Sometimes it’s really nice to open up a bottle of wine you don’t have to think about. Just uncork, pour, and sip with whatever you’re having, and know it will manage just fine regardless of whether you have a rack of lamb or mac and cheese on your plate.
Naturally, if you go to the trouble and expense of roasting a rack of lamb, you’ll probably spend similar time and money on a wine. So really I’m talking more about the other side of the spectrum: the mac and cheese, tacos, pizza, and similarly cheap, quick, and easy meals. Do you really need to stare at your wine rack, trying to figure out which vintage of cru bourgeoise will match with the Ortega taco sauce? Of course not.
That’s why there are wines such as El Paseo Red, a 100% Tempranillo from the Valencia region of Spain. Its bright and colorful label evokes the same fun and thoughtlessness that’s inside the bottle. Pour it into a glass and you immediately enjoy aromas of plum and jam with hints of earth and spice, followed by a fruit-forward palate filled with red and purple fruit flavors: grape jam, mild earth, black pepper, and overripe / cooked berries. Acidity and tannins are medium, balancing out the fruit. A touch hot with alcohol in the finish, but not so much to be a turn-off. Ripe raspberry and a touch of vanilla spice in the finish. The acid and tannin levels are just enough to make this a good food wine. It will match well with a variety of meats, grilled dishes, simple fare (burgers, mac and cheese, etc.).
Bottom line: it’s a simple red wine at an appropriately low price (about seven or eight bucks, or less). A decent “everyday” table wine, and/or a good choice for adding to sauces, gravies, and marinades. And nothing to think about.
a-6 t-6 b-8 fc-9 v-7 ~ 86 points
US Importer: Precept Brands | Winery website: El Paseo
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How often can you find a Barbera from Piedmont under ten bucks? And would you believe it would be any good?
This wine could have been the result of Southern rap (Ludacris) meeting punk rock (Sid Vicious) … but, in reality this wine has nothing to do with either.
While it’s obvious that most wines are made from grapes, it’s uncommon for a pontificator such as myself to describe one as “grapey” … we wine snobs and scribes are more apt to attach descriptors such as “forest-floor earthiness”, “musky feral aromas”, “baritone richness”, and my recent favorite, “umami character” (you can’t make this stuff up!).
One of my favorite varietals in the world is Barbera, particularly from the Piedmont region of Italy, and specifically from the areas of Asti, Alba, and Monferrato. The nice thing about Barbera imported from Italy is that, generally speaking, you get what you pay for, and there are excellent bottles starting around 12 bucks all the way through around forty, With my meager salary, I tend to stay in the under-$20 range, and there are plenty of good values to choose from. At the same time, I’m always on the lookout for an Italian Barbera at ten bucks or less. They’re hard to find, but usually worth my hard-earned dollars.
One of my favorite wine regions in the world is Tuscany, Italy, the home of, among others, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Morellino di Scansano. Perhaps the reason Tuscan wines tug at my heartstrings is all the Sangiovese flowing. Sangiovese-based wines tend to be high in acidity, yet tempered with tannins, and bursting with ripe cherry fruit; all these elements combine to create a wine that matches perfectly with all kinds of foods.
9.99
Ten or fifteen years ago, Australia was land of wine values … until “New World” wines became in vogue and prices skyrocketed. Then the great unknown red wine values came from Chile and Argentina; however that secret is out as well and the prices of South American wines have gone up steadily as people discovered how good there are. The next great secret from the Southern Hemisphere may well be from South Africa, which is best known for the band-aid wine, Pinotage, but also produces other fine reds at affordable prices. For example, this Cabernet Sauvignon from Robertson Winery. If Australia still made a wine under ten bucks, this is what it would taste like.
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