I use the following criteria –
– Is it under (or not much above) $10 at costco?
– Does it have one of those wine spectator wine advocate placards giving it a 90+ rating?
– Is it a type I like? (I don’t really like Malbecs, Reislings, and a few others. Just a preference thing. Tend to stick to cabs, chards, and sauv blanc.)
If it doesn’t fit a category I know, like a lot of the foreign wines, I’ll try a bottle… if I like it, I buy more the next week.
Current faves: Layer Cake (primitivo/zin.)
and a Sicilian red that I don’t remember the name of (Lemura?)
