I want to start a wine collection, but budget is mediocre.?!
I want to start a wine collection, but budget is mediocre.?
I aquired a pretty sweet liqour/wine cabinet, it has a rack to store about 30 bottles of wine. As a bartender, I have a vast knowledge of liqueurs, beers, and spirits. But my wine knowledge aint so good. I'm willing to spend about $200 a month on filling up the rack. What are some great tasting and very affordable (i'm talking $5-$20 a bottle) wines. Any wines will do: White, Red, Fortified, Sparkling, etc. Please help me out, Thanks.
Answers:
If you live in Northern California, go to this page.
http://www.bevmo.com/productlist.asp?are...
If you don't live in Northern California, go to this page (it's the same page).
http://www.bevmo.com/productlist.asp?are...
That's the home page for Beverages and More, a chain of liquor stores. They have wine experts that rate all alcohol. Ratings go up to 100. From the home page, look at the top right of the page. You'll see wines rated at 90+, with price increments also listed. Click on what you can afford ($0 - $10, $10 - $20, etc). The results go on for several pages, and include white and red wines. Read through the list, and take note of any you like. If you don't live in NorCal, see if you can find those same wines in your local liquor stores.
Ecco Domani or Yellow Tail
The best place to get wine at a great price is a bulk store like Sams or Costco.
i'm a former bartender and one of my favorite wines is called Red Diamond. I prefer the Merlot or the Cab. It's usually $10-$12 and it is an easy drinking red wine from Washington State.
cheers!
The first thing to do is to start attending tastings to get an idea of what you like.
The next is to decide on what kind of a "collection" you want. Right now, it seems like you want a collection that you won't feel bad drinking. That's great as most wine that's produced is meant for immediate consumption.
Next, realize that a wine cabinet is not meant for long term storage as it's not temperature or humidity controlled. This means that anything you put in it should be consumed within a year of your buying it. This time frame goes along with your price range, anyway, so that's good.
Once you get a handle on the types of wines you tend to like (earthy, dry, oaky, fruity, etc), then it will be easier to buy.
Personally, I recomend some of the following wines:
Kim Crawford 2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Mirabelle Sparkling Wine
Dow's 10 year Port
Any Marques de Casa Concha
Maryhill Reserve Chardonnay
House Red Wine (By Magnificant Wine Company)
Six Prong Red
Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Ximenez Gran Reserva 1971 (sounds impressive, but half bottles can be under $20)
De Ponte Clay Hill Pinot Noir
Even some Two Buck Chuck (Trader Joe's Charles Shaw) Merlot and Cab might not be bad to have as a beginner's sipping wine.
Hope this helps!
Castle Rock Pinot Noir is a nice red, and Chateau St. Michelle makes a good Riesling for a white. Both are pretty affordable ($10 - $15).
If you're willing to spend $200 a month, I'd suggest you take your first $200, go to a reputable liquor store with a good selection, and ask for their wine buyer. Tell him what you're looking to do and give him some of the foods you like to eat. For that amount of money, you should be able to pick up at least ten different wines. Then comes the fun part: pair your wines up with the foods you like and keep track of the ones you enjoyed most. The best way to start a collection from there is to keep a journal. Make the wine guy your friend. He'll probably make you a nice deal on wine by the case, and you'll stay on top of the wines that are readily available at a place close to you.
Have a collection of different price ranges and buy at least 2 bottles of every kind. Nothing worse than enjoying a bottle of wine with someone, finishing and having to switch to something else because you don't have a 2nd bottle. More people are white wine drinkers, so you may want to go heavier on the fruitier whites i.e. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer. I like (inexpensive) Beringer Chenin Blanc. I also like to have Pinot Grigio on hand - my favorite (fairly inexpensive) is Bella Serra. Reds - lighter and fruitier is Northern California Petite Sirah. I also like Rosemount Estates Shiraz or a Shiraz blend. I am not a fan of Merlot - most people love it, but I think it is over-rated and would rather have Cabernet, zinfandel and Sangiovese. Also, don't forget to have a bottle of Chianti on hand. Most people who really like wine won't be interested in White Zinfandel, but it is a good host who would have it for the very occasional wine drinker. I don't think that you have to spend over $15 to get a bottle of wine you will really enjoy.
My favorites (all under $20, most under $15)
Chardonnay: Kendall Jackson or Toasted Head
Merlot: Robert Mondavi Private Selection, & Bogle
Cab: Dynamite, & Francis Coppola Diamond Series
Riesling: Columbia Winery (not to be confused w/ Columbia Crest, which sucks)
Gewurtztraminer: Fetzer
Cab/Merlot blend: Casillero del Diablo (a part of Concha y Toro--also has a great story, good for a collection)
Meritage: Evolution (white, but goes w/ EVERYTHING)
Fume Blanc: Murphey Goode
Zinfandel: Ravenswood
Sparkling: Martini & Rossi, Tosti Asti (spumante for the sweet, of course)
White Zin (i.e. "Stinky Pinky"): doesn't matter what brand, hell get a box, but it's good to have around
Too many people think that you have to spend a lot of money to get a good bottle of wine, when some of the best tasting bottles cost $10. One easy way to try to familiarize yourself with wine is simply reading the label. It tells you what flavors are there, and will help you look for those tastes to help you figure out what you like. (Tastings are always great, too) ;o)