Good wines on a modest budget

[Nonny J. Nonnington III]

Wherein the winos herein share their favorite objects of imbibement.

I am a wine enthusiast with a horrible palate. The subtleties of a fine Burgundy or Bordeaux utterly escape me. Spending more that $12-$15 on a dry white wine is something I cannot bring myself to do (although there are some off-dry and sweet whites that are worth it to me). From a few stories I am reading and hearing, I may not be alone in this; a lot of people are swayed more by what they think the wine costs than by the actual taste.

On the other hand, I have become an expert at buying reasonably priced wines that taste pretty damn good to me. Not finding them, mind you - I leave that to the wine buyers at a few local stores, and subscribe to their emails. But I trust their suggestions and have been rarely been disappointed.

I thought we could use this thread to list some wines that can lift our spirits without equally lifting our credit card balances. (Note, some links may ask you to verify that you are of a legal age to go farther).

To begin: I got together with friends this weekend, and someone brought a bottle of Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon. I found it to be quite good, as good as many cabs I have tried at higher price points. And it appears that NH liquor stores have it on sale this month for $8.

Bogle Vineyards: If I were forced to spend the rest of my life drinking wines from only one vineyard, this would be the one. I haven't had them all, but the ones that I have had are well made and well priced. My fave is their Petite Sirah - I buy this by the case. Another nice wine is their Phantom, a zinfandel based red blend so named (I was told) because it was only on the shelves for a brief time.

Ch. Ste Michelle: A very close runner up for favorite vineyard. I've never been disappointed by any of their wines that I have tried. Their Indian Wells Cabernet is consistently reliable. However, they are a higher profile vineyard and can (and do) command higher prices. Worth it on sale, though, and my local Costco carries their wines at a good price.

Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. Okay, this is the sort of winery that Paul Giamatti's character hated in "Sideways". Maybe with good reason, who can say? Their Vintner's reserve is pretty reliable, I think, although I'm not a white wine aficionado. Again, my paying a lot for a dry white wine just isn't worth it for me, so I wouldn't buy this unless on sale.