You get what you pay for...

I always wondered what "Aldi" grocery stores were all about, so after having lunch at the re-opened "Havana" sandwich shop (best Cuban Sandwich I've ever had!), Susie and I gave it a shot. Other than finding some no-name lip-balm on the cheap (3 sticks for $1.50, compared to Nivea's $5 per!) and some Devil's Food Cake cookies (yum!) we picked up 2 bottles on the cheap, a Malbec from Argentina for $3.99 and a Crianza (aged in oak for a set time period) Tempranillo/Cab blend from Spain for $5.99. We haven't had the Crianza yet, so the jury's out, but the Malbec turned out to be pretty good, though the first 'fruit bomb' nose was initially a turnoff (but as it opened it was quite nice). No silly 'animal' labels or catchy names, just a varietal I like at a fair price. Caveat--I am a red-wine drinker and finding decent quality for a low price can be a difficult thing to find. For example, it is quite difficult to find a good, cheap Pinot Noir (a true oxymoron!). You CAN find some for around $14-18 (which unfortunately IS cheap for Pinot) such as La Crema or "A" by Acacia, but I recently had a Lindeman's "Bin" series Pinot for under $7 that was pretty tasty. Again, this is not even close to a fine French Burgundy (well, maybe the 1980's jug 'burgundy') but a decent, drinkable Pinot. I normally shy away from Cabernets and Merlots that are super cheap as they tend to be fruit bombs and not really 'varietal specific'. Again, for the price, what do you expect? I have had some success with Australian Shiraz (and blends) such as Rosemount's Shiraz/Cab blend and if you look around you can even find some inexpensive Rhône blends (such as Grenache, Syrah (Shiraz) Mourvedre).&n bsp; As always, it's all in the hunt! For under $10 what's the true risk? Be honest-when is the last time you had to dump out a freshly opened bottle of wine? Another trick at the grocery is to look at the 'gap' in sale prices at Kroger. If a wine is a dollar off, for example, I normally pass. As noted recently, I was 'rewarded' when I bought a Mumm Cuvée Napa rosé when it was marked down to around $14 from $24. If you have a clue what the price point of a wine 'should' be you can sniff out some bargains! Email me your wine 'finds' so I can share them!