Amaicha Torrontes

 After the very pleasant experience with the red one, I had to give a shot to the white variation of these $3.99 Argentinian wines from Trader Joe's. Well I have to say that it can compete against many Gewurztraminers in terms of flavor and quality, not to mention that a Gewurzt under $10 is a rare treat in California! Not appropriate for seafood but excellent in apertive or dessert; not really sweet but fruity, very easy to drink. 

Burgundy for everyday

 Here is a Red Burgundy from Trader Joe's at $5.99 which allows you to have at your table a delicious Pinot Noir from great origins and affordable. On top of it, it doesn't have the berries taste too strong which makes some of its famous brothers so specific that you can only match them with appropriate food like venaison. No this one has the characteristic Pinot Noir flavor but can really match most of the food. Even young it is so easy to drink. 

Austrian Red

 I had a chance to taste an Austrian red wine this week-end and I was nicely surprised by its interesting taste and quality. It's like they put some pepper into it but nothing wrong, just a very specific characteristic. This wine was fron Heinrich, Blaufrankish 2004 I think and it is around $16. I would never had tried this one myself. I knew about good white Austrian wines but didn't know about reds. I may look them in the future.
There was another one which I liked at this party: from McManis family, pretty sure it was a Syrah; probably something between $10 and $20 but really good and well...we can make an extra on the week-end. 

Castineira que buena!

  An incredible good wine from Spain now at Trader Joes' for $7.99. From Albarino grappes (never heard of them before) it is dry, fruity with citrus accent but much more delicate than my favorites New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. As TJs suggests it goes very well with seafood; I had it with cod yesterday and it was perfect. I can't wait to get home to have another glass after work! 

Vina Alarba

  This Spanish wine is a good table wine; made from old Grenache vines it has a strong body, dark red color and fit perfectly with cheeses for example. I found it at Berkeley Bowl under $10 for sure. 

San Tomaso

 I would not recommand this one to be drank by itself but again added to some Cassis liquor it is ok. Surprisingly at $3.99 from TJ this one was labeled DOC. I don't think this wine could find any match on the aroma wheel and this is not because I don't want to be nice with Italians ;-) I will continue to taste them and I'm sure I'm find a good one under $10. Can I also mention that I had today one the worse sandwich I ever had .. in Italian place (Gambino's by Embarcaderro). Avoid if you're in the area...Massimo is much better.

Not as bad as Materazzi

 Could be worse for an Italian wine at this price ($3.99?). I have no idea where this one come from and I don't have time to investigate but it is pretty strong and heavy with deep red color. The label announce some "intense blackberry and cherry notes with a light spicy background"...a little excessive but kind of right. It is suggested to drink with meat, ham and ripened cheeses which is realistic. Definitely better than the previous one (Chilian) 

Argentina 1 - 0 Chile

  

Santa Emma chilian 2 bucks chuck

  at the difference that you have to pay $2 extra for transportation :-( This winery has better wines but this one has a poor taste which reminds me of the $1.99 wine at TJs...well I could be wrong because I only taste this one once at work a few years ago and my memory is not so good. Anyway from South America the Argentin wine I will blog next is much better for the same price: $3.99 

Born in Narbonne

  I share the roots with this one so we like each other. Simple, my definition of a table wine for everyday, it tastes wine, not skunk, leather nor gasoline! You see what I mean? why would you want something made of grappe to taste wet dog, garlic or soy sauce! Well I found this interesting link about this aroma wheel...you can visualize the found aromas for each grappe varietal: Aroma Wheel