Grocery Wine » Red

Three Grocery Store Reds Under $15 – Two Winners and One Loser

Phil — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:04:38 +0000

With the arrival of cooler fall weather our tastes our definitely shifting towards reds. And with the holidays around the core now is a great time to flesh out the wine collection before all the guests arrive. We’ve reviewed three cabernets over the last few weeks and found two that definitely deserve your attention and one you should avoid. They’re all available at your local grocery store (ours came from Vons aka Safeway) and all are under $15.

Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon ($14)
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Geyser Peak is known for its Sauvignon Blanc, so when I saw the Cab was on sale for under $10 I thought it would be worth a shot. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. It seemed a bit lifeless without any real distinguishing characteristics. There are better options available (for example see below).

Dancing Bull Cabernet Sauvignon ($9)
The Dancing Bull cab was new to us when we picked it up for the first time a few months back, but it has become a weeknight staple. And since it can frequently be found on sale for well under the $9 list price this one is down right cheap. The flavors are of black cherry with maybe a hint of chocolate. We’ve always liked the Rancho Zabaco zinfandel’s, and Dancing Bull is Rancho Zabaco’s sub brand, made by the same team but with grapes from outside of the Sonoma area that Rancho Zabaco normally pulls from. The benefit to you is a a great wine at a bargain price.

Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon ($12)
Quick! If you live near a Safeway or Vons go and buy a bottle of this right now. It’s on sale for $8! Alright, now that you’re back, here’s the rest of the review: Pronounced blackberry and black cherry flavors combine with a silky texture to make this one worthy of sharing with guests or treating yourself to a little “the kids are finally in bed” celebration. We’d somehow overlooked Red Diamond until recently when the wine guy at our local grocery store mentioned he can barely keep it on the shelf. We’ve now tried it a number of times and continue to be impressed. Based in Washington, Red Diamond has put together a great wine and even at the $12 list price this one is well worth it.

Interested in some other options? Take a look at some other posts by clicking here.

John’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon

Phil — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:54:13 +0000

Two words on this one: wow! Alright, disclosure time: 1. “wow” is not two words. 2. This isn’t really a grocery wine (unless your local grocery store is in an extremely well heeled area of Australia). We managed to obtain a babysitter awhile back and while sniffing around for a new restaurant to try out I came across a reference to a members only club in downtown San Diego. On a whim, I picked up the phone and asked if I could come in for dinner. After bouncing around to a few people on the phone the director of member services agreed to leave some guest passes for us with the hostess. Sweet! When we arrived, I was surprised to discover a jacket was required. Huh? Listen, you might think this makes sense what with the members only thing but this is San Diego. Dressing up here means wearing shoes instead of flip flops. Luckily, they had a very nice jacket available for me, which although it was three sizes too big, definitely lent an air of respectability to Amy and I, which was needed since all of the other patrons were old enough to be our parents.

Now that we were dressed up we realized we would have to take our dining selections and most importantly our wine selection up a notch. “Waiter! Please send over the sommelier!” The sommelier turned out to be a very cool guy who had recently returned from a tasting trip to Australia. “Australian cabs are where it’s at! And by the way, I know a tailor who can help you out with that jacket…”

The John’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon was selected so we rolled up our sleeves (literally in my case) and got to work. Again, two words: wow! Some hints of chocolate and mint were unexpected but awesome. Overall, extremely smooth and drinkable and a great pairing with our steaks. The restaurant’s price was $80, which definitely puts it outside our standard price range, but since I’d already got a free jacket out of the meal we felt like we could splurge.

I have no idea where this might be available here in the states (other than at select members only restaurants) but if you spot it somewhere please let us know. Even at $80 I would buy it again in a heartbeat!

Review: J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon

Phil — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:16:45 +0000

We’d seen the J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet on a few wine lists at local restaurants so getting it on sale at Vons for under $12 seemed like a no brainer. We pulled the cork and let it breath a bit… and were thoroughly unimpressed. It’s definitely drinkable, tastes of currant and black pepper but despite this the overall effect is a bit flat. There are definitely other more impressive wines available, (many of them cheaper). The only bright side: we didn’t pay the restaurant price!

You must chill! Serving Wine At The Right Temperature

Phil — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:31:14 +0000

Just came across an easy wine tip for serving wine at the right temperature: “Twenty minutes before dinner, you take the white wine out of the fridge, and put the red wine in.” says Ursula Hermacinski, a wine auctioneer formerly of Christie’s. I’ve heard from a number of sources that most people serve their red wine too warm and their whites too cold. According to those in the know reds should be served at “cellar temperature” or approximately 65 degrees. Since most of our wine cellar’s are still in the planning stages (I just can’t decide what color marble coordinates best with the chandeliers!) our reds are usually served at room temperature. Conversely, we serve most white’s straight out of the fridge which is considered to be so cold it blunts some of the flavors. Thanks to Borracha’s Wine Blog for this handy tip!

(And thanks to “Say AnythingSay Anything” for being an awesome movie and providing the perfect title for this post!)

Burgers and Wine – Grilling and Grapes

Phil — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:04:46 +0000

In our house the 4th of July means burgers will be hitting the grill. With that decided we can devote all of our energy to determining what wines to have with dinner. Usually, I’d stay up late for months trying to come up with the perfect pairing for our burgers (not really), tasting thousands of wines (I wish), eating hundreds of burgers (no comment). This year though my fine friends over at Wine Spectator agreed to my request to write a couple of articles on the subject (I actually never spoke with them but I was thinking about it and then the articles were there so I still say it was my idea). Included on their list of wines for the 4th are a few grocery store staples which you should have no trouble finding at the local Safeway, Kroger, Vons, Ralphs, etc. Best of all there are a number of relatively cheap wines on the list with reds ranging in price from $11-$16 and whites from $9-$12. Listed below are our picks from the Wine Spectator articles. Enjoy and happy 4th!

Cabernet Sauvignons (from “Burgers and Red Wine for July Fourth” by Laurie Woolever at Wine Spectator)

COLUMBIA CREST Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Grand Estates $11
CHATEAU STE. MICHELLE Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley $16
RANCHO ZABACO Cabernet Sauvignon California Dancing Bull Winemaker’s Reserve $12
BOGLE Cabernet Sauvignon California $11

Two White Options (from “Cooking Up a Fourth of July Feast” by Laurie Woolever at Wine Spectator)
HOGUE Pinot Grigio Columbia Valley $9
GEYSER PEAK Sauvignon Blanc California $12

Review: Menage a Trois Red Wine – What’s in a name?

Phil — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:53:45 +0000

I’ll just start this off by saying, I’m known for my child like innocence, and I wouldn’t dare use the name of this wine to attempt to lure Amy into a conversation which might throw her off balance. With that disclaimer here’s how a recent phone call went (totally innocent! I swear!):

Phil: “Hey, when I get home let’s try that Menage a Trois.”
Amy: “In your dreams!”
Phil: “No seriously, it’s been a long day and what better way to relax? I heard it’s great!”
Amy: “Oh yeah? From who?”
Phil: “Some guy at the grocery store.”
Amy: “You’ve been drinking haven’t you?”

With that I went ahead and clarified that I was talking about the Menage a Trois Red Wine from Napa Valley’s Folie A Deux Winery. I never did get Amy to tell me what she thought I was talking about

Alright, enough with the innuendos here’s the scoop on the Menage a Trois Red Wine. To be frank the name is the best thing about this relatively cheap wine (Under $10 on sale at Safeway or Vons). Being a blend of California Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet I expected something hearty. Unfortunately the end result was thin and lifeless.

Despite the unimpressive wine, I’m tempted to buy it again for the sole purpose of serving it to guests. Imagine people’s reactions when you call for their attention and say “Who would like a little Menage a Trois before dinner?”

Most Expensive Broken Bottle of Wine or One More Reason To Drink Your Wine As Soon As You Get Home

Phil — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:21:54 +0000

Alright, it’s not exactly related to the “grocery” part of this site but we came across a one sentence reference to this incident, became intrigued and did a little research. Here’s the story:
In 1989, a New York wine merchant was asked to sell an extremely rare and sought after wine on consignment. The asking price? $519,750! The wine, a 1787 Chateau Margaux, a bottling which would be in demand by collectors in any circumstance, had additional value due to a set of initials engraved in the glass. The letters “Th. J.” were believed to represent the first and last name of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and an avid wine collector (while serving as the first Secretary of State, Jefferson placed orders for French wines for both himself and George Washington). In 1985 another Thomas Jefferson wine had gone for $155,453 dollars at auction.

Th. J.'s initials on a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem

The wine merchant, William Sokolin, known for his showmanship and promotional abilities, had originally set the price of the 1787 Chateau Margaux at $250,000. After attending an auction where, in Sokolin’s words, “a footstool that looked like it would fall apart” sold for $290,000 the price was raised over the $500,000 mark (gaining large amounts of publicity in the process). When Sokolin was invited to attend a black tie dinner celebrating the latest release of Bordeaux wines he knew the attendees would be a who’s who of New York’s wine elite and a prime marketing opportunity.

At the dinner, with the 200 year old bottle in hand, Mr. Sokolin made his rounds displaying the prized wine to a number of admirers. Spotting a friend on the far side of the room, Sokolin strode across the floor. While en route Sokolin accidentally struck the bottle against a metal topped serving table. To his horror, two holes appeared in the ancient glass and the dark red wine drained on to the floor, leading People magazine to note that Sokolin had created “the world’s most expensive puddle”. The only good news was the bottle was insured and the policy later paid out $200,000.

With this cautionary tale in mind we encourage you to minimize the chances of breaking a wine bottle by pouring its contents into glasses as soon as possible!

The following links provide some additional details on the world’s most expensive broken bottle of wine:

“The World’s Most Expensive Wines” by Nick Passmore on Forbes.com

“The Money Is All Bottled Up” by Jonathan Karl on The Wall Street Journal Online

“A New York Wine Merchant Turns a 1787 Chateau Margaux into the World’s Most Expensive Puddle” by Alan Richman on People.com

“Wine Is Spilt; Some Tears Ensue” by Howard G. Goldberg on The New York Times

Review: Firefly Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon – Worth a try?

Phil — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:16:24 +0000

Firefly Ridge wines have become fairly popular over the course of the last six months and so when it went on sale at Vons I was eager to try it and write up a review. As it turns out the most interesting aspect of this California Cabernet Sauvignon is that it is named “Firefly Ridge” and as far as I know there are no fireflies in California (although virtually every kid growing up here wishes there were). The Firefly Cabernet is just “okay”. It’s drinkable – don’t throw it out if you already have a bottle – but seeing how it isn’t particularly cheap there are quite a few other cabs out there that warrant more attention than this one.

Interested in a better option? Take a look at some of the other wines we’ve reviewed from Safeway/Vons by clicking here.

Top 5 Grocery Wines for the Week

Phil — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:11:50 +0000

It’s Friday and what better way to celebrate than by swinging by the grocery store on your way home and picking up a bottle or five of wine. Listed below are our picks for the week.

Champagne – Gloria Ferrer (on sale $15.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
Chardonnay – Bogle (on sale $8.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/24)
Sauvignon Blanc – Dry Creek Vineyard (available at Safeway / Vons)
Cabernet Sauvignon – BV (on sale $7.76 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
Zinfandel – Edmeades (Costco)

Review: Edmeades Zinfandel – Buy It!

Phil — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:36:12 +0000

Like an old friend you can count on in a pinch, we turned to the Edmeades Zinfandel after the Rijckaert Chardonnay debacle. This California wine has become our favorite zin of late, the one which all other zins are being judged by. Very tasty and goes with any meal we’ve throw at it (confession: after the kids were in bed there was still some left and we wanted to watch a DVD, and you can’t watch a movie without popcorn right? Orville Redenbacher Movie Theater Butter + Zin = Yum!). At $14 this Costco wine is definitely money well spent, especially if you like Zinfandel.

Note: As usual the industry big wigs are following our lead. Food And Wine reviewed the Edmeades zin and named it their #1 zin for under $20 (never mind the fact their article is from 2008 and this review is from mid 2009, I swear they copied us!) . You can read their take as well as see their other winners here.

Also of note: If you can’t buy Edmeades at your local grocery or Costco you can buy it directly from them at their website www.edmeades.com.