making the wine ready to drink now. Not all wines need to be aged, and most of them currently on the market are made like crap anyways and won't age gracefully.

With that said - I recommend the following:
Russian River Valley or Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Paso Robles or Sonoma Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon
Santa Barbara/Monterrey County Chardonnay (oaked or unoaked if you prefer buttery or crisp respectively)
Paso Robles Zinfandel

If you shoot for the $20-25 dollar range with any of the appellations above, you will find an excellent wine. I'd avoid the expensive Napa Valley reds and french wines, you can get a lot more bang for your buck with domestic wines. If you want a foreign wine the Malbecs from south america are fantastic, Syrah/Shiraz out of new zealand/australia, and most italian wines (typically lighter fare) are good bets.

 

[edro]

Frank Family Cabernet ($40)
or
Coppola Cabernet ($20)

Two of my favorites.

 

[IronWing]

Cheerwine, anything else is just rotten grapes.

 

[andylawcc]

any decent wine shop will be able to recommend something, just give them a price range.

and not all screw top are bad wine.

 

[Wyndru]

I went with the trumpeter malbec that Rakewell suggested (thanks) and also a Pinot Grigio that the guy at the store suggested. Everyone seemed to be ok with both, more people drank the Malbec than the pinot grigio.

There were actually boxes of red wine on tables throughout the gallery next to cheese and crackers.

Thanks for the suggestions!