Bottle of wine

Most bistros, restaurants, etc... have a really crappy off brand red or white that they call a "house" wine. Why do people buy these? These wines are most likely stored in the refrigerator or worse on the bar back in a bottle that was opened sometime during the Clinton administration and in the worst case scenario are actually a couple of different opened bottles mixed together( trust me, I have seen it happen). Do yourself a favor spend a couple bucks more and buy a decent glass to compliment your meal. Unless, of course, your goal is to get really plastered  and throw up in technicolor purple then by all means get the crap.

That being said, I am not anti-cheap wine or a snob by any means. Currently my favorite red wine, our "house" wine if you will, is a red blend with a Zinfandel base wine by Apothic aptly called Apothic Red. I have tried many wines in the 30$ and higher but I can honestly tell you that this 8$ wine has many of the same qualities at 1/3 of the price and it pairs well with food, which really is the point. Isn't it?

Our favorite white right now is not a brand but from a region. We have been drinking Vouvray wines  from France. Vouvray whites are made from the chenin blanc grapes and to me are a good example of the concept of terrior, which in a nutshell means grapes grown in a certain area are going to make a wine that is unique to that area. We have tried chenin blanc from South Africa, California, and Australia, but none of them taste quite like the Vouvray.

So now it's your turn. What is you house wine?  Not a wine drinker? What's your go to beer(Guinness for me). Leave a comment, I am always looking for a new wine at a good price.

and now for your listening pleasure......