QOTD – Worst under $10 wine? Clearly the Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon. I had one sip and poured it down the drain. Some people even gave it ratings that made it seem drinkable (WS). Gary – I’ll let my memory lapse on whether you rated it………….

By the way, what does happen to all of the bottles of wine after you have opened them and completed the WLTV episode? Is it party time for the staff? Do you fill the bird’s water dish? Tell me….

Zarafa Pinotage. Horrible. Pretty much the worst edible liquid I’ve put in my mouth. The dominant flavor was burning rubber, and it was a feat to make it powerful enough to overcome the heat.

QOTD: Worst under $10 wine was something someone brought to the house last year. It had a frog or penguin or some cutesy little critter on the label. Totally undrinkable and not even fit for cooking. Poured it down the drain.

Mirassou had a very drinkable Pinot Noir for under $10. I believe it was the ’03 and ’04 vintages which received 90/91 from WS. We bought one bottle, found it very drinkable, so bought a case. Not sure the ’05 has faired as well. Aside from Lindeman, I’ve never heard of these other labels….and I can’t say I have much respect for the Lindeman label.

Wow – this may have been the lowest rated overall tasting ever for WLTV.

QOTD: Had some super-nasty Baco Noirs from Ontario – they get really stinky and nasty on the nose, try to make up for it in residual sugar. Sutter Home White Zinfandel was pretty bad, too, even though they invented White Zin back inna day. All reviewed on my Cork’d account at:

http://www.corkd.com/people/bostonben/journal

QOTD: When I bought my first investment house in the dirty Jers. (The one I was working on so late at night. As if you read all the comments, Gary.)

Charles Shaw… smoking loon pinot…

Was surprised by the title of the episode but not the results! Every Pinot to me under $12 just tastes like cherry soda, not Pinot.

Not a surprising result. I have tasted only one or two drinkable Pinot Noirs under $10 ever. Heron (California)makes an acceptable one that can be bought in Birmingham at $9.00. They also make a Merlot, with grapes from Southern France, that is even better, for the same price.

Not much to rave about here, eh? Suggestion: Follow up this show at a later date with a show on steals from Bordeaux…you know, not Margaux, or Latour, but some of the lesser known, but great wines from Chateau that don’t get all the recognition. What say you?

QOTD: Had to be Yellow Tail Cab/Merlot. Sorry to rag on Yellow Tail, but it just doesn’t carry much weight after you have discovered other really well made wines. Really a watered down, lackluster effort for wine (to me).

SUCH a (nearly) impossible task to find bargain quality Pinot since the popularity of “Sideways.”

QOTD: The WORST under $10 wine that I’ve had recently was at a friend’s house, he bought it, thought he got some kind of a deal, but it was absolutely horrendous. It was CK Mondavi Cabernet, was lighter than many Pinot Noirs that I’ve had, and the the mouthfeel was equally light with a hint of chemical flavors as well. No real fruit or tannin structure to speak of, and, quite frankly, the buzz after a couple of glasses was odd and unenjoyable. I would’ve been THRILLED for some fake fruit and masking residual sugar here, but not even that prefered flaw was present. Just bad. Thanks for asking…and bringing that memory up again.

Bummer. I like finding the good stuff that is inexpensive. QOTD: Probably the Napa River Cabernet I had two weeks ago courtesy of Trader Joe’s.

OK, maybe you guys should try Cono Sur Pinot Noir, Chile. At $6.99 it’s a good deal. Like the Lindemann’s it is somewhat light in color. It has a moderate nose, with the typical Pinot “dirty thing” going on. It is not over oaked and frankly pretty balanced for a cheap wine. I’d give this a thumbs up for a summertime front porch red wine.

I will bill you for my time with the shrink. Mr. Vay-ner-whatever…the QOTD brought back so many unwanted memories of college that I’m afraid I just can’t function anymore. Franzia, Carlo Rossi, c’mon man, how deep inside my repressed memories do you want me to go. The doctors tell me I should express my feelings to you; I should let go of the past. Oh god…I once had a bottle of “Chianti” that smelled like dead road kill fish that had been laying in the hot sun of Thailand for 4 weeks.
I’m sorry, I can’t go on. Where’s my doctor?!

I wish this episode had different results. It would be great if the search continued. I personally don’t think there’s a good Pinot Noir until you get to the $12-$18 range.

QOTD: Any wine that comes in no single serving bottles.

I had a $9 BV Pinot Noir that was terrible; I suspected they half-filled the bottle with tap water!

This was STILL a very worthwhile episode Gary … most of us are aware that you can’t find a quality Pinot Noir under $10, but it was great to watch you try. Please try the Israeli PN another time!

Worst bottle under $10 lately? Protocolo Red! Even though many on the boards claim it is a good value, I’d MUCH rather spend another 2-3 buckos to get something I can actually drink.

As always, thanks for all you do!

I used to live in Willamette Valley Oregon. I could get nice Pinot Noir from local wineries for

qotd: bridgeview pinot noir. absolutly terrible especially for an oregon winery with a huge reputation… funk that junk… though i must say i have had some fonteira or (or something like that) from a 1.5 that sucked so horrendously, i couldn’t finish one sip.. and it burned it’s crappy pap into my taste buds….

Gary
Someone brought Pinot no evil. It was terrible. Thank goodness I brought a Pinot Noir from Warm Lakes in New York that was ok
Thanks

maybe next time we can find some good 10-15 dollar bottles. I know there out there.

QOTD: Louis Pierre & Fils Chardonnay from the Languedoc. It was undrinkable.

Man! You should have known what you were getting into! 😀

And we apreciate your efforts, GV!!!

Gary,

we’ve a supermarket in Ireland called SuperQuinn.

Anyhoo, they do a Pinot Noir from Chile called “Veranda” which is currently under 10 euro.

Not sure if it’s available stateside, but if it is, I’d recommend it. It gives some of the expensive Bourgogne’s a run for their money.

Lar

Gary,

quick technical issue when adding a comment – I was midway watching the Pinot Noir episode when posting my last comment. On clicking ‘add comment’ the page refreshes, making your viewers have to start afresh.

If you’re doing any more work on the site with Dan Cederholm, mention “AJAX” and how it may help your visitors add comments while still viewing the vid without a refresh.

Lar

Dang. Rough show.

QOTD: I’ll have to agree with others…. Yellow tail reds.

Great show with not surprising results.

Worst wine? Can’t remember the name, but remember the occasion: nice, romantic evening under the stars, crispy fire burning in the pit, and after one-god-awful sip of this wine, we chucked the whole bottle in the grass. Hence, the finish was long, as it left a purple stain on the grass for a few days!