2+2ers help me find some wine...

[ewile]

...and not my Aces were cracked by running 7's whine.

I'm getting into wine but I don't know a thing. My method of selection is to find the wine with the nicest label in the $8-$15 price range. So I'm looking for suggestions for some good ones to try in that price range.

I like red and usually don't have it with a meal. Just a glass while I'm relaxing or playing poker at night.

Also any related web sites that would be helpful for a newb would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Ed

[MrWookie47]

Here are a few thoughts:

1. I've usually found that the nicer the label, the more the winery is trying to sell you on the label, and not the wine.

2. Host an informal wine tasting with your friends. It doesn't need to be complicated, and no one needs to know anything at all about wine. Have everyone who attends bring one bottle of wine within some guidelines you set, and you can be as open or as restrictive as you want. For example:
-Everyone brings any bottle of wine at all, and we'll all see what we like.
-Everyone brings something they haven't tried before, and we'll see what we like.
-Bring a 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa or Sonoma counties.
-Brings a red wine that costs $10 or less.
-Everyone brings a wine that isn't from the US, France, or Australia.

Get the idea? I'm sure you can come up with plenty of good themes. At your party, hide the bottles in numbered bags (most liquor stores have wine bottle sized paper bags for wine purchases - ask for a dozen or so) so no one is swayed towards something they recognize. As for the actual tasting, there's no need to be pretentious. Just drink it, and see what you like. Have everyone take notes, and rank them at the end. Tally up the scores and see which bottle won. You're apt to be surprised. If you keep the group to around 10 people, you'll get to try a good number of wines in one night, but not so many that they all run together, or that not everyone gets enough.

The only real way to learn about wine is to try a lot of it. I could rattle off a half a dozen bottles I like or what professional tasters like, but that only has a little bearing on what you'll like. Have fun!

[PoBoy321]

If you can't get it in a jug with a screw top, it's just not worth it.

[blatz]

Find the best local wine store near your house and become friendly with the owner/workers. Tell them what you like, and trust their opinion. They want to help. Usually they are exploding with suggestions, they've tasted everything and in classic specialized nerd fashion, they want their knowledege to be useful.
Except for 2 particular bottles that I love, and buy when I'm making someone a dinner or otherwise trying to get into their pants, and can't take chances, I hardly keep track of brands. You will find types that you like and just experiment with whatever strikes your fancy.
I'm an under $15 a bottle spender like you, and never have a problem with finding good new stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of advantages to being a wine connosseiur, but it's way too complicated to me. I like just being a wine liker/drinker.
I love the idea of the wine tasting party, and may even attempt to clean my house in order to have one.

[MrWookie47]

I've been running a biweekly session with a number of my friends for about a year now. It's been a lot of fun. Actually, we're not strictly wine. We've done beer and hard liquor, too, and since I've learned a fair bit about bartending, we've been trying out new mixed drinks. It's a lot of fun, a refreshing switch from drinking whatever's available just to get drunk, and it's great for guiding future purchases. I mostly just like that I can try 10 new wines for the price of a single bottle and do so with all my friends.

[Josh W]

Some friends of mine started up a website called

wine democracy (that's the first time I tried to put a URL in a post, so I may have butchered it).

They described it to me as "like Zagat, but for wines" where anybody can post recommendations. I don't know squat about wine (or posting URLs) , but it may be worth checking out....

Josh

[jb9]

Try these two:

Rosemount Shiraz
Ravenswood Zinfandel

I think you can find both for under $15.

Neither will win the nicest label prize, but they are good reds at a good price with a bit of spice and flavor.

Enjoy.

[TripleH68]

I like my reds big...Australian...

Yellow Tail Shiraz - cheap!
Clancy's blend

Spanish white wine - las brisas

[MrsNolanFan]

<font color="purple"> A great place to find a lot of good, inexpensive wines is Trader Joe's. And the staff are easy to talk to and eager to help. Look beyond the Three-buck Chuck (Charles Shaw) and you will likely find some really good stuff!
Good luck and, by all means, have fun!
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[ewile]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I appreciate it!