Fred Tasker’s Wine Notes – Party Wine on a Tight Budget

I swear I’m no wine snob, but one of my pet peeves is to go to a party or an art show opening where they’re serving wine and cheese and see them pouring wine out of gallon jugs with ears on them.

            I mean, have you ever had wine from a gallon jug that was even adequate?

            Life is too short.

            You’re telling your guest you care little enough to give the very least.

            Even box wines are getting a better reputation than gallon jugs.

            On the other hand, there are some very nice, quite inexpensive wines being sold these days in magnums – bottles that are twice the size of regular wine bottles, holding 1.7 liters of wine instead of 750 mililiters.

            These cost about $7 to $15, and they’re how you can save entertainment money without shortchanging your guests. They come from all over  — chardonnays from California, pinot grigio from Italy shiraz from Australia.

            I did a wine column on these a couple of months ago, and I found some good ones:

 

                        *          2006 Beringer Founders Estate Chardonnay, California: rich, crisp and fruity, with ripe pineapple flavors; $12.99.

                        *           20007 Yellow Tail Shiraz, Australia: soft and ripe with red raspberry flavors; $12.99.

                        *           2007 Frontera Merlot by Concha y Toro, Chile: soft and sweet with 2006 Placido Pinot Grigio, Italy: crisp apricot flavors; lively; $15.29

                        *          2007 Woodbridge Chardonnay by Robert Mondavi, California: lean, lemony and crisp; $13.99.

                        *           2007 Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc by Robert Mondavi, California: crisp and light; lemon and limes; $13.39.

                        *           Nonvintage Corbet Canyon Sauvignon Blanc, California: soft and lightly sweet, with apricot and peach flavors; $9.99.

                        *           2007 Vendange Sauvignon Blanc, California: sweet lemons and pineapples; full-bodied; $9.25.

                        *           2007 Woodbridge Zinfandel, California: rich and ripe, with red raspberry and chocolate flavors; $13.39.

                        *           2005 Vendange Cabernet Sauvignon, California: soft and ripe, black cherry and coffee flavors; $8.49.

                        *           2005 Lindemans Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia: soft, lightly sweet; red raspberry and cherry flavors; $12.99.

                        *           2005 Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon, California: black cherry and black coffee flavors, ripe tannins; $12.99.

                        *           2005 Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, California: firm tannins, black plum flavors; $12.49.

                        *           2007 Bolla Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Italy: peach and apricot flavors; $14.99

                        *           Nonvintage Rene Junot Dry White Table Wine (50 percent chenin blanc, 30 percent sauvignon blanc, 20 percent chardonnay), France: light, slightly sweet; lemons and minerals; $7.99.

                        *           2007 Woodbridge Chardonnay by Robert Mondavi, California: lean, lemony and crisp; $13.99.