Cheap Wine That Doesn't Suck

A cheap buzz that will impress even cork dorks?Where do I sign up?At your local Total Wine & More, for one, where you can find a wine that, if it isn't the best goddamned value on the market, I'll put down my Cabernet and start drinking Bud. The wine is...

By Bill Citara

May 15, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
          "component": "16971022",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "15769925",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Rectangle 2x - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782206",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "16575154",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
          "component": "15782207",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

A cheap buzz that will impress even cork dorks?

Where do I sign up?

At your local Total Wine & More, for one, where you can find a wine that, if it isn't the best goddamned value on the market, I'll put down my Cabernet and start drinking Bud.

The wine is the non-vintage Rene Barbier Mediterranean White, a Catalan blend of three Spanish grapes (if you must know, Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada) that goes for a downright skinflinty $4.99.

Now, we're not talking Corton-Charlemagne or anything; then again, you're not laying out a hundred bucks-plus a bottle either.

What you do get for your fiver is a well-made and easy to like wine that's simple, light, and refreshing ... think a bite of crisp green apple with a hint of pineapple sweetness.

Drink it at the beach, drink it with a platter piled with stone crab claws, pour it on your cornflakes. Hell, you can even toss ice cubes into it and the Wine Police won't mind. Try that with a glass of Corton.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.