Wine Recommendations?

[JFellows]

I was born with a toothpick

That's unfortunate.

[BigMacFU]

You'll rarely if ever be disappointed with either Pichetti Wines (Santa Ynez Valley, Ca) or Del Dotto (Napa). Also, explore Israeli and Greek wines of all brands, they've been making wine longer than just about everybody else in the world and because they're not as popular, they're cheap!

[cinda]

Layer Cake Primitivo aka Zinfandel Puglia IGT 2006 (Italy)
Try this and tell me how it is..:)

[ggiese]

One of my absolute favorites if the T-Vine Zinfandel (Napa Valley). It's a bit pricier than you were looking for (~$30/btl), but it is an INCREDIBLE wine. Their Petit Syrah is also very nice...

[logan37]

My favorite wines come from Hunter Valley in Australia. Although they are not the only wines I like. And, out of the Hunter Valley My favorite vineyard is Brokenwood.

It's a little tough finding Brokenwood bottles local so I order them from www.oldbridgecellars.com. They don't mark their prices up much from what they cost at the vineyard(I visited there on my honeymoon). Only a few bucks per bottle. Right now they have a 4 pack of different vintage Brokenwood Semillon for $95. Which is about $30 less then if you bought each individual bottle. Also their Cricket Pitch Red is a nice cabernet blend. And if you want to drop $125, the Graveyard Shiraz is probably one of the best bottles of wine I have ever had. Definitely a special occasion bottle.

Old Bridge Cellars has other Australian wines that are not Oz, Yellow Tail or Rosemount(which you can get almost anywhere in the U.S.).

Link to 4 pack deal.

Some other wines I drink regularly are Rancho Zobaco Zinfandel (~$17), Peachy Canyon Zinfandel (~$10-12), Blackstone Merlot(~$8-10), Greg Norman Pinot Noir(~$15), and if you can find it, 2004 or 2005 Coppola Claret(~$17-20).

[DeeDubya]

Very nice Logan37. We'll check these out. I hate YellowTail but fortunately sometimes marketing like theirs will bring about interest in a new region.

[derivation]

It's sometimes hard to recommend specific labels/vintages because of availability. In general, I find it's easier to go with the varietal and region. Find a combination you like and explore from there.

My Go to Red & White
Malbec or Malbec/Cab/anything blends from Argentina (specifically Mendoza)
Sauvignon Blanc from Marlboro, New Zealand

As they probably told you at the tasting, Pinot Noir is one of the hardest varietals to find cheap and still be good. If you want to try looking for a good cheap pinot, I'd recommend starting with the Russian River Valley in California. There are still some good finds in the $15-$25 range. I've also had some great value Pinots from Chile, but it's hit or miss there.

Another region to consider are blends from Spain based on Tempranillo and Monastrell. If you like 'softer' wines you'll want ones with a higher percentage of Grenache.

[FactoredReality]

I'm a beer guy personally, but the gf is a wino (sp?). I know we have landed some good deals from wine.woot.com but they don't ship to every state because of blue laws.