Typically been a bourbon and tequila guy but as of recently been getting into red wine and I love it. Trying to understand the different regions and try different types. Got a big haul over the holidays and some ive loved so far are some Pinot Noirs, Rioja, and Italian. I’ve loved so far:
– Au Bon Climate 2021 (might be my favorite Pinot thus far)
– Louis Jadot Pinot Noir
– La Crema Sonoma
– G.D. Vajra Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2023
– Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2024
– Marques de Caceres Crianza 2020
And the attached picture of Pio Cecare had last night and wow this might be my favorite overall yet. Open to any other suggestions! I think Piedmont, Monteoulciano, Rioja, and Cali might be favorite regions thus far.
by HumbleBJJ
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Edit: I incorrectly identified the bottle in the photo
Some entry level favorites:
La Rioja Alta
Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo and Rosso
Four Graces Pinot Noir
Planet Oregon Pinot Noir
Ken Wright Pinot Noir
Ducale Reserva Chianti Classico
Brancaia Tre Toscana
ABC and Vajra two of my fav producers. Haven’t had Pio yet – may have to try.
If you liked these, I’d suggest you try Freja for Pinot and Vietti Italian. You may also like some French GSM blends
I was just going to laugh that you are starting your journey with the cheap stuff!
I’d recommend that you try a bunch of different regions and grapes and styles. Peloponnesus, Pfalz, Türkiye, Washington State, Bandol, Priorat, Dao, Gigondas, Chile (the good stuff) etc. It often does cost money to get fine wine, but not always.
But on the cost is not as important, 20ish year old grand cru Burgundy is a good choice usually. Great Brunellos can be had for <150 and try the Maqis wines for a taste of what Chile can offer.
Also Vina Alberdi Reserva Rioja.
Where are you based? Availability of answers will depend on that.
If you loved that Pio Cesare try some other Nebbiolos. I would suggest starting with producers’ entry/mid level wines to see if you like the style before splurging on top bottles.
– Produttori di Barbaresco. ‘21 was v good.
– Dislivelli
– Giovanni Rosso
Also try Pinot Noirs from other regions and producers.
– Germany: Huber, Christmann
– US: Resonance, Hirsch
– France: Lou Dumont but good burgundy is expensive. I’d start with other regions.
For Rioja it might be fun to try two distinctly different styles side by side.
Seek out a Tondonia/Bosconia and a Vina Ardanza/Arana to compare against each other.
Pio Cesare is fantastic. I’ve done dinners with Cesare Benvenuto on a few occasions. Can’t go wrong. That being said, PC does wines according to regional tradition and blends them. Single vineyard was only done for marketing purposes. Dollar for dollar, there are few in Barolo that compete with PC. Next you have to decide if you are team Barolo or Team Barbaresco haha
Vietti barbera is quite similar and also great as compared to vajra.
Also would be great to try some produtorri Barbaresco
For pinots, I have a similar palette and love pommards. La pousse D’Or pommard is a fave “fancy” bottle of mine.
Join a tasting group or find a good wine shop.
Definitely Rioja and Tempranillo. Portugal and if you have wine place or a good wine store, those darker red South African wines are stellar.
Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape
How did you like the Barbera? One of my favorite starter wines. If you live in the Dallas area, I have a group of us that go to wine dinners at various byob restaurants. This would be a great experience for you to try a bunch of wine quickly.