Jackie AllenMy first real memory of red wine was a bottle my uncle brought for my grandpa’s 80th birthday. Having never tried red wine before and being curious, I sipped a little…and cringed as I found out how dry a strong Merlot can be. I shunned red wine for a few years after with that memory ingrained in my mind, until a semester in Europe and a glass of a Spanish red convinced me to try again. Not wanting to spend more than $10 on a bottle, however, I wasn’t sure I’d like it.
I decided to consult the wine merchants first and visited The Wine and Cheese Place (7435 Forsyth Blvd.) on the recommendation of a friend. In addition to being near the Forsyth Metrolink stop, the people here are friendly; within moments of entering the shop, one of the salespeople came over to help me. When I asked about red wines for $10 or less, he directed me towards a 2005 Panarroz Jumilla ($7.99). This Spanish wine turned out to be my second favorite overall, tasting of fruit and a little spice. The overall mellowness of this wine made me think of what non-spicy food to pair with it.
When I asked the salesman for two more wines, he brought me a 2004 Salmon Harbor Merlot ($7.99) and a 2004 Duboeuf C“tes du Rh“ne ($6.49). Hailing from Washington’s Columbia Valley, the Salmon Harbor Merlot’s dryness dredged up my memory of my uncle’s wine. Thankfully, this Merlot does not go to that extreme. Its flavor is fairly straightforward and simple, with only a slight hint of fruit and acid, making its food pairing possibilities fairly wide.
The French Duboeuf C“tes du Rh“ne was the sweetest of the wines I sampled, with some fruit flavor. It is a wine better quaffed, however, as it stings the tongue slightly when sipped.
Having heard of the many awards earned by The Wine Merchant Ltd. (20 S. Hanley Rd.), I went there to see what I could get for a Hamilton. It was a little harder to get to than The Wine and Cheese Place, as it is three blocks from the Forsyth Metrolink stop, but if you have a car, parallel parking is not too hard to find. Although this store was busier than The Wine and Cheese Place, I only had to wait a minute before a salesman approached me.
Upon hearing my limitations, he took me to the Spanish section. He gave me a choice between two wines, and I chose the 2004 Las Rocas Garnacha ($9.99), a recent arrival. I consider this fate, as it became my favorite wine of all that I sampled. I liked the way its spiciness played along my tongue every time I drank it, but its assertive character makes a food pairing difficult at best.
When I asked my salesman for another wine, he looked over the racks and said, “Let’s go to Australia.”
Within a few moments “down under,” I once again had my choice of two wines and chose a 2003 Buckeley’s Shiraz ($9.99). This was a fairly sweet red wine, with a fruit flavor and a slight spicy undertone that plays on the tongue a little bit.
Feeling fairly confident by this point, I decided to go solo and buy wines at the Schnucks on Clayton Road. I knew that the wide selection Schnuncks had would make buying difficult, so I got some recommendations from friends before I went.
One of the first things I noticed was that Schnucks often has sales on its wines, so on any given week a wine could be marked down to almost half-off. This was the case with the 2005 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon I bought. Retailing for $9.69, it was on sale for $6.77 when I was there. This wine starts off with a rush of acidity before ending on a fruit note that seemed a bit sour. For its sale price, it is a decent wine.
Remembering The Wine Merchant salesman’s words, I looked over the Australian brand Yellow Tail, marked down from its usual price of $7.99 to $5.88. I purchased a Cabernet Sauvignon, which ended up being a surprise, with an extremely strong and simple fruit flavor and a bit of spice; the fruit, however, tasted really raw in comparison to the other wines in the sample. It would make a good red for most meals, as well as a good introduction to someone with little experience with red wine. While these supermarket wines are good for their price, I would go with The Wine Merchant’s if flavor and time are more important.
It just goes to show that you can be a classy wine connoisseur without draining your wallet.