great values for under $10

Our final wine pairing with East Aurora take out will lead us to 189 Public House on Main Street. 189  (www.oneeightynine.com) is a relatively new comer to East Aurora and is owned and operated by John Crook whose family also runs the Bar Bill next door. The pub, known for excellent live music, has a warm, dark wood atmosphere which includes a well appointed bar and is a great place for lunch, dinner and pub fare later in the evening. 

If you’re looking for a wine to make your dry red drinkers happy over this holiday weekend, I suggest you try the Clerget Cotes Du Rhone for the astounding price of $6.99. This is a lighter bodied CDR but it is not too thin. The blend is the classic Grenache-Syrah combination. This wine has a good amount of sour cherry and plum notes with a bit of pepper and spice in a smooth, long finish.
This may not be your first choice for Easter dinner if Ham is the main course, but it can work if you have guests who are dyed in the wool dry red drinkers. It will certainly work with roast leg of lamb, pork loin or Prime Rib. It will even go well with smoked kielbasa with horseradish. In other words this wine is quite versatile, and if you eat chocolate bunnies, peeps and jelly beans with the Clerget, more power to you!

This wine has an ominous name because frankly, when I think of the name “Pennywise” I think of that really creepy clown in Stephen King’s IT. You know the one – (“They ALL float down here!”). Yep, THAT one. But this wine is far from being scary or clownish for that matter.
The Pennywise 2011 Petit Sirah is a pleasant wine that is a bit softer than most Petit Sirahs. One of the first things you notice when you pour a glass is the intense, inky color. But don’t be mislead by the dark purple hue. This is not an over powering fruit bomb, nor a bite you back tannic monster. There is a small amount of Merlot in the blend to calm things down a bit. The tannins are soft, yet the fruit is bold with blackberry, plum and sweet cherry notes. There is a whiff of powdered chocolate and a hint of cinnamon.
This wine will pair with well with a good number of dishes from Lamb to Lasagna. I had it with Liverwurst on rye bread, but it Is also very good

You’re in a hurry. You’ve had meetings all day and the kids had to be in 8 million places at once. You have to make a quick dinner that doesn’t involve pizza or the Colonel so you opt for Sloppy Joes. Now you just have to make a quick stop at Premier to pick up a good but inexpensive red that will go well with dinner and carry you through the rest of the night.
The Los Nevados 2010 Malbec is a perfect answer to your dilemma. This Malbec has a beautiful, deep red hue and will capture your attention with the first sniff and sip of Raspberries, black pepper, nutmeg with a bit of earthy beets and plenty of licorice. There is so much more going on with this wine than the price would let you believe.
The Los Nevados 2010 Malbec is a very versatile wine that will compliment a variety of dishes from Beefy Nachos, spicy pork chops to barbeque chicken pizza. And of course, it will be absolutely wonderful with sweet and spicy Sloppy Joe’s. But most importantly,

Recently we decided to feature New York State Finger Lakes Rieslings by displaying select ones from our inventory at our tasting center. It is no secret that New York produces some excellent Rieslings that rank up there with some of the best German varietals.

Today I am featuring Wagner Vineyards 2011 Riesling Select. This is a very sweet style of Riesling, but this not a sugar delivery device. It is an honest to goodness Riesling that is vibrant, fragrant and complex without the “Kool-Aid” factor that is found in some cheap Rieslings. There are wonderful notes of Apricot, lemon-lime soda and a hint of spice. The finish is pleasantly crisp and lingers a bit longer than most. Enjoy this wine with grilled Mahi- Mahi with spicy, Pineapple Salsa.

Drop in and pick up a bottle of the Wagner Vineyards 2011 Riesling Select for the terrific sale price of $8.99. You should also make a point of visiting Wagner Vineyards on Seneca Lake. It’s a breath taking spot in a

This has to be one of my favorite recent finds. The 2010 La Corte Salice Salentino is a stunner. I did not expect such a delicious, full bodied and bold wine with a perfectly smooth finish at this price point. Too often I have come across tight, bitter Italian reds that put a large grimace on my face that lasts until I can stop feeling fur on my tongue.
La Corte Salice Salentino is made up of 85% Negroamaro and 15% Malvasia Nera grapes. The wine is produced in stainless steel and oak. It has a dark ruby color and surprisingly quite jammy. Plum, dark berry, tobacco and even gingerbread greets the nose and sweet and smoky fig lingers long after your first taste. This wine is excellent with crusty bread, tapenade, and Italian hard cheeses.

This is a terrific find for the sale price of $9.99.

First off, let’s be clear; there is nothing petit about this wine except for the price which is $9.99. This wine is a bit of an oddball in that it is from South Africa where Cabernet-Merlot blends don’t come readily to mind. What is perhaps even more puzzling is that Petit tastes more like an old world style Bordeaux than a bold, jammy fruit bomb.
The Petit Cabernet-Merlot (59% Cabernet and 41% Merlot) is medium bodied with a classic, dark ruby color that hints at the refined fruit to come. Wild strawberry and raspberry mingled with cedar greet the nose while plum and spicy notes follow on the tongue. Crisp acidity and fine tannins are complimented by a touch of cocoa. Pair this wine with food you would normally pair with a red Bordeaux. Steak with red potatoes and broccoli a gratin, or broiled Lamb Chops with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
The Petit Cabernet- Merlot 2011 earned a 89 point rating from Robert Parker.

Sometimes it’s tricky pairing wines with certain dishes, even the comfort variety. Case in point: my wife made an old family recipe that her mom and grandfather had made for years with the inevitable variations that intrude upon, yet often improve the original recipe. She made a Broccoli chicken and curry casserole that incorporated cream and cheddar cheese. Normally I would have an oaky, buttery type of Chardonnay with a creamy dish, but the curry and broccoli change things a bit.

I chose the Domaine Lafage 2011 Novellum Chardonnay because it isn’t a California style Chard. It’s from France and is aged in mostly stainless steel tanks with some exposure to Burgundy barrels along with continued aging in Viognier lees.

Whoa! It seems complicated but this wine is actually quite simple. It has a lovely nose of honeysuckle and peach and tastes of faint apple and pear with a pinch of sea salt. This is a medium bodied crisp Chardonnay with a smidgen of creaminess.

November has arrived and with it cold wind, rain, and after today, possibly snow. It’s time for comfort food. Hearty stews, soups and casseroles are what we crave. It’s time for meatloaf and chili and macaroni and cheese. For the entire month of November, I will be offering wines that pair well with comfort foods.

Ticket to Chile 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is a typical Chilean style cab that is deep ruby in color and has notes of cherry, black tea, and chocolate with a hint of tobacco. There are flavors of blackberry and currants with a slightly spicy finish. This wine may not be particularly robust but it certainly isn’t whimpy either.

This cab will hold up to a variety of dishes from Roast Beef to pasta with red sauce. For a comfort food pairing try this cabernet with a meat loaf with a chili sauce and currant jelly glaze. Mashed potatoes and carrots with parsley and butter make attractive sides. If that seems too extravagant for comfort food, skip the glaze

“Children of the night… what beautiful music they make!”
-Count Dracula

This weekend is the conclusion of our Halloween wine picks. It is only appropriate that we finish with one of the greatest supernatural creatures of all time: the vampire. In the wine world, Vampire is an inexpensive label that produces a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, a Merlot and of course the bloodiest of the bunch, a Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines come from California, predominately Napa, although at one time these wines were actually produced in Transylvania, Romania.