Bought Wine...

[The Critic]

Someone gave me the idea of purchasing some wine as a birthday gift for someone. I am not a wine drinker at all, heck, I don't think I have ever even opened a bottle. I picked up these two bottles from Trader Joes and Whole Foods. I chose them because I saw their predecessor on Consumer Reports' wine ranking list. Is this stuff any good? Please advise, thanks!

 

[97prizm]

I too am not much a wine person, I definitely prefer good beer or scotch. Your bogle wine selection had good all around reviews on several wine websites nothing bad came up. I would search around the net to see about the other wine you have.

 

[FowVay]

I like sweet white wines so I get the cheap Moscato. Those two pictured aren't my flavor but they're certainly among the most popular. I'm certain your gift recipient will enjoy them.

 

[Zaedock]

My wife and I are wine drinkers. She loves her whites, I enjoy my reds. While some of the more expensive wines we have tried were exquisite, we have found many $10 a bottle jems that have tasted outstanding as well. Your two offerings are going to make a great gift.

 

[Kira]

Hello, I agree with my fellow BITOGers; people love getting wine as a gift. What's great about wine, as well as beer, is that there are many good ones around at reasonable prices. Frankly, it blows my mind how many recipes for beer and wine there are. The only ones which puzzle me are "blueberry beers" and overly "spiced" seasonals like pumpkin beer. Remember, wines can be concoctions from the laboratories too. Kira

 

[Astro14]

I have had, and enjoyed, a few different varieties of Bogle - generally a quality wine at a reasonable price. Good choice for a gift inthe $10 range. Slightly more pricey (and slightly better) are most of the Coppola (yes, the director) wines, or the Cline more like $15 - 18...

 

[ET16]

The Bogle is the better of the two; the Columbia Crest is okay for the money.

 

[ahoier]

Not familiar with those wines But I'm only an amateur wine drinker :P Primarily only drink it, if the restaurant/bar doesn't serve "real" alcohol (rum, whiskey, etc....in that order...lol). Here in FL, I've heard "liquor licenses" are sooo expensive, and so that's why there's only a select number of establishments in a given area, that can "legally" sell/serve hard liquor.... But yea, I'm primarily a super market wine drinker :P Sweet whites, and some mild red wines. My favorite, has got to be Moscato....followed by Blush I typically get a half gallon of blush here for about $10-$11 - which, according to others is extremely "high" hehe. When I have visitors, they are astonished at the high alcohol prices here in FL.....compared to say Illinois, california, etc...

 

[CMMeadAM]

Two good choices ! Good wine is always an enjoyable gift for those who like wine. We find a very good reference for wine and wine making is the "Wine Spectator" magazine which most always has informative articles about "the nectar of the Gods."

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: The Critic

Is this stuff any good? Please advise, thanks!

I'm sure it'll be just fine. It's all subjective anyway - relies on one's personal taste. One person will love it, another might hate it. Many girls like sweeter wines like riesling for example, so they may not care too much about chards or cabs, but I personally like them all. Just depends on occasion/mood.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Those are both just "OK" if you don't mind the average supermarket wine. If I were giving a wine gift and wanted to stay in the same price range as your examples, I'd go to a store that specializes in wine, and find something with similar roots but a bit more unique. For example, rather than a plain Cabernet for the big red selection, maybe something along the lines of a Barolo/Barbaresco (Italy), Tempranillo (Spain), or Valpolicella (Italy). All are big reds like the Cabernet, but are unique enough to make an outstanding gift. Most can be had for about the same or a touch more than your Cabernet example, and unless someone is a wine enthusiast, I suspect they'll never have had them.

 

[Malo83]

I'd be happy with some Pink Ripple or Boones Farm, Gallo too!!!

 

[buster]

I started drinking wine. Was never really a fan of it. Vodka has always been my drink.

 

[tom slick]

I'm not a wine snob but know a little about them. Beer is my drink of choice. There's nothing wrong with the wine you bought but it's the Valvoline white bottle or Pennzoil yellow bottle of wines. They are perfectly drinkable but nothing fancy. An estate bottled wine from Sonoma, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, or Santa Barbra counties would have been a little closer to a Redline or Amsoil...

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit

Those are both just "OK" if you don't mind the average supermarket wine. If I were giving a wine gift and wanted to stay in the same price range as your examples, I'd go to a store that specializes in wine, and find something with similar roots but a bit more unique. For example, rather than a plain Cabernet for the big red selection, maybe something along the lines of a Barolo/Barbaresco (Italy), Tempranillo (Spain), or Valpolicella (Italy). All are big reds like the Cabernet, but are unique enough to make an outstanding gift. Most can be had for about the same or a touch more than your Cabernet example, and unless someone is a wine enthusiast, I suspect they'll never have had them.

Really appreciated this advice, thanks. I showed your post to a co-worker who is a serious wine connoisseur and she advised me to get different wines for the reasons you mentioned.

Originally Posted By: tom slick

I'm not a wine snob but know a little about them. Beer is my drink of choice. There's nothing wrong with the wine you bought but it's the Valvoline white bottle or Pennzoil yellow bottle of wines. They are perfectly drinkable but nothing fancy. An estate bottled wine from Sonoma, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, or Santa Barbra counties would have been a little closer to a Redline or Amsoil...

Understood, and that was essentially the same thing that my co-worker, the wine connoisseur, said. Based on her advice, I returned the other two bottles and got these instead: Thoughts?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Is the birthday girl a wine connoisseur?

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: tom slick

I'm not a wine snob but know a little about them. Beer is my drink of choice. There's nothing wrong with the wine you bought but it's the Valvoline white bottle or Pennzoil yellow bottle of wines. They are perfectly drinkable but nothing fancy. An estate bottled wine from Sonoma, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, or Santa Barbra counties would have been a little closer to a Redline or Amsoil...

You may not be a wine snob, but you're a California wine snob. Why else would you only recommend California wines? I'd much rather get something French or Italian myself, maybe even something from South Africa or Argentina. And if I want to keep it closer to home, I'll drink some Texas wine, which is better than you think, OR some wine from my home state of Oregon.

 

[tom slick]

I recommended Calif. wines because he lives in Calif, in a wine region no less. I wouldn't be able to find a Texas wine around here if I tried and Oregon wine would require some searching.

 

[dave munson]

For inexpensive red wine I like prefer unfiltered wine from Argentine, Chili or Spain. Distinct, flavorful. Argentine wine seems to go with best with beef, pizza and pasta.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: The Critic

Thoughts?

The Chardonnay and Pino Noir, while good, are similar to your previous choices in that they're common, everyday varietals. Again, not a bad gift at all, but certainly not something that would garner a great deal of interest by a wine enthusiast. I can't speak for the vinters, I'm not familiar with them. I also can't speak to the ale-it's very rare that I consume beer.