World Wine Reviews - Home

During these times of our economic uncertainties, we’ve been cutting back a bit on our monthly wine budget. Sad to say we’ve even cancelled a few of our favorite wine clubs until things pick back up. Anyway, we’ve been looking for those “bargain wines” that taste great and are under $12 a bottle.

During our weekend Costco run, we came across a few new California reds we’ve never tried. Now I admit, we’re hesitant to ever try something with a loud looking label but after reading the description, a few tasting notes and after seeing the price, we decided to bring home a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola’s 2006 Rosso.

It’s a red wine blend of 48% Zinfandel, 27% Syrah and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and it was good! A real everyday drinker just as the label suggests. It’s smooth and very easy to drink. What really excited us about it, besides the $7.39 price tag, was the vanilla and toasted oak flavors it cooks up in your mouth. Truly enjoyed it enough to go back for more!

Winemaker’s notes:
Francis Coppola grew up with wine on the family table because his grandfather and uncles made homemade wine in the basement of their New York apartment. Using grapes that had been shipped in by train car from California, the family was able to make wines in simple concrete vats. According to Uncle Mikey, these weren’t fancy wines, just pleasant, easydrinking wines. Our Rosso is made in the same spirit—a wine for everyday life.

You can get this Francis Coppola 2006 Rosso - Red Wine here or checkout your local Costco!

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Packed full of juicy fruit, some cedar and vanilla flavors, this well balanced Merlot from the Trinchero family really hit the spot. We’re getting a case of this one for sure.

A fantastic wine for under $10!

Winemaker’s notes:

The goal with all of our Trinchero Family wines is to offer the purest expression of the grape variety; fruit-driven and delicious. The 2004 Trinchero Family Merlot is dark, rich, lush and remarkably smooth. It delivers ripe juicy red cherry and jammy currant accented with black tea and roasted jalapeno. The ripe fruit and spice carry through to a velvet-textured finish.

Get this Trinchero 2004 Merlot - Red Wine here

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We’ve had several good bottles of Mark West Pinot within the last few years. The ‘05 was good and now the ‘06 vintage is just as good. Well maybe it COULD sit for a year to develop a little more edge…but why? For around $10 a bottle, you should just sit back and enjoy it without any worry about the cost. Nice black cherry flavor with hints of oaky spice. Easy to drink and easy on your budget.

Food pairing ideas:
Try this Pinot with anything. Goes well with beef, fish and chicken. (creamy or spicy)

We’ve seen this bottle of Pinot Noir in several of our local grocery stores as well as in most wine or liquor stores.

A great buy under $10!

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About 8 or 9 years ago I was introduced to the Echelon label at a restaurant in Denver, CO. Ever since, we’ve enjoyed many of their wines. I admit, I have had 1 or 2 not so good bottles, but overall most of the wines from Echelon have been really good.

This $10-$13 bottle of Central Coast Pinot Noir was one of their finer bottles of wine. Clove and cherry on the nose with a slight hint of oak and rose petals. Taste was dark cherry with a very enjoyable smooth oak flavor after each sip! (Oak is one of those flavors we always look for and enjoy in a good bottle of wine.)

Food pairing ideas:
For a VERY enjoyable meal, we paired this bottle of Pinot Noir wine with some cedar planked grilled salmon.

Echelon wine can usually be found at your local wine cellar, liquor store or even in your grocery store. (We find it on sale for around $9.99 at Von’s or Ralph’s)

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