We discovered two new inexpensive-but-good wines this past holiday season that satisfied the crowd at our big holiday party, and will help you get through bill paying season.
We tasted a few others before we settled on these two. The criteria were that they had to be sippable on their own and work well with the wide variety of food we served, they had to please a diverse group of guests with a wide range of tastes - from people who have formal wine training to those who couldn't care less - (i.e. no oddball wines, no petrol-y Rieslings, no super oaky Chardonnays) and they had to be very budget friendly since we were buying a lot. A particular consideration with the red was that I didn't want any massive 14.5%-15% alcohol bombs, because many guests were driving and we didn't want a high alcohol wine sneaking up on them. Both wines we chose are a more reasonable and responsible 12.5%. Also, I needed them to be well stocked at multiple government stores, so they were convenient to pick up regardless of whether I was at home or at the office.
White: The Beach House, Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, 2011, South Africa
I love Sauvignon Blanc, but I realize not everyone shares my taste. Plus, while it may be awesome on a hot day, it's not always what people want in the middle of December. Still, I was serving a lot of latkes (friend potato pancakes, traditional at Chanukah) and I wanted something that would cut through the richness and still work well with the accompanying sour cream and applesauce. This did the trick.
This a is a very citrusy wine with lots of grapefruit and lemon up front, but it's balanced by the richer tones of the Semillion.There's loads of white fruit like gooseberry, pear and white peach. A lot of bang for your $12 bucks. So, you know, if you spent all your money buying buying a real beach house, you could still afford this. Definitely load up on this for your summertime entertaining, too.
Red: Castillo de Monseran, Garnacha (Grenache), 2011, Spain
This is a light-medium bodied wine that's very food-friendly. It's fresh and juicy with tons of ripe red fruit, nice acidity, and a hint of black liquorice and oak. A simple, straight-forward and very pleasant wine for $10.
Ok, now go call your friends and throw a party!
We tasted a few others before we settled on these two. The criteria were that they had to be sippable on their own and work well with the wide variety of food we served, they had to please a diverse group of guests with a wide range of tastes - from people who have formal wine training to those who couldn't care less - (i.e. no oddball wines, no petrol-y Rieslings, no super oaky Chardonnays) and they had to be very budget friendly since we were buying a lot. A particular consideration with the red was that I didn't want any massive 14.5%-15% alcohol bombs, because many guests were driving and we didn't want a high alcohol wine sneaking up on them. Both wines we chose are a more reasonable and responsible 12.5%. Also, I needed them to be well stocked at multiple government stores, so they were convenient to pick up regardless of whether I was at home or at the office.
White: The Beach House, Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, 2011, South Africa
I love Sauvignon Blanc, but I realize not everyone shares my taste. Plus, while it may be awesome on a hot day, it's not always what people want in the middle of December. Still, I was serving a lot of latkes (friend potato pancakes, traditional at Chanukah) and I wanted something that would cut through the richness and still work well with the accompanying sour cream and applesauce. This did the trick.This a is a very citrusy wine with lots of grapefruit and lemon up front, but it's balanced by the richer tones of the Semillion.There's loads of white fruit like gooseberry, pear and white peach. A lot of bang for your $12 bucks. So, you know, if you spent all your money buying buying a real beach house, you could still afford this. Definitely load up on this for your summertime entertaining, too.
Red: Castillo de Monseran, Garnacha (Grenache), 2011, Spain
This is a light-medium bodied wine that's very food-friendly. It's fresh and juicy with tons of ripe red fruit, nice acidity, and a hint of black liquorice and oak. A simple, straight-forward and very pleasant wine for $10.Ok, now go call your friends and throw a party!
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