What's the least expensive wine you've enjoyed?

Many years ago, we would go to my parent's house every Saturday night for pizza. We would walk to Tim's Discount Wines and Liquors and buy Franzia Cabernet Sauvignon, 750 ml with a cork closure. Quite a decent wine - 99 cents.

Joe Giorgianni TheWho.org

Zeppo wrote on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:52:13 -0400:

Z> I tried a sale item at a wine shop I deal with and found a Z> wine that really surprised me. A 2004 Bodegas Borsao Vina Z> Borgia Campo de Borja, at $4 a bottle was pretty impressive. Z> Wish I had bought more than 6 bottles. The 2004 is long Z> gone.

It's not a particularly good question, given inflation and the antiquity of some of us (:-) I hate to think how little I paid for carafes of good local wine in Italian, Spanish and French restaurants in the 60s. The price we paid even for Swiss wines then really induces nostalgia!

James Silverton Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

In the Loire I enjoyed a pitcher of local Chinon with complimentary rillets(sp) for 1 euro in a bistro in a small village.

Yquem 1908. Got is as a gift. But I guess that does not comply with the rules ... ;-)

M.

Does free count? I had dinner at a restaurant that gave you a bottle of wine with 2 entrees. It was pretty good. I don't remember any details about what the wine was. It was something like Pepperidge Hills. I only remember its name was close to Pepperidge Farms.

Fred.

Columbia Crest Estate Chardonnay for about $6. Villa Mt. Eden Chardonnay for about $5. Concannon Petite Syrah for about $6.

These wines easily compare to wines I find typically priced from $12-$15 or so.

Wine Drinking 101 teaches that wines that are given to you makes them taste better.

For a standard consumer that would hold true. As a wine-writer, I am arrogant enough to say that this does not apply to me in most of the cases ... ;-)

M.

For sipping wines, I don't like the inexpensive ones. Well not quite true, I enjoy cava and proscecco. But for food wines I like quite a few cheap ones. For example, we had a Casa Solar (Tempranillo) 2004 with spinach gnocchi with a red sauce. Plus we had alfredo chicken fettuccini. The wine--Price USD 6.00. Nice match.

Evan

Two dollars, believe it or not. It was probably the best white wine I've ever had. And I could not duplicate it.

Back when I was in college (oh, late 1970s) I went on a glee club tour in Sonoma and Napa, and we stopped at a few wineries, one of which was the Hop Kiln winery. They had a number of wines available for tasting, one of which was their non-vintage white, "A thousand flowers". It was sublime. Now, granted, my wine palate was not as developed as it is now, but I thought it was marvelous, and I bought a bottle. I brought it to New York and had it with my family, wondering if it would travel well, and if it really was as good as I thought it was in the tasting room. Well, it did and it was. Gotta get me more of that!

At the time, Hop Kiln only distributed in two stores, one in San Francisco, and one in New York City. Neither was accessible to me, but I had a friend who lived in the SF area and I pressed him to get me a few more bottles. It was a year or two later, but he managed to get me three; I think he went to the winery for them, but may have gone to their one outlet. I don't remember. These were special wines - one I gave to a restaurant as a thank you; I had arranged for newly married friends to dine there at my expense, with a lot of secret-agent stuff like a matching torn graham-cracker box top halves as ID. They hosted the dinner, and then held onto the bill until I could manage to find my way to the restaurant personally (a long time!) to actually pay it. I told them this was the finest wine I had come across and I hoped that they would enjoy it. The other bottle I gave to my mom, and I don't remember the occasion of my opening the third bottle.

But it stank.

Ok, not "stank", but it was extremely disappointing. I can't even imagine what the poor waiters thought when they opened my thank-you present!

So I asked my mom about her bottle - she said that it was nowhere near as good as the first bottle, and yes, the first bottle was excellent. So, at least I wasn't delusional when I originally tasted it. I guess different years, different blends, who knows?

Around 1990 or so I started visiting California again, and the Hop Kiln winery was certainly of interest. I have found that they can be uneven, with a number of ok to good wines, nothing special, but an occasional WOW! (which is often among their least expensive wines). So in 1997, I had already bought my quota and we pass by the Hop Kiln.

WOW!

They had a crop of valdigue that they decided was so good they'd bottle it alone. It was =sublime=. She Who Must Be Obeyed insisted that I'd already bought too much wine, but I managed to get her to let me take home a bottle.

I should have bought a case and had it shipped by limousine.

When I opened the bottle at home, I was equally floored. I would kill for another, but alas, it was a very limited bottling, and I'm sure it's all gone now.

So many wines, so little time!

Jose

In article , zeppo snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com says...

Jon,

Easy question, for me, at least. Some years back at my Costco (Miles, it was the Scottsdale store). I had a cart load of wines, mostly high-end reds, like Penfolds Grange. An older gentleman, a shopper, not a smurf, approached me and said, "I see you like your wine. I have a recommendation for you, provided you do not have a problem with South African wines. Just do not look at the price." I wondered, about the last part, seeing as how I had 2 1er Cru Bdx. the Grange, and some pretty heavy-hitters from CA. I told him that I had no problem with SA wines, and even pointed out the Mulderbosch SBs, that I had. He led me to the other side of the bin, and handed me a bottle with tissue. It was a Bdx-styled bottle, and I unwrapped the tissue. Glen Carlou, Grand Classique, Paarl, SA. "Never heard of it," I said. "Trust me, it is good," he replied. I glanced towards the card on the bin. "I told you to NOT look at the price," he shot back. It was US$12.95! I hesitated. "See, I told you not to look... " "OK, on your rec., I'll try two bottles, and see what it holds," I told him. I took the bottles home, and opened one that evening. "Interesting," I thought. I nursed it along for a bit and was really getting into it. When my wife arrived home, I poured her a glass, instead of her usual white wine starter. "Wow, this is good. What is it?" she inquired. "Oh, just a little SA Bdx. blend from Costco." By then, I had researched Glen Carlou and knew about the Grand Classique. We finished the bottle, and the next day, I bought a case. Everyone, to whom I introduced this wine did the same thing - bought a couple of bottles, tasted it, then bought a case. This went on for a couple of years, until Costco no longer carried it. I had one of my last bottles the other evening and it is NOT built to last, but is great upon release. At the price-point, it is the best $13 btl. of wine that I have ever had.

Hunt

No Michael! Three "Hail Marys," and two "Our Fathers," and you shall be forgiven. But hey, I did buy a bottle of '65 Ch. La Tour for US$10, but I have not popped the slightly distended cork, so it might not be the deal that I hope it to be...

Hunt

Um-m Pepperwood Grove? Had a nice Zin from them years ago, but all that I have had since were not memorable.

Hunt

Wow, several Borsao references here. I'll add another, the "regular" Borsao has been a perennial favorite in our house,. it used to be close to $4 - now more like $7.

I've enjoyed several vintages of both the Quinta da Cabriz from Portugal and the Iche "Les Heretiques" VdP d'Herault for around $6.

A recent find was the 2005 Dario D'Angelo Trebbiano d' Abruzzo at $6, but sold out when I checked back at Chambers St.

I'm leaving off some very good $2 Cotes du Rhones, etc from the early

Bet you're right. I had a very good Pepperwood Grove Syrah a few years back. But the next year (and most PGs since) it was not nearly as good. The danger of those "buy in bulk" negociant wines. Similar to how the 47 lb rooster PN rose in price as it dived in quality.

Sorry, should have specified in the last year or so. Serves me right for posting just before bolting out the door of my office for the day. :)

I've also recently enjoyed a Rosemount Estate diamond black Label Shiraz (I think it was a 2003) I picked up for ~$7.

Jon

One of the least expensive wines that I "really" enjoyed was a cheap sauterne(s). I had never liked sauterne(s) and still don't to this day, 'maybe' because I've never invested in the price for a good bottle. I don't remember how or when this bottle was purchased, but it was cheap and heavenly.

Is there a 'nice' sauterne(s) that is priced below $20. (I hate throwing $20 away :-))

Dee

Then I would have to look at La Vielle Ferme Cotes du Ventoux at 5.99USD second is Vina Alarba old vines at 7.99 USD both are excellent values that make many 10-15 dollar wines look bad.