Need some wine help

[vulturesrow]

Can anyone recommend a decent Zinfandel for less than 20$ that is easily found here on the East coast? Its a Christmas present and the wine is to fill a nice wine bottle container so I wasnt overly concerned about buying a really expensive wine.

[Ulysses]

Ravenswood Vintner's Blend Zin and Sonoma County Zin are both great values and widely available.

[Ray Zee]

buy a french wine of some kind. they are reasonably priced nowadays and most people dont get much oportunity to drink one. makes a better gift as the wine seems special as well.

[J.A.Sucker]

Zins are great because they have lots to offer, and are very undervalued by the wine public. Thus, you can get some excellent Zins for less than a Cab or Pinot. Zin is a California grape, so don't venture outside of this state for it. Ridge makes the best Zins, and you can order them off the web. However, you need to spend about 40 bucks for a really good one. Their cheaper stuff isn't really that good.

If you're looking for a truly dynamite Zin, then order it from www.fellom.com. (http://www.fellom.com.) The 2000 Saratoga Zin is absolutely tremendous, and quite ready to drink (15 bucks a bottle!). This winery is really just a dude in his house, who has some grapes, and buddies who have grapes. This wine is as good as anything made right now, and this vintage is good to go. It's as good, if not better, than anything Ridge is putting out (where a 2000 might run about 100 bucks). I'm debating gettting a case myself, but I don't have room to store it. Also, you can get Port made from Zin grapes. Very nice, too, and nobody will ever have had it. A truly nice gift.

Of course, all of this is contingent on the fact that you live in a "wine treaty state" for insterstate shipping. If you don't, then the Ravenswood stuff that Diablo recommended is pretty good, but not nearly as nice as the Fellom. Trust me.

[wacki]

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buy a french wine of some kind. they are reasonably priced nowadays and most people dont get much oportunity to drink one. makes a better gift as the wine seems special as well.

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"The french have taken a natural approach to wine growing. They depend on mother nature for the water. Some seasons are very dry, and others are very wet. The grapes grown in France vary considerably in quality from year to year. Also, vineyards are handed down via family lines. There are a considerable amount of French wines are sold mainly via prestige of the name and not by know how. Some people, like the Australians, shun the French and say they are neglecting the fertile soils they were blessed with, as well as wine growing knowledge with the family hand-me-down of their vineyards instead of passing control (not ownership) of the vineyard to the most knowledgeable grower. Others, disagree and say this gives the French wine more character and unpredictability. It's a matter of preference. French wines are more expensive in general compared to similar quality Australian wines. Their two methods of growing are simply way too different. Australians are much better equipped for mass production, and are grown using the leading edge scientific technology. The French are more natural. It's a free country, pick what matters to you the most. I personally am a big fan of Australian wines and wines from the four fingers region of New York. Most of my friends perfer Californian wines though."

Just and FYI, I don't drink any french wines for various reasons, but I do drink one french champagne on occasion and it is Cristal. My choice for avoiding french wines is several fold. I like to know the wines I buy will be the same from year to year, and aren't overpriced. I am also boycotting french wines because of the way they have been treating the US and numerous scandals at the UN including several with Iraq. But that is my choice, and you don't have to do the same.

New York (Four Finger lakes region) and California also have very good wine.