The Mother Load

Let's get something straight here...the Winedaddy didn't win the lottery nor did he get promoted. There was no last will and testament of a long lost uncle leaving a huge chunk of change and no, I didn't just save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

But our good 'ol friends, Zachys Wine and Liquor, were having one of their Humongo, Get it while it's HOT, HOT, HOT sales and I caved. Yes. I'm ashamed to say that while I steadily fight the urge to splurge (and spend the Winefamily's hard earned money on a case of wine from a huge internet juggernaut like Zachys), they just made it to damn enticing not too.

They were offering a big sale on tons of bottles (most were from their 2nd Annual Wine Spectator Predictions List) and we were low on the sub-$20 bottles in our collection, (or as we like to call them, "everyday wines.") So I bit the bullet, pointed my pointer in their general direction and off we went.

I did some old standbys (Los Vascos and Montes Alpha), some huge cult offerings (Joel Gott Zin), and favorite varietal (Aglianico del Vulture). But I also did some research and recalled a few articles recently listing a whole bunch of South American and Spanish wines that are big bangs for the buck and since the Winefamily is desperately trying to initiate phase 2 of the Family Expansion Project, I wanted to keep costs low but taste high. And here's how.

Thanks to my friends at Zachys and the wonderful discounts they offer, all of the wines I purchased were under $20. Some were even under the $10 (God Bless you Los Vascos). My average price per bottle was around $12. It's a beautiful thing. More than half are completely sight unseen although based on some great press, I'm really excited to try them and report back on what I find.

I know you're all dying to see this latest collection of goodies so here they are. In order of appearance (L to R) this is what we'll be sampling over the next few weeks:

'01 Santa Ema Catalina Rapel Valley ($15.99)
'03 Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture Terre di Vulcano ($12.99)
'05 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon ($7.99 x2)
'06 Joel Gott Zinfandel ($14.99 x2)
'05 Can Blau ($17.99 x2)
'05 Catena Malbec ($18.99)
'04 Vetus ($14.99)
'05 Arrocal ($10.99)
'05 Montes Alpha ($14.99)

Now, some of these I've already reviewed and clearly like since I'm buying them again. But most of these will be new experiences and I definitely plan on giving you my 2 cents along the way. (of course, it's more like 8.375 per CENT but who's counting.

Cheers.