Perfect Wines for Shallow Pockets

This weekend I hosted a wine tasting at my house. The rules were simple: everyone brought a bottle of wine that could be purchased for under $20. The unofficial rule with my particular group of friends involves choosing wines with interesting labels. Serendipitously, the wines with the interesting labels turned out to be some of the most delicious and affordable wines--which was, of course, the goal.

We ended up trying two white wines and five reds. Yes, we tried seven different wines. Then ended up talking late into the night while we polished off a wheel of brie. We've come a long way since the heady days of beer pong and bottles of Boone's Farm with giant straws sticking out of the top.

The Whites

The first white wine we tried was Apothic White. It is a blend of chardonnay, moscato, and riesling. For those of you not in the know, this is a fairly sweet blend. However, despite not being white wine drinkers, everyone at the table admitted to enjoying this wine. The tropical fruit flavor from the sweeter grapes definitely came through, but with a refreshing bite from the chardonnay at the end. It left no sickly sweet residue in our mouths after swallowing, and it was agreed by all that this was a white wine that we would be more than willing to sip on a hot summer evening while waiting for a nice fish filet to grill.

The second white, Cupcake's Angel Food fared less well. Based on the name of this wine, we expected it to be extremely sweet, but it was the opposite of that. It was much, much drier than the Apothic wine, and while we couldn't discern a distinct flavor from the initial taste, it did leave behind a biting after effect that tasted mostly of alcohol. It was pretty bland in both color and tasted, and we all agreed that we would only drink this wine if it was maybe made into white wine sangria, so that it had something to punch up the flavor a little.

The Reds

The red wines were much more popular. Every single tasting participant had an incredibly hard time choosing their favorite. So instead of choosing a favorite wine, we chose to DRINK ALL THE WINE!

Red One: Pinot Evil Pinot Noir
This was a delectably mild red. I would definitely suggest this for red wine neophytes. It had a fairly low alcohol content, and a medium red color. The smell was light and faintly sweet, though there was no true sweetness in the taste. Instead, it was pleasantly dry; it washed over the palate evenly and didn't dissolve into alcohol flavor or bitterness after being swallowed. Instead, it left my tongue feeling delightfully blank, as if it was just waiting to be influenced by the peppery flavor of a roast pork loin, or a nice garlicky spaghetti sauce.

Red Two: Stark Raving Red
This wine was a crowd pleaser. First, we all loved the way the guy on the label somewhat resembled Robert Downey Jr. But it also proved to be an extremely tasty beverage. The label said that it should have notes of plum and red fruit, both of which definitely came through. It had a very strong scent that tingled in my nostrils, and unless you really enjoy red wine, I would not recommend sniffing too deeply. But the taste was refreshingly dry with a sweet, plummy aftertaste that left me wanting nothing more than another glass.

Red Three: Lenore Syrah
This is not a wine for amateurs. Syrahs are typically very full-bodied with deep chocolate, espresso, and peppery flavors, and this wine had all those things. As dark and mysterious as the Poe story it alludes to, the Lenore Syrah was complex, silky, and spicy, with a nice smooth finish. This wine belongs with a big rare steak and a true Ceasar salad. Or with a particularly pungent cheese and dark, bitter chocolate.



Red Four: Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon 
This was our exotic visitor for the evening (a Chilean wine), but ironically, it hit the closest to home. I am generally a cab-sav drinker by default, because it is a type of wine that is usually good with everything. This particular one was purported to have a pruney, cherry flavor, and it definitely had a fulller, deeper, sweeter flavor that, despite having an abundance of tannins, was incredibly well-balanced. This is a red wine for all occasions and I would not hesitate in the slightest to drink this again.

Red Five: Apothic Red
This was the red blend of the group. It was pretty much a grab bag of every red wine available: zinfindel, merlot, syrah, and cabernet. It's flavors were meant to be red fruit, vanilla, and mocha. The vanilla flavor shone through more than any other note, making it taste fairly sweet, but nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable. This would be another good choice for white wine drinkers looking to break into red. This would also be a great wine to take to a dinner party, as it would pair well with pretty much any food, and would appeal to almost any palate.

We all had a really great time trying so many new wines, and now we have a new, affordable repertoire to consult when wine shopping! What are your go-to reds and whites? Share them here!