The Under $20 A Bottle Wine Thread:

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by pnoon

One of my personal favorites (more to come later) is a Pepperwood Grove Old Vine Zinfandel for around $8 at BevMo. Does it compare to the higher end California Zins in the $20-$40 price range? Of course not. But a delicious wine nonetheless.

And you'd be right, of course. Nice wine to go with a fresh off the grill burger.

Just curious what attracted you to try the wine in the first place? The label that says "Old Vine"? Its not, I can assure you of that, its just a marketing ploy since there is no legal definition of the term and no ATF rules that say when one could use it. Or price? Bogle makes a much better wine for not much more (without confusing consumers with marketing tricks). Same for their Pinot Noir wine, was it the price that attacted you? Because I know of no wine geek who would reach for a bottle of PG Pinot if they want to drink PINOT.

Try a bottle of DeLoach California Pinot Noir, should be roughly $10-12 in your parts, let me know what you think. IMO, a much better wine than Pepperwood Grove (and I am not knocking PG, its OK for what it is).

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

And you'd be right, of course. Nice wine to go with a fresh off the grill burger.

Just curious what attracted you to try the wine in the first place? The label that says "Old Vine"? Its not, I can assure you of that, its just a marketing ploy since there is no legal definition of the term and no ATF rules that say when one could use it. Or price? Bogle makes a much better wine for not much more (without confusing consumers with marketing tricks). Same for their Pinot Noir wine, was it the price that attacted you? Because I know of no wine geek who would reach for a bottle of PG Pinot if they want to drink PINOT.

Try a bottle of DeLoach California Pinot Noir, should be roughly $10-12 in your parts, let me know what you think. IMO, a much better wine than Pepperwood Grove (and I am not knocking PG, its OK for what it is).

I first bought the PG because of the price point. I continue to buy it for what it is. Like cigars, sometimes I want a wine that I don't have to think and analyze to enjoy. I also make no claims as to the veracity of the labeling. What I do know is that I enjoy what I am drinking. And for what the participants and lurkers in this thread are looking for, I think it is a decent choice. I will certainly try the Bogle.

I have not seen nor tried the PG Pinot. I believe James (croatan) posted earlier about it. I am not a big fan of Pinots in general but am always willing to try (almost) any wine. I am familiar with DeLoach and will give their Pinot Noir a try.

My red wine preferences are primarily California Cabs, Australian Shiraz, Italian Chianti, and Spanish Tempranillo. Lately, Tempranillos is what I've been after.