Castano 2007

This wine is a blast from the past for me. The wine was bought in the cases for my wedding (well, at least the nights leading up to it). Lucky for me I have a few left. According to Legend, Sam's Wine (Now Benny's) promoted this wine as "best deal in 50 years." For less than $10, it was a good wine. Within 2 hours, Sam's sold over 600 cases to its faithfull. Not sure if I would go as far as the best deal in 50 years...but it is a good wine for the money.

This spanish wine has a rich fruit forward flavor and is nice for a verirty of wine lovers. This is a great wine to have on hand for when you love to have wine with wine drinkers that may or may not be as advanced as you.

Inexpensive Wine Reviews: OK

Reid-Lockhart Chardonnay 2007

If you can find this wine, it is a good buy. Sam's Wine (before it became Binny's) had this as one of their weekly deals. It is good bottle of wine. This Chard was a nice clean and crisp wine...very California style. This is a good bottle to keep on hand that does not cost a lot of money. Unfortunately, this is one of those bottles that I usually only found at Sam's.

Inexpensive Wine Reviews: OK

DeLoach Chardonnay 2007

This is the wine we had at our wedding, which adds a decent amount of emotional attachment. However, I picked this up just for the heck of it. The De Loach brand makes a bunch of great wines for a reasonable price. This Chard was no different. Very crisp clean taste with a hint of butter. This is a great wine for a variety of wine lovers (the main reason why restaurants and chartering halls love to carry it). I'm going to give the wine an OK, but I would still say this winery is a great wine to keep on hand (both red and whites) for the occasional improved wine tasting night.

Inexpensive Wine Review: OK

Palmina 2007

This is a nice white with a crisp clean taste. Great wine for the summer time and tends to be a good valued wine. As the Palmina wines website states,

This is the wine to keep in the refrigerator for that much needed glass of white wine after a hard day at the office.

I would agree. This is not a complex wine and is great for a mind numbering sip of wine that simply allows you to take in the day.

Inexpensive Wine Reviews: OK

Frei Brother's Reserve Chardonnay 2006

I picked this Faei Brothers Chardonnay at Jewel. The bottle looked promising, but it turned out to be only just ok. Very crisp clean taste without a lot of oak. Very typical for a west coast Chard, but nothing I will remember. This is a great bottle in a pinch, but I wouldn't stock this in your cellar.

Inexpensive Wine Review: OK

bascand Pinot Noir

This Bascand Pinot Noir is a good fruit forward Pinot. Rich in both color and sustained flavor, it is a nice bottle of wine most wine drinkers will enjoy. I'm going to rate this as OK because there really isn't anything worth remembering about this bottle. Good quality wine for the value but won't impress. Great for when the conversation is much more important than anything you are drinking.

Inexpensive Wine Review: OK

Alma Rosa Pinot Noir 2006

This wine is very typical California Pinot. Alma Rosa has a nice fruit forward flavor that tails off nicely. To be honest, it isn't really anything special. It is good and I would suggest tying it yourself, but there isn't anything to this wine that you will remember.

Inexpensive Wine Review: OK

A-Mano Chianti 2006

I have always considered Chianti kind of a table wine (probably because it was described to my Dad and I as a table wine why we were in Italy one year). Myth or not, I like Chiantis but do not have high standards for the wine as a whole. This was a good wine. Not complex but still full-bodied flavor all the way through. Very typical for a good quality Chianti.


Inexpensive Wine Review: OK

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This Napa Cab is a great wine for the value. Avalon states on its website,

One-eighth the size of Bordeaux, this small little valley is responsible for some of the world's most expensive wines…

Ours, however, is not one of them. We've taken the ego out of the equation and bring you world class wine at a darn good value.

I would agree that Avalon has come up with a great inexpensive cab from an erea that produces a ton of great cabs that are, well, usually no cheap.

Inexpensive Wine Review: Great

IQUE Malbec 2007

This big bold Malbec is a fantastic wine for the money. I admit that I have not explored the world of Malbec all that well. I tend to find them good value wines, but fairly un-complex (read as not much to them). [Side Note, I’m looking for more Malbecs to review if anyone has suggestions]. Ique actually has a great full bodied flavor that paired great with a steak. For the money, this bottle seems like a steal.

Inexpensive wine review: Grab a couple cases