Wines to Pick as Your (Affordable) House Wines

Lensman
Lensman
6617
 

Since the start of the Lockdown I have taken some solace with drinking good wine with dinner. In these chaotic economic conditions it’s good to have excellent wine available at good prices.

Below is a list of high quality but affordable wines that I am sharing on Ricochet. Maybe it will be useful for some and maybe come comments will include other favorite wines. I limited it nine wines so people can nominate a wine for the #10 spot.

If, as I do, you buy wine by the case, you can factor in a 10% discount available from most wine merchants. The range for the “street price” is $8-10 in my local wine store. I am not putting down the official “list price” because different state regulations and taxes will affect pricing. In alphabetical order:

1. 1924 Double Black Limited Edition Red Blend by Gnarly Head (California)

2. Bogle Essential Red Blend (California)

3. Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling (Columbia Valley, Washington)

4. Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington)

5. Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay (Columbia Valley, Washington)

6. Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel (Lodi California)

7. Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc (North Coast, California)

8. Noble Vines Marquis Red (California)

9. Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc – Viognier (Napa Valley, California)

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  1. Hammer, The Inactive
    Hammer, The
    @RyanM
    8:50 PM EDT ⋅ May 25, 2020

    Lensman (View Comment):

    The Cynthonian (View Comment):

    There’s a wine blog I like: http://Https://costcowineblog.com https://costcowineblog.com. Warning: it’s mostly written by someone in the Atlanta area, and Costco’s stock varies regionally. Here in the PacNW, our Costcos tend to stock a lot more Washington and Oregon wine than I ever found in So Cal’s Costcos.

    This is a fun read with good coverage of Trader Joe’s wine offerings:https://www.reversewinesnob.com Costco’s too, for that matter.

    One nice thing about the PacNW is the ready availability of so many tasting rooms (well, pre-pandemic, anyway). Lots of tasting has helped me refine my preferences and find some lesser-known varietals and wineries I enjoy. It’s fun to experiment with food pairings, too. @kelsurprise, such a shame you don’t drink whites. There are some foods with which they just pair better. If you think they’re too sweet or too dry, have you tried any Viognier or Chenin Blanc? They tend to be balanced, in my experience. And how about rose’? I love rose’…….especially in the spring and summer.

    The Pine Ridge I listed in the original post is a Chenin Blanc/Viognier blend. I would have listed the Hogue Chenin Blanc (Columbia Valley, WA) but it’s out of the price range I set, with an average price of $16. MAN is a Chenin Blanc from South Africa that is around $10, but a lot of the Chenin Blanc on the market is going to be Vouvray from France. I deliberately confined the list to wines made in the US.

    I am a huge fan of the wines made in Washington State. For value, Columbia Crest is amazing because its volume is huge with tens of thousands of cases of a particular wine, and yet they get (and deserve) a score of 88-90 from Wine Enthusiast or Wine Spectator — year in and year out. Chateau Ste. Michelle is in the same class. People living up there get to buy great wine from the smaller producers who don’t go for national distribution.

    Yeah, chateau ste Michelle averages 7-10$ a bottle around here. We also supply the world’s hops as well as apples.  I hate Seattle, but living in central WA does have its perks!

    • #61
  2. Locke On Member
    Locke On
    @LockeOn
    9:10 PM EDT ⋅ May 25, 2020

    Hammer, The (View Comment):

    Yakima Valley, where I live, has some fantastic wineries.

    A local favorite of mine is Owen Rowe. If you get a chance to pick up any of their wines, you won’t regret it.

    Been there.  I agree.

    • #62
  3. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB
    11:07 AM EDT ⋅ May 26, 2020

    Reasonable and very good:  Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio; Nobilo or Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blancs (or really most Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, NZ.)  

    A small story about Nobilo wines and Frank Nobilo, professional golfer and later commentator.  He is related to the founder of the winery, but either didn’t know that side of the family or wasn’t close.  When Nobilo Wineries wanted to expand their presence in the US, they hired Frank as their Nobilo Brand Ambassador in 2005.

    • #63
  4. EB Thatcher
    EB
    @EB
    11:09 AM EDT ⋅ May 26, 2020

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Anyone ever tried scuppernong wine?

    The one I tried years ago was extremely sweet.

    • #64
  5. Al French of Damascus Moderator
    Al French of Damascus
    @AlFrench
    6:06 PM EDT ⋅ May 28, 2020

    Hammer, The (View Comment):

    Yakima Valley, where I live, has some fantastic wineries.

    A local favorite of mine is Owen Rowe. If you get a chance to pick up any of their wines, you won’t regret it.

    Of course Owen Rowe is from Oregon.😉

    • #65
  6. Locke On Member
    Locke On
    @LockeOn
    9:12 PM EDT ⋅ May 28, 2020

    Al French of Damascus (View Comment):

    Hammer, The (View Comment):

    Yakima Valley, where I live, has some fantastic wineries.

    A local favorite of mine is Owen Rowe. If you get a chance to pick up any of their wines, you won’t regret it.

    Of course Owen Rowe is from Oregon.😉

    Both, as you probably know.  And I’d rather venture to Yakima than Portlandia.

    • #66
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