Red Table Wine suggestions

jcamero

Who are you people anyway?
I went to the Dr. last week due to VERTIGO. Had some routine bloodwork done too. My cholesterol is a little high and he suggested going on the Mediterranean Diet. The diet allows Red Wine at supper. No clue here.
 
Really depends on what you like, and how how much you want to spend. I think between $10 and $20 per bottle is kind of the sweet spot in terms of quality and price.

On the budget side, there are a lot of good inexpensive Argentinian reds. Grapes like Malbec and Temperanillo. You can often find a decent Malbec for under $10.

If you like big heavy duty flavors, go for a Cabernet Sauvignon. If you prefer lighter body, try a Pinot Noir.

I used to work for a wine distributor, and one of our biggest sellers was McManis Family Vinyards, from CA. They do quite a few red varietals, and they are all very drinkable and fairly inexpensive. They even make a good red blend box wine under the name Jack Tone. I actually like boxed wine because it keeps for a while after you open it. A couple other decent boxes are Bota or Black Box. Just stay away from the boxes like Franzia or Vella.

On the higher end of the price scale, I really like Spanish reds, from regions like Priorat, Jumilla and Rioja.
 
It's a bit hard to recommend something without some kind of guideline. But my (kind of conservative) favourites are Bordeaux, and Bourgogne reds.

Bordeaux reds are typically cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or a blend of those two. You can probably get some Chileans in that style a bit cheaper, but don't go too cheap.
Bourgogne (the ones I like) are mostlly Pinot Noir. And if you prefer buying domestic wines, I can really recommend Alchemist from Oregon - Me, and my kind of wine snob family all agreed that that one tasted like a nice Bourgogne, at a great value.

And then there are so many other options; Amarone is nice (but a nice Ripasso is still better than a cheap Amarone), Riocha is also nice in the higher price layers. But as far as value goes, German and Austrian wines are the way to go (at least here in Denmark - prices may well be different in the states).
 
But above all it's a matter of taste. I don't consider myself a connaisseur at all - I just know what I like.

My best advice would really be to buy a few bottles in your price-range, and just go from there.
 
My consistent preference is for the huge bottles under $10.

If I'm drinking it with a meal, it's a bit hard to really appreciate a more complex glass.
 
Mendoza region in Argentina is producing some very good reds. Bordeaux wines from France are some of the best. There's are also some upstarts out here in California like Mondavi, Stags Leap...(grin)
 
My consistent preference is for the huge bottles under $10.

If I'm drinking it with a meal, it's a bit hard to really appreciate a more complex glass.

My experience is quite the opposite: A decent wine only gets better when paired whith the proper meal, and the same goes for great wines with great dishes. Of course the opposite is also true, and shit wine will always be shit...
 
My wife and I tend buy wine in the $10- 15.00 range.

There are a lot of decent and affordable wines from Spain and Portugal.

We also tend to prefer European wines to American. It might be a higher alcohol or sulfite content but we both feel poorly the next morning after we finish a bottle of American red wine. Not so with most European wines.
 
This may be considered sacrilege, but if you plan on having a glass of wine with your meals during the week/weekends, cracking open a bottle of wine may not be cost effective for the 'casual' drinker.

I like wine, I have some nice wines in storage for special occasions, but have discovered that some box wines offer a great value for a simple red table wine.

Bota Box has a red blend called "Nighthawk Black". The box holds the equivalent of 4 bottles (about $20) in a bladder that won't oxidize the wine after opening and will keep for weeks in the fridge.

Just a thought.
 
Really depends on what you like, and how how much you want to spend. I think between $10 and $20 per bottle is kind of the sweet spot in terms of quality and price.

On the budget side, there are a lot of good inexpensive Argentinian reds. Grapes like Malbec and Temperanillo. You can often find a decent Malbec for under $10.

If you like big heavy duty flavors, go for a Cabernet Sauvignon. If you prefer lighter body, try a Pinot Noir.

I used to work for a wine distributor, and one of our biggest sellers was McManis Family Vinyards, from CA. They do quite a few red varietals, and they are all very drinkable and fairly inexpensive. They even make a good red blend box wine under the name Jack Tone. I actually like boxed wine because it keeps for a while after you open it. A couple other decent boxes are Bota or Black Box. Just stay away from the boxes like Franzia or Vella.

On the higher end of the price scale, I really like Spanish reds, from regions like Priorat, Jumilla and Rioja.

Will, I have a question for ya. Years ago I had a Spanish Temperanillo from the Rioja region called ~Ercavio~, at a hot spring spa in Colorado. Cannot for the life of me find anything online or in store about this wine (any help?). I went through a short Spanish wine phase and noticed I only liked the young wines, which was weird also.
 
Will, I have a question for ya. Years ago I had a Spanish Temperanillo from the Rioja region called ~Ercavio~, at a hot spring spa in Colorado. Cannot for the life of me find anything online or in store about this wine (any help?). I went through a short Spanish wine phase and noticed I only liked the young wines, which was weird also.

That's not one that we sold, and i haven't heard of it. It looks good though. Someone scored it 90 points.
Google brought up some results. http://m.klwines.com/p/i?i=1251939
 
I live in the middle of the California wine industry. Around here you'll find that the majority of the retail wine comes from EJ Gallo, Delicato, Bronco, or Franzia (TWG) wineries under various labels. We've sold grapes to all of them.

Wine is just like speakers - what one person likes, another can't stand. What you need to do is find a good baseline wine to start with, then branch out from there. Although the mainline wines from the "biggies" may not be the greatest, they are generally consistent. What I would HIGHLY suggest is buy a box of Peter Vella Merlot to start with. It has a fairly good rating, and comes in a bladder box so it can be consumed over a longer time period. After you get accustomed to the taste, then buy a cheapo bottle, then a little pricier bottle, and see what you think. Then compare varieties.

I had some wine custom made in 2014 (my avatar is the label). It's 2014 Zinfandel. I know nothing about wine - we just picked the grapes and I had a small winery make the wine for me. Most people say it's a $25-$30 wine, while some say it's just OK. I don't care for red wine, so I can't really tell. The point is, your taste buds are the determining factor.

Try the Vella

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Sweet Red Roo. I can't remember who makes it, but I love that stuff.

Lee.
 
If you are looking for a really good semi-sweet red table wine, if you can find "Red Cat" from Hazlitt Vinyards of the Finger Lakes region of New York, try it. I find it to be a hearty blend of Merlot and White Zinfandel. It is our favorite red table wine by a wide margin. Red Cat has won more awards for more years than I can think of for a very good reason. Its inexpensive to boot!

I am fortunate in that I live about three hours south of Hazlit Vinyards. We go there three or four times each year and come home with, well just don't tell anybody, six to eight cases each trip. Our record was fourteen cases in a Mini Cooper Clubman -- with room for just a couple of other odds-and-ends from the region. :D

If you can find Red Cat in your area, give it a try. I bet that you will like it as much as we do. Here is a link for more information: http://hazlitt1852.com/ And http://redcatwine.com/
And I just noticed that Amazon has it too.

(No affiliation whatsoever beyond being a very satisfied repeat customer.)

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With a couple different blends, these are good, inexpensive table wines. Usually around $10, but just picked up several at Costco for $7.

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If you are going to be planning on having a bottle last a few days, I would highly recommend one of these:
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The Vacu Vin. About $10 on Amazon.

It sucks the air out and helps prevent oxidation of red wine.
 
Cholesterol is a subject that doctors don't fully talk about enough to their patients, I have a 3.4 GPA in Anatomy and Physiology and if you understand a few simple things it will be easy to understand how to keep your cholesterol under control. Cholesterol is a stored energy and certain foods cause your body to produce more cholesterol like corn oil, animal fat and dairy products. Everyone knows the benefits of drinking 2% milk, using margarine and mayonnaise to reduce the fats ( lipids ) that the body uses to produce cholesterol which is another form of lipids.

Cooking with refined coconut oil will normalize HDL and LDL lipid levels, then the best thing that an older person can do for themselves for their health and well being is to take acidophilus in any form possible.

Go to drugs.com and put acidophilus into the search bar and you will never go without acidophilus ever again. The effects of acidophilus normalizes lipid production, creates proper gut flora, reduces bad bacteria and reinforces the immune system.....plus a whole lot more !

Then also with refined coconut oil, it has a higher heat range and NO trans fats so it can be also used in the deep fryers found in Costco. The corn oil industry gave coconut oil a bad rap saying that coconut oil is high in trans fats when actually corn oil does just to protect the corn oil industry and that is one of the reasons why so many people have problems with diabetes. So, french fries anyone and pink Himalayan salt is very, very low sodium which is Omni important to anyone especially those of us older people that like to eat French fries anytime we want.

Steven Gundry who was the first person to do open heart surgery is now an organic nutrition expert that uses exotic red fruits to create a complex concentrated blend of polyphenols to remove built up cholesterol that has accumulated inside of the arteries which causes blockage and death....the product is called Vital Reds. Polyphenols are what Is found in wine but in Vital Reds you have a concentrated form that contains enzymes that removes more harmful lipids.

Then statins are a pharmaceutical that should only be used for extreme problems with cholesterol because there are many organics that effectively reduce cholesterol.

1. Policosanol

2. Bitter Melon Extract

3. Oat Bran (8 grams twice a day)

4. Vital Reds

5. Acidophilus

6. Refined Coconut Oil (virgin coconut oil has the taste of coconut and can be used in cookies and shrimp fried rice)

I have severe hereditary cholesterol problems and successfully use all the products above to include statins to control my cholesterol and I consume a whole range of foods. To include fried chicken thanks to refined coconut oil....and whoever thought about making money by selling corn oil should be put against the wall and shot....because once they found out the harm of doing so they chose to discredit coconut oil to distract the public which stopped people from making the healthy choice and would have given so many people a much longer life.

Good luck.....
 
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