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				  Miguel de Maria -> RE: Member Profile Photos (Nov. 25 2005 17:54:34)
				  						  
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				   I am always on the quest for the best wines under $15.  It seems France makes an unidentifiable lot of these, but I can rarely remember the names.        Going up in price a bit, I have always loved the Kim Crawfords...he's a winemaker from New Zealand, Marlborough, an area I visited a few years back.  I like the fact that the NZ wines come with screwcaps and thus are never bad.  They make nice Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noir.        Staying with whites, Oregon (in a similiar microclimate to some of the NZ wineries) has some nice ones.  A great buy is the King Estate Pinot Gris (same as Pinot Grigio).      As far as the Spanish, I like the Marques de Caceres Rose, Campillo Rioja for tinto.  I'm not sure what the big deal about the Marques de Murrieta, but it's drinkable, that's for sure.  Last night I had some Segura Viujas (wrong spelling, I'm sure), a Brut Cava or Dry Sparkling wine to celebrate thanksgiving.  Not bad and definitely the coolest bottle ever!  I had a pretty decent table wine the other day, called Proyecto 6 or something like that.      California makes some incredible wines, but they are very American--big and bold and lacking in subtlety.  That can be okay, especially without food (imo).  The Duckhorn Merlot can be had for $50 and is awesome.  I don't think you can go wrong with Plumpjack Cab, which comes with my favorite screwcaps.  These may well be going for $80 or so in the store nowadays.  I had some a couple of days ago, but it was a half bottle and was subpar.        I used to be a big fan of Italian Supertuscans, but they are so expensive and I don't see them quite as much anymore.  There was one called Selvemaggio that was just a great deal.  These are really good wines.  Ah..and the oddly shaped Gattinara, Travaglini is not bad, not bad at all.  For a special occasion I would reach for an Amarone from Veneto.  These wines are made from grapes and are superbrilliant and flavorful.  They take forever to open.  For a similiar idea, but less expensive, there is a sort of wine which is made from the leftovers, but the name of it is slipping off my tongue.  It would be from Veneto, too, of course.
				  
				  				  
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