[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Welp, this thread got tarded up fast ... but oddly, not in the way I expected.

Besides, everybody knows that the most important determining factor for majority wine sales is price point, and "name recognition" is probably mainly a result of that. With that in mind ...

Most people who buy off the shelf at big-box stores will find a few things they like and stick to them. In that under-$25 range there are some fantastic deals though - Louis Martini's Napa Cab is solid, for example, and the Stonehedge line does pretty well across the board for a 10-dollar bottle of juice. Advances in non-varietal wines (like Big House White, which performs amazingly in food pairings), while really douching in the Cheerios of traditionalists, make for some really good values too, especially for "mixed pallets" (ie people who like, uh, everything).

Malbecs are kind of last week's hot new thing, so I'd expect most non-dedicated wine shops to be flooded with piles of junk on the low end, catering to people who read an article. Even then though, Tilia is just blow-out huge, and Archaval Ferrer has been really good for me.

If you're going shitty, btw, I'd suggest skipping nearly every "name" label and instead try something like Rex Goliath or older-date Penfolds stuff on the bottom shelf.

I have a bottle of his Finca Altamira 2003 in my wine cabinet that I'm not allowed to touch along with three bottles of his regular 2008 Malbec. As for Malbec being last week's hot new thing...it happens to all wines. Pinot Noir, Cabernet, etc. Wineries figure out that people like something so they start cranking out crappy bottles just to make a buck. It doesn't make the good ones less enjoyable.