La Playa Merlot, little liquor store at 14th/Churth, $7.99.
Yes, Merlot is the white zin of the mid-to-late 90s. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s easy to grow and easy to make totally decent wine out of. On the other hand, it often doesn’t add anything to food, nor does food do anything particularly to a glass of Merlot. It’s the Vin Ordinaire of California’s post-cabernet boom. Lambasted by wine aficionados and Sideways and everything under the sun, it’s really not that bad. Usually.

La Playa 2004. It’s around. I think I’ve maybe seen it in Trader Joe’s. I think I’ve even bought it before, but couldn’t remember it, which means it was one of those “Shit, we’re out of wine, let’s get something cheap, but not too cheap” wines.

That’s the kind of wine I like.

This time, I found it at this little corner store by the Church and Market Safeway in San Francisco. It was marked $6.99, but I think the corner store guy charged me $7.99 for it after razoring off the price tag. Whatever– it’s only a dollar, and I had Ms. Yoyo with me, and we were full of pretty good food and giggling. Full disclosure: I’d also just gotten off a 11 hour flight from London to see The Pyper for his 40th. I was in a good mood and it might have been my mistake.

The price isn’t important, though. Although, a $6.99 wine is way cheaper than a $7.99 wine, but sometimes a buck is just a dollar. Not worth arguing about. And the wine was worth the extra buck.

Just so you know.

This stuff isn’t bad. Not great, not bad. I dug it up at Trader Joe’s for $4.99. It quaffs OK. It’s french. It’s maybe a little sharp, with hardly any tannins. This is a very drinkable light French table wine– or that’s what I’d use it for. A blend of Grenache and Syrah, it benefits a bit from contact with the air: I thought, after the first glass, “Mmm.. not too bad.” The second glass brought out “Damn, that’s kind of nice.” There’s a little alcoholic sharpness that I’ve come to associate with french wines that unfortunately overpowers some of the subtler flavors.
How does it go with food? I ate some leftover green curried lamb with the second “kind of nice” glass. Now, this food is kind of an unfair pair with the wine: It’s bold and spicy. It goes well with a sharp lager like Tsingtao or Cobra. The wine stood up, helped by its sharpness, and did a decent job. It slithered over the spice burn and cooled it.
It didn’t enhance the curry itself, just held its own, but when I had it with a few spicy bites of lamb it shone through. They got together and did a little dance in my mouth, accentuating the alcoholic sharpness.
Overall, this wasn’t bad. At $5, you really can’t beat it.

Three Thieves Zinfandel, $9.99, Bi-Rite, San Francisco

I’m sort of cheating here: Bi-Rite is sort of like a specialty store, but it’s right by the park by my house. It’s got all kinds of organic foods at ridiculous prices, and then some specialty cheeses at pretty special prices. But it’s the place that’s close to your hood that you go to when you need some seriously good chocolate, or if you suddenly need capers or something. They have loads of wines that people who buy $23.99-a-pound pre-marinated beef buy in the $20-$30 range and higher.

I’ve discovered that they also have a lot of really good wine in the $8-$10 range. This can be seen as a good thing. I’ve had some stinkers from there that the marketing would suggest would be good. The marketing? Someone drinks the wine and writes up a little card. Things like “what more can you ask for in a $7.99 Cotes du Rhone?” Maybe they are, to someone else. You might find these in your corner store, if you live in San Francisco. Or if you’re lucky. Lots of wine from Chile and Argentina, most of which comes pretty cheap. Which is, after all, why we’re here.

The Three Thieves Zin: I hear that these three guys started their own winery a few years back. They basically buy up a bunch of already-made Zin that other wineries can’t use because it doesn’t fit in with their flavor profile. The thieves blend it, pour it into modern-day jugs, and sell it. All I know is: It’s a big fruity Zin. It’s big and bold and tasty. Plus, for $9.99, you get a whole liter. that’s an extra 1/3 of a bottle of wine, or else it makes the bottle about 5 and three-quarters glasses instead of four-plus-a-little. It’s got a screw top. It goes down real easy. I had it once before we went out to dinner, and it lubricated society nicely. It’s a great wine for bumming around in the park on a beautiful sunny day. Or a grey cloudy day. Or for having friends over before you go to dinner. Or for a party. Or for anything really.

I took it to Mary’s unseasonably cold and blustery birthday in Dolores Park. It was a big hit.

This stuff is great: Goes down easy, memorable, but not too memorable. Eat most anything with it, particularly lamb. It’ll hold up to other meats, too. I’m sort of itching to get some curried goat to go with it. It’ll go down well with, say, roast vegetables or a portabella steak: It won’t overpower either. It’ll make you feel all warm inside and put a smile on your face for when you go out into the February chill wind to go to a nice meal with your guest from out of town.

Get some. You won’t be disappointed.

Heron Pinot Noir, $9.99, Bi-Rite, San Francisco

Heron Pinot Noir: This stuff is regularly $10.99, on sale right now for $9.99 at BevMo, but Bi-rite always has it for $9.99. Don’t ask me why. BevMo is annoying, Bi-Rite is local. BevMo is run by investors, Bi-Rite is run by cute funky people with tattoos and facial piercings who do things like pre-marinate legs of lamb with pomegranates and then sell it to you for $23.99 a pound.

This Pinot stands up next to just about anything. It’s eminently drinkable, and tastes like a $20 Pinot at $9.99.

It’s round and flavorful. It goes down easy. It’s so good, you’ll read the bottle after you drink it. If you’re me, at lest. It’s a little fruity without being overpowering. You can drink it with food. You can drink it alone. You can drink it with your lover before you make wild passionate love to her. This is a great wine for eating with that marinated leg of lamb. It’ll stand up to a nice tri-tip, cool and bloody in the center (just don’t forget about the resting time). At the same time, it won’t overpower, say, a roast chicken dinner. I’ve had it with good strong Salmon. Basically, it’s light enough to go with anything and strong enough to sneak in and work with everything. it’s versatile. Have your friends over for dinner, and drink it down. Take a bottle do bed with you and that lover.

You bought two, right?

You should have. You should have bought a case.

Like I say, I’m cheating. You might not find this at your corner store, but if you do buy it. Buy it all. They might not have it next week.