re: Cheap wine that 's not bad

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I've also read to be wary of cheap Pinot Noirs because they tend to be more blended vs other grapes

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All of the cheap stuff is blended.

Black Box Merlot for me.

"In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as "Super Tuscans" emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines (such as the new Bolgheri label) but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana."

Super Tuscan is a pseudo official name recognizing wines of deep concentration, modern winemaking techniques, heavy influence of oak, tannic and age worthy, with an international reputation of being a "super" wine. Not every wine is Tuscany is a super Tuscan. It is an all too often misused word to label a cheaper and much lesser quality wine the same as its predecessors who staged their initial run from the norm of a regulated region (whether you consider Tignanello or Sassicaia the first is of no real avail). That being said, a $10 red blend from Tuscany is simply an IGT Toscana, not a super Tuscan.

We agree.

I'd rather drink a Brunello or Vino Nobile or a really good Chianti Chassico Riserva anyway.

Thanks for the information. I'll give those a try for sure.

[quote]LINK ]

Yep that's a good one.
Also Beringer Merlot