resident oenophiles, give me your best reds under $30

We were looking for decent sub $40 pinots this weekend to preview for an upcoming party and have probably settled on Davis Bynum and CrossBarn

Both very good

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At TH03's suggestion, I have gone through Michael David's entire inventory over the past few months and haven't had a bad wine yet. Earthquake (zin), Boneshaker (zin), and Freakshow (cab) have probably been my favorites. Earthquake is right at $30.

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Earthquake also has a cab and petite sirah. The zin though is about $25 at Sam's and freakshow is $18.

Boneshaker is hahn though, but it is a Lodi zinfandel. Another good one under $30 Hahn has is Smith & hook cab. Really good stuff.

Abstract from Orin swift is another one right at about $32. It's a blend of Grenache, syrah, and petite sirah. Winemaker is Dave phinney, who created the prisoner which is super popular.

Decoy is the under $30 line from Duckhorn which is great stuff. I like their cab the best.

Obsidian...a very good bold Napa Cab. about $28.00

Michael David is a great place to start.

If you want to try Italian I'd go for a Barbera, Nebbiolo or Chianti Classico. There are tons of those under $30 that are excellent wines. Casaloste Chianti Classico 2015 was rated very highly as an example.

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Good enough that I have fooled some pretty snobby "wino" guests who have come to the house

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Most haven’t a clue what’s barefoot and what’s penfolds grange.

I do pretty well in our blind tests and my wife is a level 3 somm but our daily drinker wines usually never go above $25. If you drink more than a bottle at a time, by the time you get halfway through the 2nd bottle, your taste buds aren’t working at 100%. By that time, we usually have Josh or Apothic open. Sub $12

Hell, a great “already buzzed” wine to open is the Shiraz-cab from yellowtail. $5 for a 750.

Edna Valley Pinot noir. Runs from $14-18.

I think they have Freakshow and petite petit at Costco.

Domestically, I have been a big fan of Washington and Oregon reds lately. I really like the minerality of the Washington "rocks district" wines - a lot of character in that terroir.

Internationally, at the under $30.00 price point, I am a huge fan of rioja. You can pick up some riojas with some age on them (~10 years) for under $30.00.

At the end of the day, it depends on where you live. I don't have any good, local retailers, so I use a handful of out of state retailers. I cycle through wines pretty frequently, and usually buy in 6-12 bottle increments. I would look for a retailer before a particular wine - there is a lot of unbelievable wine out there that is not widely distributed (kind of like beer), and most of the good stuff isn't sitting on the shelf.

Further, I would also suggest starting to age some wine. A lot of people drink wine far, far, far before they are supposed to (I see people crack open '13 or '14 barolos, what a sin!). A $30.00 bottle of wine that is properly aged is going to be better than just about anything that you can go out and buy.

Manischewitz