<p>“This is what I meant. I think for a Pinot, you need to look north of $15. If you know of good Pinots for less, do tell.”</p>
<p>Nope, not exactly true about the price point - there are plenty of them here in the Pacific Northwest, e.g., Willamette Valley Vinyards whole cluster Pinot for $15 or so at Costco (if your Costco does not sell it, it can be ordered from the winery for $20).</p>
<p>I don’t much care for merlot; to me it’s too fruity and lacking in character. Prefer pinot noir but here in the Upper Midwest it’s hard to find for less than $15, a little beyond our everyday price range. I like Los Vascos Cabernet Sauv from Chile, Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin from California, Bodega Norton Malbec from Argentina, or Arancia Nero d’Avola from Sicily, all around $9 or $10, sometimes lower during a sale. </p>
<p>Lately, though, we’ve been pinching pennies with D1 just starting college and D2 just a few years away, so we’ve settled on a box wine, Bota Box Cabernet Sauv (about $17 or $18 for a 3-liter box, equivalent to 4 bottles) as our everyday wine. It won’t knock your socks off, but it’s pleasant and drinkable enough, and it’s environmentally friendly. The cardboard box is made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper and replaces 4 heavy glass bottles in your recycling bin. And did I say cheap?</p>
<p>I happen to be sipping a glass of Coppola pinot noir as I type! It’s full bodied & very tasty! :)</p>
<p>I like good reds. I have to admit to enjoying 3 Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s (both merlot & cab). They also have a Gypsy wine that is nice. But a really good pinot noir once in awhile makes me very happy.</p>
<p>I’ve been experimenting with Portugese ‘Dao’ red wine lately. Inexpensive and tasty to a novice such as myself.</p>
<p>As for wine movies, I was overwhelmed by ‘Sideways,’ with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. Love that scene at the wine tasting bar. A bit gross but hilarious.</p>
<p>reporting back in on the Francis Ford Coppola Claret. Really enjoying it. Now I just have to remember if it came from Costco or TJs.
Sideways was filmed in my hometown…I attended the premiere and I was underwhelmed by it. To each his own taste…</p>
<p>We saw that movie on a long flight. It was hilarious, because I was lucky enough to get upgraded to first class, and everyone was drinking wine and watching the movie. There were so many glasses poured, and the more we drank, the better it got.</p>
<p>After watching the movie, and how they were so snobby about Merlot, I didn’t drink it for a long time. Then I tried some Merlot…and it was really great! Apparently I’m a lowlife with poor taste, but I’ve tried some of these wines on this thread and they’ve all been excellent.</p>