Best Red Wine under $10

This is my new favourite red wine, called Misterio, an Argentinian Malbec. Fantastic, full-bodied wine at only $7.95 per bottle! I've been buying it by the case lately. Decant it for an hour or so and then do a blind taste test against more expensive Shiraz's and/or Cabernet Sauvignons and see how it fares... My opinion is that it tastes more "expensive" than it is.

Cheap Red Wine - "Fuzion"

It's really very good for that "Tuesday-night-at-home-with-the-wife-and-a-pizza" kind of vibe... Yes, it's only $7.45 but don't let that deter you:

FUZION SHIRAZ MALBEC LCBO 83188 750 mL bottle

Price: $ 7.45 Wine, Red Wine, 13.3% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1
Made in: Argentina by: Familia Zuccardi

It's been often sold out in the LCBO in recent weeks leading up to Christmas.

"Chez Scriv" - new house wine

My new favourite inexpensive ($10.10!!) big red:

J.J. MCWILLIAMS SHIRAZ/CABERNET

LCBO 16741 750 ml. bottle

Price: $ 10.10

13.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 2
Made in: South Australia

LCBO Tasting Note:
Medium ruby red colour; big nose of eucalyptus, black currant and vanilla; dry, medium to full bodied, with lots of juicy fruit flavours; spicy notes on the long finish.

My notes: Great, bold full-bodied red. Excellent value. Great with pizza (but then again, so is tap water or beer or milk or juice....hmmm....maybe it's really just pizza I like, more than the wine? No - I love pizza and I love the "big" red wines).

I found that this is one of those wines that greatly benefits from decanting for at least an hour, and/or pouring into the "Eisch" breathable wine glasses that I've mentioned in another blog entry here...

Eisch Breathable Wine Glasses!

Recently purchased some of these great lead-free crystal wine glasses, and can now report without hesitation that they really do work! They eliminate the need for long breathing periods after pouring your red wine into carafes. Just pour into your glass and wait a few minutes, and the wine tastes like it has been "opening up" in a carafe for an hour or so! It has made our $10 "house wine" (Cawarrah Shiraz/Cabernet blend) taste much more interesting, and we can detect lots more interesting fruity notes, etc. when giving it the little pre-drinking sniff... They happen to be on sale at 20% off at Epicure 1900 Mississauga Road and Dundas St. West in Mississauga. They're not cheap, but they really seem to make a difference.

http://www.eisch.de/eng/website/news/breathable_glass/index.php

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070905.wldecanter05/EmailBNStory/lifeFoodWine/home

New (to me) Red Wine

My friend Frank Bo. brought this wine to our last hockey tournament: "Trapiche" Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 bottled by Bodegas Trapiche Mendoza, Argentina.

...that's right - Argentina, not Australia where I almost always find my favourites. It's a very nice, full-bodied red wine and it's under $15. Quite a nice wine, one that you wouldn't be ashamed to take to someone's home for a dinner party.

Penfold's Bin 389 Red Wine

This wine was offered to me yesterday at my brother-in-law's place..it was a gift to him from his sister. If I could afford to drink this every day, I would - it's just tremendous. Sadly, it costs $36 putting it out of my range except for a very special occasion.

Cheap Faves...

I've mentioned Hardy's "Stamp of Australia" Shiraz/Cabernet before, as well as Long Flat Shiraz/Cabernet and Jacob's Creek Siraz/Cab...

My latest, and maybe my new "cheap-fave" is :

Lindeman's "Cawarra" - yet another Shiraz/Cabernet.

All of the above are very nice for a "Tuesday-evening-dinner-at-home-in-front-of-the-tube-or-the-BBQ-with-yer-wife-kinda-meal". All are around $10.

For a little nicer occasion (even to take to someone's home), I'm still really happy with Lakefield's "Promised Land" and the Bin 555 from Lindemans, both around $15.

Also, the newest discovery I've previously told you about is Stump Jump for $13.95 - excellent value in the Vintages section.

Cheers!

Wine web-site

An interesting site for wine information: www.nataliemaclean.com

"Stump Jump" from Australia

My newest favourite wine under $15 is Stump Jump

http://www.sawineco.com/images/products/darenberg-the-stump-jumper-2003.jpg

It is (as usual for me) a red wine from Australia, and is a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre.

I don't really know what that means, except that I know I like Shiraz (like Eaglehawk, etc.), and also Shiraz/Cabernet blends (like Jacob's Creek and Promised Land and Cawarrah), and I like some other more expensive wines from d'Arenberg (like Laughing Magpie), so I decided to try this one.

It was in the Vintages section of the L.C.B.O. - somewhere I usually don't shop - but it was just $13.95 so I went for it.

Big, bold taste at a fairly reasonable price. Would be good with some pretty strong-tasting meals, and is just great all-by-itself!