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The Davooda clan was recently in Denver and,wanting to stock up on $10 wine finds for the ski condo, I ducked in to a no-name liquor store close to our hotel. With a nod to aschie30 - I dove in headfirst on the Hogue varietals.

At $9.99, the 2006 Hogue Shiraz was the most expensive of the lot and an excellent representation of the grape. Jazzy, spicy and ripe, it had good tannins and a great aroma.

At $8.99, the 2007 Pinot Grigio displayed a finesse not unlike the Santa Margherita I came to love in Lucca years ago but with not as much finish - still worth it! However, the Hogue Cab failed to deliver on fruit, tannins and had no finish at all.

The blockbuster bang-for-the-buck in the mixed case was the Geyser Peak 2007 SauvBlanc at $7.99. Melon on the nose, loads of grapefruit forward, characteristically minerally with a kiwi fruit finish. Mrs. Davooda delcared it a keeper. I am sure these are all available in Chicagoland and may be even less expensive at Sam's or Binny's.

FWIW,

Davooda

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2007 Agua de Piedra 'Reserve' Malbec

This has been "on sale" at Pelly's Liquors (3444 N. Lincoln) for $8.99 ever since I've been going there. It's now our go-to wine.

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Celebrated todays rally by trying our "expensive" wine. 2006 California Wine Party Franc Merlot from TJs. 90 points on my budget scale. Well worth $6.

http://jasonswineblog.com/2008/10/01/20 ... nc-merlot/

tv.winelibrary.com has a listing of Gary Vaynerchuk's ratings. It is sortable by price, rating, winery, type, vintage and is downloadable in Excel. I sorted by winery to come up with wineries that have somewhat decent ratings (80's) for several varieties and are around $10. The following came up but I haven't tried them.
Bonny Doon
Cartlidge and Browne
Castle Rock
Ch. St Jean
Smoking Loon

Pillar Box Red comes up as one of the best for the price (QPR). There are also his video reviews. The 2 Buck Chuck video was rather entertaining.

2007 Pancake Cellars Big Day White Chardonnay/SauvBlanc/Gewurtztraminer blend from TJ's $5.00. 90 points on our cheap wine scale. Dry, fruity, no gasoline aftertaste. Will definitely buy again. Way better than 2BC. Recommended and reviewed on Jason's wine blog.

About $10 at Binny's is the 2006 Dry Creek Chenin Blanc (Clarksburg, California). Binny's was having a 10% off closed case sale this weekend, so I bought one and am enjoying this soft, slightly acidic quaff immensely.

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Local Beet

I received this E-mail today from Wine Discount Center:

2007 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell, Yecla, Spain
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Our customers know quality and value, and judging by the total number of cases sold of this tasty little value, the Castaño Monastrell has earned a spot in the Wine Discount Center Hall of Fame. The 2007 has just been awarded a 90-Point score by the Wine Advocate, which according to the their scoring scale ranks it as "Outstanding". At under seven bucks a bottle, this is just a crazy good value. We tasted a bottle yesterday afternoon and were totally impressed. (We wasted no time placing an order for every single case that the local distributor would allow us to take!) All we can say is that you guys are going to love this stuff! Showing flavors of red fruits, black pepper and a touch of smoky meat, it tastes just like a good Monastrell (a.k.a Mourvedre) should. Ripe, juicy and - dare we say - a bit hedonistic. Buy this one by the case and drink it over the next 18 months. 90 Points, Wine Advocate.
$6.79/bottle, ($81.48 per case of twelve)

I've purchased a previous vintage and it is a good value. It's been mentioned a few times in this thread. For information on locations, hours or phone numbers, try www.winediscountcenter.com .

Our tastes must be getting more sophisticated as the "Chateau" Shaw SB was really bad. So adding 50% Shaw Chardonnay actually made it drinkable, maybe even better than the Chard alone. Any other 2$Chuck blend ideas? The LaBoca Chard on sale at TJs was OK and worth the $4.

Ryan Patrick Naked Chardonnay is great for $9.99. It's an unoaked Chardonnay, very crisp and clean and is an awesome patio wine (if it ever warms up enough to sit on the patio!) That's the regular price for it at Whole Foods.

The Epicuro wines from Trader Joes are all terrific buys for $6.

The René Barbier Mediterranean White, a very quaffable table wine, is on sale now at Sam's for $4.99 per bottle. It's a good time to stock up on a few bottles!

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Local Beet

Tried the 2007 LeCheteau Vouvray (White) $7 from TJ's. 89/thumbs up as rated on traderjoeswine.blogspot.com. A deal if you like French wine. Even I can tell its better than 2 Buck Chuck.

RJ's wine blog has rated the Trader Joes Pancake Cellars Big Day white 84 points. $5. Terrific if you like blends.

Jason has a new top 10 list for Trader Joes. There are 5 we already tried and they were all decent and well worth the $5-$10. Or, to be fair, the 2 Buck Chuck we also drink sets a fairly low bar.

http://jasonswineblog.com/trader-joes-w ... wine-list/

Thanks to Diannie for the tip on the Wollersheim Winery. We visited it yesterday and had the tour. Both the tour and tasting were very good. Very nice grounds there. Combined it with trip to Taliesin. Bought 1/2 doz bottles after tasting. Splurged a little and bought some $14 bottles. Sangiovese was the best. Also liked the Prairie Fume.

I have hesitated to post this because I don't want my favorite wine to be sold out again. But... since I bought a case and something new is always coming, here goes.....

Trader Joe's has a private label called R.C.T.J.W.F. which stands for Real Cool Trader Joe's Wine Finds. The best one of these (in my opinion), if you can find it at your local Trader Joe's is the Petite Syrah. In my opinion, a great wine for $5.99 a bottle and it has transitioned from winter to what some in Chicago might call "summer" very well. Maybe if the temperatures get above 75 degrees I will change my mind, but that remains to be seen.

While this is not quite in the class of some upper level Petite Syrahs, it's dangerously drinkable. A massive fruit taste and light on the tannins. Still, it has that "big red" taste, but without the bite which I do sometimes miss, but not for too long with this wine. It's probably not something you would serve with Filet Mignon, but I have found it goes great with Thai food, burgers, or a good Pizza Napoletana from Francesca's. Without food, it's great when working late into the night sipping wine and surfing this forum while waiting for my server to reboot.

Thanks for all the great ideas and keep them coming.

Tried the Picton Bay Sauv Blanc from TJ's. Mistakenly thought it was recommended by Jason's Blog, but he actually rated it "skip it". I thought it was pretty good, not real sweet or skunky, but much better than 2$C. Of course it cost double.

TJ's Epicuro Nero D'Avola. Very drinkable red. Well worth $6.00. Like all the Epicuro's. Bought the $3.99 special Campanile Pinot Grigio, but haven't tried it yet. Never had a pinot grigio before. What does it pair with?

Pinot Grigio pairs nicely with seafood, light pastas and cheese cracker combinations.

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"A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do."
-- P. J. O’Rourke"

One of my favorite "everyday" dinner wines this year has been 2005 & 2006 Red Guitar. It's a Spanish Navarra blend of Tempranillo/Granacha. I've been finding it on the shelves throughout this spring & summer at Garden Fresh Market for $9

This one is best decanted, and it opens up into a romatic wonderful soft smooth red.

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Trader Joes has 2Buck Chuck Chardonnay from Australia ($2.99). Seems about the same as the Napa Chardonnay, maybe not quite as fruity, but worth the 3 bucks. I'd buy it again. Also tried the $3 Reynolds (Australia) Sauv Blanc which is way better than the 2 Buck Chuck Sauv Blanc, so I bought the Reynolds Chardonnay. Probably the same as the Australian 2 Buck Chuck. Good thing my taste isn't developing so I can still buy cheap. Although I admit that the Geyser Peak Sauv Blanc ($9) was a marginal step up for us. Next on the list is the highly regarded Chariot Gypsy. They were out last weekend.

Binny's is currently advertising Joan and Darby Cab for $8.99

If you need a lot of wine for a party (or if you just need a lot of wine ), Jewel is selling a wine called Golden Gate, with chardonnay, pinot grigio, and I think, merlot available. Best sale price is $2.50, otherwise $3.33. Use one of those free cloth six-pack bags they have in the liquor section to get 10% off, and 6 bottles of wine are $17.98 before tax.

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May I suggest 3 French wines from Trader's Joe:
A very pleasant Rosé from La Ferme Julien 2008 (owned by the famous Perrin family) in the Côtes du Ventoux area for $5.99
It is the perfect summer companion to grilled salmon, barbecued chicken or shrimps, pizza, and poached peaches

Valréas ''Cuvée Prestige'' 2007, a very fragrant Côtes du Rhône Vilages from the Enclave des Papes areas, North of Avignon. It is very fragrant, sexy, and full bodied and goes well with leg of lamb, or any saussage or meat grilled on he barbecue. And such a well-made wine is a bargain at $5.99

Morgon, a very decent Cru du Beaujolais, is a dense and rustic red that goes perfectly well with cold meats, ham, grilled chicken and sausages, and a cheese platter. $ 5.99

Finally found the scarce "Chariot Gypsy" after 3 trips to TJs. It's a blend of mostly cabernet and zinfandel. At $6, it is a steal. Right up there with the California wine party franc merlot. Of course I could buy 2 bottles of 2 Buck Chuck for $6. Cheer !!!

Got a bottle of the Chariot Gypsy last Friday after reading about it on jasonswineblog...was thoroughly impressed. Spent the better portion of my afternoon today chasing it down, and got what appears to be the last 5 bottles in the city of Chicago at the downtown TJs. The people I spoke to at both the Lincoln Ave and Clybourn TJ's said they had been putting in orders for more, but that they haven't been getting any shipments.

Found Dr. Loosen "Dr. L" 2008 Riesling at Sam's in Lincoln Park on sale for $8.79 last night. It has been a dependable $10 wine for years, but has been creeping into the $12-14 range at some stores recently, so $9 felt like a bargain.

I would check BevMo. They always a great selction of wines below $10. Try swinging by when they have their 10 cents wine sale. Buy a full pricd bottle and get the 2nd one for 10 cents.

Trader Joes has 2008 Trader Joe Growers Reserve on sale (or is it just a featured wine) for $6. Even we can tell it is much better than $3Chuck. Maybe even twice as good. Will buy again. Doesn't have the smokey $3 Chuck taste. A little fruity. Had with Spanokopita.

2006 Epicuro Aglianico - $6 at Trader Joes - a great value for a good table red. I'm also digging Indaba Chardonnay (little to no oak) - about $8 - I found it at Drinks Over Dearborn.