The Best Inexpensive Wines Available Now

Galeriehughie--- wish I could afford those Riedel sommeliers! They are damn nice, but the Spiegelau are not too shabby, either.

Theduke: hey, what's the name of those knock-offs? Not Spiegelau? Amazing what a fine combination of wine, glassware, and audio can do! Sounds like a great evening... :-)

Hey cpdunn, they were alot but wine is sort of our hobby. So we finally sprang for a pair. They rip apart bad wine even more than the normal riedels.

Hey Duke, Your in NY? We go to Zachys for most of our first growths. Susan goes to Morrels in the city because its close to work for her. She hates Sherry Lehmann because they were rude.

And the real poetry is in the company, the wine and the music....

Here's another vote for Charles Shaw. I had some sort of red wine from them--I cannot remember exactly what, unfortunately--which was amazingly good. Apparently, "Two Buck Chuck" has become quite popular in some circles.

Estancia Merlot is excellent. The previously mentioned Lindeman's Cabernet is a good choice. Lots of good values among Australian and Chilean reds.

"Two Buck Chuck", or Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon, is swill, IMHO, and not even fit for cooking, although there are thousands of Southern Californians who swear by it.

Galeriehughie..... yes, Riedels can do that, can't they?! I mean, "expose" a poor wine. I don't pretend that my Spiegelaus are as good, but they come close. It's amazing how much better a good wine is with the right glasses. After all, a lot of "taste" is actually sense of smell.

I'd like to talk about 1st growths with you Galeriehughie, but this is an "inexpensive wine" thread. So, yesterday I picked up a couple of bottles of a Spanish red: 2001 Las Rocas de San Alejandro(Vinas Viejas Garnacha). This cost me $8.99 each and is amazing! If you're a grenache fan (or if you like Chateauneuf-du-Pape), this one's for you. It got better by the hour. I agree with Robert Parker (finally!) on this one... he gave it 93 pts. I don't know what the 2002 is like, but the 2001 is great, and will improve over the next 5-10yrs.