Water into Wino

Wines for Winos

When you're walking the streets of New York with $5 burning a hole in your pocket, there are only a few places you can go to get a buzz. The frappuccino at Starbucks is a refreshing buzz. You can buy a couple Pabst Blue Ribbons for a five spot. I suppose if you're really desperate you can buy two cans of Ready Whip and inhale the nitrous, but that's not for everyone.

Last week Trader Joe's opened up its wine shop on 14th Street in Manhattan. There are dozens and dozens of bottles under $5. With all the buzz surrounding Two-Buck Chuck, I had to indulge in a bottle or two of the Cab Sav. I've tried the Shiraz before but it really had a barnyard scent to it and tasted totally flat. For two bucks though, you can't complain. I also found a Malbec for $4 there that seemed worth a try. So after I schlepped them back to Queens, I decided to open one bottle right away.

Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
California, Napa ($3)

I opted for the infamous Three-Buck Chuck (it is New York after all). This Cab Sav is not all that bad. Very juicy with a tannic quality of a rose. There seemed to be nothing inherently bad about the taste. It just tasted like really good box wine. I had a bottle with a pizza and had no complaints. My girlfriend kept mentioning that she didn't feel any of the alcohol after polishing off a bottle in record time. It's as if I just downed a bottle of grape juice. Since it's actually cheaper than the Welch's stuff, I can't complain. My grade: C+

La Boca Malbec 2004
Argentina, Mendoza ($4)

The second bottle was a totally girly bottle of Malbec. The label has too many bright colors for me. This watered down Malbec had thin tannins and lacked any complexity. It tasted very flat and the finish brought some heat. On the bright side the alcohol was buzz inducing, but Malbec in general is usually a bargain buy, so I should have spent the extra $3 on the Septima Malbec they offered. The Charles Shaw was my favorite of the two, hands down. My grade: C-

Two more Malbecs for now

Winter finally b*tch slapped the New York area this past week. Two feet of snow in 24 hours is enough to make you forget about global warming for a few days. To combat Ol' man winter we prepared ourselves some beef stews. On one occasion we had a latin style beef stew with tostones and yuca. The second meal was an Italian/Austrian style stew taken from Mario Batali.

I went with affordable Argentine Malbecs for both meals. Each was under $10 and can easily be found from what I've read. Since the second stew demanded 2 cups of red wine, which is about a half bottle, I didn't feel I needed to get fancy with the wine. Both went well with the meals and each had their own characteristics that my novice palate could identify.

Valentin Elsa Bianchi Malbec 2004
Argentina, Mendoza, San Rafael ($9)

Dark red almost purple color. Very juicy and medium bodied. Jammy flavors of red and black raspberries, plum, and slight oak. Refreshing food wine. Finishes short but clean. Not very complex but a good food wine, especially with a slow cooked stew. My grade: B-

Altos Las Hormigas Malbec 2004
Argentina, Mendoza ($9)

Deep red color. Black cherry and dark fruit flavors with a hint of cocoa. Some spice but not much. Well balanced with smooth tannins and a robust texture. Finish is more stimulating than the previous Malbec due to its length and touch of pepper and vanilla. My grade: B-

Punto Final Malbec 2004

Renacer Punto Final Malbec
Argentina, Mendoza ($10)

For no other reason then to get over the Wednesday night hump, my girlfriend and I picked up a bottle to drink with dinner. She usually defers the choice to me, but this time she saw this modern label and picked it out. It's a Malbec from Mendoza, and the bottle describes it as being from 50 year old vines. I've noticed that some Argentine wines are following the Spanish style of modern designed labels, and these usually grab my eye and sometimes my wallet.

My appreciation of Malbecs is usually limited to knowing that I am getting a drinkable wine for only a few bucks. I don't get excited about a Malbec ahead of time but I damn well don't get pissy like I would with a California Merlot at the same price. A few crappy wines have made it to my dinner table lately so my expectations have been lowered.

Deep violet color. Aromas of chalk, plum, and licorice. Flavors of dark fruit and bitter chocolate. Well balanced easy tannins. Not as chunky as other cheap Malbecs I've had. Finish has a slight spice and perhaps a little pepper. I'd drink this again and maybe bring to a party knowing that the sleek label would create conversation. My grade: B