What are some good brands of mid grade wine?!
Answers: Nothing too expensive, and I prefer merlot.
For Merlot, try Blackstone Merlot especially 2002 if you can find it.
Chateau St. Jean and Rodney Strong are two of my favorite mid-priced wines (that are widely available).
Yellowtail............
I fell in love with "Zed" over the summer, it's a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
Kendall Jackson Chardonnay is enjoyable.
Sorry, I don't know reds at all.
A lot of states have wine makers now. Here in Oklahoma we have four nice wineries. Check your local liquor store and see what the have in your state as far as wines. My favorite Oklahoma wine is called Oklahoma Sunset and it is a mild , mid priced Chardonnay. It runs about $ 12 per bottle
Beringer is my favorite everyday table wine. All the varieties are consistently pleasant and not too harsh.
Blackstone merlot is a good one for the price. Fat Bastard also has a nice cabernet, merlot, & shiraz for the price. My fave. is their cab.
St. Julian's from Michigan is my favorite brand - all flavors are exceptional.....wine tasting excursions are my favorites....
I recently discovered a great wine at Trader Joe's (not 2-buck Chuck). Chalk Creek has its grapes sourced from the central coast (Paso Robles) and is then bottled in Northern CA. The Cabernet is AWESOME... it's a 2002 at my store right now (which is a darn good year for Central Coast Cabs). I have not tried the Merlot since I generally go for a meatier wine with lots of tannins. However, I've heard good things about it as well. Just bought an entire case and plan on going back for more before it runs out.... give it a go, you won't be disappointed! Oh.... By the way.... it's only 5 bucks!!!!
As for some "under $20" Merlots that I like (that are rather readily available) ....
Bogle, Edna Valley, Charles Krug, Copolla, & St. Francis. If you want to step it up a little notch, Kenwood and Duckhorn!
Smoking Loon and Rawson's Retreat--Both are between 7 and 10 dollars and can be found at the grocery store.
Barefoot Merlot is pretty good and so is Mirassou Merlot and Jacob's Creek Merlot. Not too cheap but not expensive either.
Cameron Hughes. Best value wine around.