Tom and Melody's wine blog » Under $10

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Amitage 2008

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:13:49 +0000

We’ve been tasting some interesting new wines lately. This one is Columbia Crest Grand Estates Armitage 2008, a red blend from Washington state.

The label doesn’t list the grapes in the blend, but it’s very big, cabernet-like, tannic, with lots of dark fruit taste. Very, very good. We could happily make this a regular house wine.

By the way, it went very well with homemade spaghetti sauce on pasta with spinach.

Placido Chianti 2008

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 01:22:55 +0000

Melody is teaching tonight so I’m having modest fare: a ham-and-swiss sandwich with Placido Chianti 2008.

The Placido was inexpensive in our grocery store (on sale for $6), but it’s nonetheless quite good. It’s dry, tannic, slightly bitter, with dark-fruit taste. A very nice table wine.

Besides, the Placido wine label has a cool picture of “the legendary Count Placido, a 13th century Tuscan nobleman” on horseback.

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon (2008)

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:48:37 +0000

It’s midweek and we are having this delicious Paso Robles Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 to celebrate a hard day’s work. I am taking four days vacation this week and we are spending our free time doing projects around the house. We have worked very hard and we feel pleasantly, happily exhausted by the end of the day. The weather is slightly cooler today and we have the air conditioning turned off and the windows open.

I made a meatloaf, baked potatoes, garlic toast and sauteed Swiss Chard (from the food co-op) for dinner. Just what we needed after a physically demanding day. The wine has blackberry and cranberry aromas. The taste is very fruity with blackberry, chocolate and vanilla. Tomorrow will be another wonderful day at home!

The Original Smoking Loon Syrah (2008)

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:15:39 +0000

Tom poured me a glass of this California Smoking Loon Syrah 2008 to sip while I prepared dinner tonight. I was not gung ho to have this wine tonight because a) it was the dregs leftover from last night [I had not had any, but Tom did] and b) I had a vague memory of not enjoying this particular wine. But I decided to be opened minded (for a change). What I discovered is that my memory was probably accurate in that this is not a wine that tickles my taste buds, particularly. Yet, it is not distasteful and it is entirely drinkable, especially for a Tuesday work night. So considering Tom purchased this on sale at our local grocery store for $8 (normally $11.49), I would have to say it is a good value. The color is purple ink, with a chocolate, strawberries, caramel and sage nose. The palate is very fruity with intense blueberry and strawberry flavor and a finish of an unusual combination of chocolate and rosemary.

For dinner I prepared what I believe is a healthy dish of high-protein pasta tossed with peas, salmon, olive oil and scallions with a squeeze of fresh lemon. We really enjoyed it.

Lindeman’s Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:32:26 +0000

A long and arduous day at work today but happy to be home and relaxing. We are having this Lindeman’s Bin #45 Cabernet 2010 tonight with a dinner of grilled Brats, sauteed red cabbage and potatoes. We enjoyed sitting on the patio with our glass of wine, listening to the birds and feeling the soft, summer breeze while the Brats were grilling. I like this wine very much.

Tom & I used to purchase this regularly when we initially started enjoying red wine. This is a great value. Authentically fruit forward, soft tannins and juicy on the palate with a long finish. Happy news: Tomorrow is Friday!!

Elsa Bianchi Malbec (2010)

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:19:47 +0000

It is a Tuesday night and I wanted to duplicate a delicious meal that my sister- and brother-in-law prepared during our family reunion. We had grilled, marinated salmon with a pasta/tomato/garlic/basil dish. Wow, it was so filling (and yummy)! I could only finish half my salmon so I was able to prepare two separate lunches, which I will enjoy at the office this week.

Although Malbec is not your typical wine to serve with fish, that is what I chose for tonight. (I don’t like white wine. Period.) I am enjoying this Elsa Bianchi 2010 very much. I purchased it on the way home from work tonight, on sale, for $8. I had aimed my grocery cart for the South American wine section because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and, sure enough, this is a great value. The quality of this low-priced, entry-level Malbec is similar in value to $30 California wines. Very plummy on the nose and palate. A long finish with hints of vanilla and thyme. Here’s to you, Bill and Linda!

Santa Rita 120 Carmenere (2009)

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:16:59 +0000

We grilled burgers tonight and I made a salad with lettuce from our garden. Tom chose this Santa Rita 120 Carmenere 2009 from Chile to accompany our simple meal.

This was a good choice. The Carmenere has lots of fruit on the palate and spice on the finish. It complemented the burgers laden with spicy mustard and onions. I found this wine on sale for under $10.

Lindeman’s Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon (2010)

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:46:53 +0000

We are back from a spectacularly wonderful Werner family reunion in Texas. We had the best time together — talking, swimming, cooking, eating, talking, laughing, swimming, eating, drinking, shooting, hiking, talking & laughing, stargazing, eating & drinking, listening to classic-country music and watching for falling stars while sitting at the pool kicking our feet in the cool water. It was GREAT!! I LOVE our family.

So tonight we are back home. I had taken a small zip-lock bag out of the freezer with some left-over country ham. I used the ham for a ham & noodle dish recipe that I came upon. It was very easy, tasty and filling. Along with the main dish, I cooked fresh beets from the food co-op and sauteed dandelion greens (from my neighbor). All in all, satisfying and comforting. Speaking of comforting, I purchased an old favorite, Lindeman’s Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, at our grocery story tonight. Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the first wines that Tom & I enjoyed together many years ago. We had read that this was a great value and we enjoyed it on a regular basis. It was fun to pick it up again. Although simple, this is a fun, fruit-forward Australian red that is a easy to drink and quite delicious.

Finca el Origen Malbec (2009)

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:07:30 +0000

We had thick, juicy hamburgers on the grill for dinner tonight with dill pickles, spicy mustard, sliced tomatoes and Vidalia onions on toasted whole wheat hamburger buns. Very yummy. I stopped at the Plum Market on the way home from work tonight and picked up 6 bottles of wine, one of which was this Finca el Origen Malbec 2009. One of the traditional Bordeaux varietals, this wine has similarities to a big Cabernet Sauvignon and a smooth Merlot. The color is very deep. The taste is plummy with ample tannins. I bought this wine on sale for $9, which I believe is a very good value. I should have picked up more than one bottle.

Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon (2009)

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:53:50 +0000

We have been absent from our blog for several months due to obligations and distractions. We will try to do better. So, tonight, after a very hectic work day, I put together a meal on the fly and Tom opened this Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 that he bought this weekend on sale at our local grocery store. Frankly, I was expecting not to like it because a) I didn’t like the look of the label (stupid, but true) and 2) I somewhat close-mindedly assumed that a wine on sale at our local grocery store would be marginal, at best. However, this wine is not all bad. It is a drinkable and enjoyable midweek quaff. The nose is very off-putting at first, but it gets better after it breathes for awhile. This is a pleasant, black fruit-rich wine with strong tannins. The finish is slightly bitter but in a good way.

For dinner, I started with a pound of ground beef from the freezer. I ended with a hamburger stroganoff that was very tasty, thanks to lots of spices, chicken broth and sour cream.

It is so good to be home after a 6-day work trip. Time to relax and enjoy the last night before official summer begins tomorrow!