4 Affordable Red Wines

If you wanted to pick up a few bottles of red wine, which ones would you purchase?

The following four wines are our favorites. These wines are affordable ($9-$13), and they're very tasty. Good wines for drinking by themselves or paired with dinner.

Mark West, Pinot Noir, 2010.

Nice grapes. Medium. Smooth. Fruit core. Smells like dark berries. Maybe boysenberries or raspberries. A taste of the wine starts with brown sugar and molasses, then is followed by some orange rind. A full taste is of plums, with a note of spice. The wine is aged in oak. 

I like to pair it with my pizza or a plate of sweet potato fries. Good with a turkey sandwich too - my favorite.  

The Wolftrap, Syrah, 2012.

Good small grapes. Popular red wine. From the dry land vineyards. Dark. Tar. Intense spice with balanced tannins. Nice aroma. Blackberries and spicy pepper, but soft and supple. Dark and dense. Oak lingers. This wine is easy to drink.

Good with cheddar and cow milk cheeses. Try a smokey blue cheese on a burger. 

Septima, Malbec, 2012. 

Really red color. Taste of cherries, drop of vanilla, and some brown toast. Smokey oak. Some strawberry jam sweetness with watermelon. Sweet tannins. Fruity aftertaste that lingers. Nice. Basic.

Pair it with some barbecued meat, like chick drumsticks with barbecue sauce.

Poggio Anima Belial Sangiovese Toscana IGT, 2011. Tuscany, Italy. 

My favorite of the four. Hand-harvest grapes. Rolling hills of Tuscany. Lots of good fruit taste. Warmth in a glass. Rich color. Dark red fruit. Taste of mocha, espesso, a puff of medium cigar smoke, and the smell of herbs on your grill. Beautifully balanced. Not heavy, but solid. Silky finish. Nice red wine. 

Try pairing with everyday foods. Try pizza, pasta, and beef. Good late afternoon drink with your wife. 

Wine Glass

If you're wondering about what type of glass to pour these good wines into, I go for the simple choice - go big and round for reds. I like the Cabernet/Merlot wine glass. I like them because their big, but not too big. A balloon-shaped wine glass allows the wine to promote better flavor and allows the wine to develop its full bouquet. Wine needs room to breathe and a tapered shape is the best for releasing the aroma.

Remember, smaller glasses for white wine; bigger glasses for red wine.

Red wine glass on Amazon.