School Me on Red Wine

[AHF]

In my opinion the taste of a wine is subjetive, the best wine is what you like more, it could be a very expensive bottle or a 5 usd bottle.

[easeup]

.....if it is from France....let it stay on their shelf

[Sika]

Caymus reserve, that is all.

[1riot1ranger]

buy it in the box and save the bottle fee plus it stacks better in the fridge.

[STGS]

If you like the Caymus, also try a Jordan cabernet. Not quite as pricey and is by far our favorite cab.

[stickman]

If you like the Caymus, also try a Jordan cabernet. Not quite as pricey and is by far our favorite cab.

[rtp]

I prefer the high end wines mostly but for an inexpensive one give Bootleg a try. Like mentioned above the best wine is the one YOU like the best. Everyone's palate is different, hence the differing opinions on this subject. My nephew is way up there in the wine bidness and while he hardly ever drinks anything sub $100, this was a recommendation of his. We tried it and liked it. Everyone we have shared it with has gone and bought some for their own supply.

[SneakyPhil]

Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's is pretty good. New to the wine game myself (got into it during the pandemic). I love Cab. 19 Crimes also has some good reds.

[Texastaxi]

Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's is pretty good.

You beat me to it!

Just leave the last half glass in the bottle ... it can be a little gritty.

[SETX_Insanity]

Decoy for cheaper option, duckhorn for a little more

[CaptainDave]

I second the idea of going to Total Wine. There are numerous bottles in the $10-25 range that are decent; at least for the average wine drinker out there. Ask one of their employees. Wine making is a competitive business. There's a lot of smaller wineries that even lease pastures from the larger ones, just trying to get their names out there. One way to do that is to have a competitive price. Often folks look at the South American blends for cheaper wines, but I'm not a huge fan. The consistency can be lacking even within the same brands. One bottle can be spectacular and the next one is not so great. I'd focus on CA, Oregon and WA State.

Decoy has mentioned is a good one, but it's pretty well known.

Others I've had lately that were good -
Justin Cab
Simi
Hess
There's literally many out there. Some better than others. As someone else mentioned, pick a few and take pictures of the good ones.

On a little higher end, you will hear a lot of people throw out Caymus. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan. Just my opinion, but, I'd recommend -
Shafer one point 5
Cakebread
Snowden Cab
These are $50-100 type of range. I agree with the comment above about the high priced bottles. Much more noticeable difference between a $20 and $100 bottles and less difference between the $100 and up. That's just my opinion, from a non-expert.

[jer_james]

You are local so you have good store options. Kroger, HEB, Specs, and Total. Anything 90 points and above is considered very good and you can get these in the 16-25 dollar range all day long. There is significant diminished marginal utility in wines at higher price points. The difference between a 10 dollar bottle and a 30 dollar bottle is immense but the difference between a 50 dollar bottle and a 300 dollar bottle is miniscule. I rarely buy wines over 20 dollars but almost always around the 90 point range. Any of the stores above have people that are trained in wines and will gladly help you. I you like Cabs you will also love blends as they are generally majority merlot or cab. You can get French Bordeaux now for under 20 bucks that are amazing. I really suggest speaking with someone at the store as brands change vintage to vintage. I could suggest a certain brand I had that was delicious but was a 17 and then you go to the store and buy it but it was an 18 and weather was **** that year making for a sub par wine.

Also there are wine apps with reviews, go to store, scan a pic of the bottle and you will get a million reviews.

Spot on -

My Better Half takes the wine tests for fun. She is level 3 certified in some London testing scale that future sommeliers take …

Total is the best with their rating system. Makes everything easier and puts you on the right path.

[wsteffen]

Caymus is my go to but **** they have doubled in price the last 5 years. This sounds crazy, but the temp you serve it at and the glass you pour it in will make a cheaper bottle taste better.

Total Wine has one made the same as Caymus for about half the price. I think it's 1842

[dirtybay]

Not a true cab, but I have really grown to prefer these - big six aged in bourbon barrel and robert mondavi select bourbon aged. Plan a wine tour near brehnam for fun or even better, Fredericksburg

[rvd]

Total Wine has one made the same as Caymus for about half the price. I think it's 1842

1858 red blend? I like it too if that's what you're talking about.