I think I’ll expand a bit on something that TG said, because it dovetails so nicely with a problem in making recommendations. If you want to skip the story and just get the recommendations they are at the bottom.
Drinking wine and appreciating wine are two different things. People who drink wine will eternally be happy at the sub 20 dollar price point. To appreciate wine however you will end up having to go deeper, both intellectually and financially. Sorry hoi poloi, good wine will never be cheap, great wine will always be expensive.
As TG said, enjoy each phase of your wine drinking experience. Whether its looking for easy drinking merlots (like ghost pines,) a wine to match your food, or ultimately where wine is the star of the experience. Its a journey and its gotta start somewhere. Americans in general are not wine drinkers, hence we have a newly emerging wine culture. Its lead to a lot of confusion and angst about consuming it. Bottom line, drink what you like. The wisest sommelier I ever met told me, if you like 2 buck chuck don’t waste your time on Insignia (he worked at Phelps) it won’t do you any good.
That being said most of us follow a progression in wine tasting. It starts out with big fruity low acid reds. Generally it moves onto the experimenting phase where most of us buy too much Napa cab. The third phase is where we discover Bordeaux and Italy. I find the fourth phase Spain seems to be optional. Thats how you can tell your friends are adventurous. German wines always seem to be there but since most winos are men and men tend to prefer reds, they don’t get nearly as much credit as they should. Finally for the true wino, who doesn’t have a fire hardened palette, and isn’t flat broke, all roads lead to Burgundy.
Why Burgundy, and why not E&J jug Burgundy? Well because ultimately what you are paying for with Burgundy and this by the way is true of all higher end wines is subtlety. Mostly in the form of aromatics. Pinot Noir is in my opinion the most versatile red grape. I love Cal Cab and Bordeaux, but once you’ve eaten steak 3 times that week, you are going to need something else to go with your dinner.
If you’ve made it this far I’ll make a few specific recommendations.
Mockingbird Hill petite sirah and Cab. This is available occassionally from WinesTIllSoldOut.com, they rotate whats for sale every day.
Almost any Cameron Hughes wine. He’s a negociant, they are available at Costco
Ruffino Chianti from Costco
Columbia Crest whites. I don’t have a specific favorite but I’m trying to recommend stuff you can get at local retailers.
One last thing to note. Its worth establishing a relationship or two with reputable retailers who will learn what you like and make recommendations. I don’t personally recommend SDWC, simply because I find them too mercenary. Whatever they’ve brought in is awesome. Wine Exchange in Orange is my favorite SoCal retailer. I also like Vintage Wines on miramar. There are a few others I’d recommend if people are looking for something more specific.
