Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wine Wednesday
1:44 PM | 
Posted by
Stevie |
Thank you everyone who commented on last week's inaugural Wine Wednesday post! I also received a few e-mails from readers that I want to address this week.
One question I got was about pairing wines. What wines should be paired with what foods? Well, I'll start by saying there is a general rule that many people follow. Red wine with dark food (red meat, Italian food and anything with a red sauce, rich spicy food, etc.) and white wine with light food (white meat, fish, cream sauces, lighter pasta dishes, etc.).
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that I'll likely be saying a lot in these posts: It doesn't matter. DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE. Sometimes I'm really in the mood for a Chardonnay, even with my steak. I love red wine with pretty much any food. I don't like to follow the rules, and you don't have to either.
Another question I got was where to find the best inexpensive wine. You can find decent, inexpensive wine at pretty much any grocery store. But my top three favorite places for good, cheap wine are:
Trader Joe's - Trader Joe's has an incredible selection of wine at all different price points. Many wines are made exclusively for TJ's, while others can be found in a variety of stores. We all know of Two Buck Chuck, also known as Charles Shaw. This wine isn't great, but it's not bad either. And you can't beat the price. The one problem with Chuck, though, is that it's basically made from leftovers of tons of different batches of wine, so every bottle is different. Sometimes you'll get a really crappy bottle, and other times you can get a pretty decent bottle. It's a gamble (but not much of a gamble since it's so damn cheap).
Usually there will be displays on the ends of their aisles of some wine or another. Most of the time these are available in limited quantity, but are priced very reasonably. I always grab one or two of these bottles when I'm in the store. It's a great way to try different wines, and if I don't like it I usually cook with the wine instead of drink it. Same goes with the above mentioned Chuck.
Cost Plus World Market - If you have a Cost Plus in your town, go IMMEDIATELY to the store and sign up for their Explorer Rewards program. You get better prices on wine, plus other items and you get even more coupons than what they send in the mail. The prices on wine here are almost unbeatable and the selection is huge, without being too overwhelming. For 8 or 9 bucks, you can get a great bottle of wine.
QFC - This is a local grocery store chain (sorry for those not in the area) that has excellent prices on wine. They have longstanding relationships with several wine vendors, so they get much better deals when they purchase the wine - and the savings are passed along to you! How nice!
Also, if you're in the military or a dependent, the Class Six usually has the BEST prices on wine. For example, there is a winery called La Crema in Sonoma, CA. Their wines are some of my absolute favorites, but in most stores are around $15-18 per bottle. My mum sees it occasionally at the Class Six for $3.99. WHAT?! Amazing.
Ok, now onto another favorite cheap wine:
One question I got was about pairing wines. What wines should be paired with what foods? Well, I'll start by saying there is a general rule that many people follow. Red wine with dark food (red meat, Italian food and anything with a red sauce, rich spicy food, etc.) and white wine with light food (white meat, fish, cream sauces, lighter pasta dishes, etc.).
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something that I'll likely be saying a lot in these posts: It doesn't matter. DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE. Sometimes I'm really in the mood for a Chardonnay, even with my steak. I love red wine with pretty much any food. I don't like to follow the rules, and you don't have to either.
Another question I got was where to find the best inexpensive wine. You can find decent, inexpensive wine at pretty much any grocery store. But my top three favorite places for good, cheap wine are:
Trader Joe's - Trader Joe's has an incredible selection of wine at all different price points. Many wines are made exclusively for TJ's, while others can be found in a variety of stores. We all know of Two Buck Chuck, also known as Charles Shaw. This wine isn't great, but it's not bad either. And you can't beat the price. The one problem with Chuck, though, is that it's basically made from leftovers of tons of different batches of wine, so every bottle is different. Sometimes you'll get a really crappy bottle, and other times you can get a pretty decent bottle. It's a gamble (but not much of a gamble since it's so damn cheap).
Usually there will be displays on the ends of their aisles of some wine or another. Most of the time these are available in limited quantity, but are priced very reasonably. I always grab one or two of these bottles when I'm in the store. It's a great way to try different wines, and if I don't like it I usually cook with the wine instead of drink it. Same goes with the above mentioned Chuck.
Cost Plus World Market - If you have a Cost Plus in your town, go IMMEDIATELY to the store and sign up for their Explorer Rewards program. You get better prices on wine, plus other items and you get even more coupons than what they send in the mail. The prices on wine here are almost unbeatable and the selection is huge, without being too overwhelming. For 8 or 9 bucks, you can get a great bottle of wine.
QFC - This is a local grocery store chain (sorry for those not in the area) that has excellent prices on wine. They have longstanding relationships with several wine vendors, so they get much better deals when they purchase the wine - and the savings are passed along to you! How nice!
Also, if you're in the military or a dependent, the Class Six usually has the BEST prices on wine. For example, there is a winery called La Crema in Sonoma, CA. Their wines are some of my absolute favorites, but in most stores are around $15-18 per bottle. My mum sees it occasionally at the Class Six for $3.99. WHAT?! Amazing.
Ok, now onto another favorite cheap wine:
BOGLE
I'm not going to talk about a specific varietal from Bogle because they're all good. I've tried all their everyday grocery store priced wines and I love them all. The wines are available at Cost Plus, Trader Joe's and almost every grocery store chain for $8.99 to $11.99. My favorites are the Pinot Noir and the Petite Sirah (not to be confused with Syrah), but the rest are delicious, too.
I know some of you are trying to learn to like red wine. I would highly recommend the Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is generally much lighter and slightly sweeter than most reds. Even when you pour it, you'll likely notice the color isn't nearly as deep as most red wines.
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Wine Wednesday
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9 comments:
i like both red & white, but usually prefer red... and i will drink red with ANYTHING. salad. cheese. steak. asian dumplings. doesn't matter.
Love this post!! Do you mind if I share your tips with ShopHappens readers? :) LOVE the CostPlus tip especially.
Awesome suggestions!
Oh man, I miss Trader Joe's two buck chuck. I just miss Trader Joe's in general! :P
I love Bogle! Pretty good for on the cheap! :D Trader Joe's really is a great spot for wine purchases.
oooh love this. your wine wednesdays are much more professional than mine, haha.
NICE!! i am a wine lover, but i suck ass and figuring out what is good, haha. this is awesome!
-Moorea
We just had a Trader Joe's open, and I can't wait to get over there and check out their wine selection. That was one of the things I missed most about WA ;) And I agree about wine pairings--I don't like white wine, so I drink red with everything and I've never been bothered with whether it was too heavy or "wrong" for my dish.
LOVE!!! I didn't know much of what you just said, haha and I can walk to literally every place you just mentioned so that is really excited to me! I will look for Bogle, I ALWAYS take people up on their suggestions for good cheap wine, always. Operation Try Bogle is in full force!
I'm a big fan of Bogle too. I think it's really tasty. Another really great, inexpensive wine is Our Daily Red. It's just a red table wine but everything is organic (less of a headache, no sulfites!) and it's usually about $8.
I am loving catching up on your blog tonight. :)
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