Banrock Station 2010 Merlot - the review -

Banrock Station is one of those Australian Wines - cheap, generic, generally drinkable, seldom memorable.  Banrock's claim to fame is their support of conservation.  Really, I don't care about your green washing.  Just make some decent wine.

Some of their wines are blech (2010 Shiraz comes to mind), some are not.

The 2010 Merlot is definitely in the not blech category.  In fact it is quite drinkable.

Purchased at closeout prices from Gordy's at $2.99, I figured why not.

Result - pretty good, really good considering I got it for three bucks.  Would be a good deal at it's more normal retail price of $6.99.

Good fruit, not much tannins, fairly easy drinking but enough body to make it pleasant.  Fruity, but not sweet.  Decent for cooking and drinking.

Aldi Wine Review - 2008 Vina Decana Tempranillo

Vina Decana Tempranillo - a $4.99 wine from Aldi's

Made in Spain, there are a ton of online reviews of this wine.  Cheap Wine Finder sings it's praises, as do other.

Dry wine.  Some tannins, limited oak.  Some fruit, but not a lot

Plum, blueberry color - dark.  Not real fruity on the nose.  Fair bit of tannins

Gets better with a little air in it.  Fair to decent wine, at the price.  Better with food.  Better the second day

Aldi's Grate Red 2011 - get it, Grate...

Photo stolen from Cheap Wine Finder 

I like Aldi's.  Low prices, generally good food products.  Never really tried their wine, as much of their stuff (Winking Owl) gets a really bad rap.

However, they have been adding more wine's, and those wines have been getting decent reviews.  So, I decided to go for it - Aldi's Grate Red, Vintage 2011.  Part of the gimmick is that it is advertised as "An Italian wine perfect for anything grilled".  A Toscana Rosso (that's red wine from the Tuscany Region for you heathens) has no listed grapes on it - it is surely a blend, likely with  Sangiovese  grapes as the primary.  Aldi claims it to be a medium dry, full bodied red wine.  With that....

Grate Red is a cheap ($4.99) bottle of red wine that is light in color (think Pinot, kind of like cherry juice), dry, with soft fruit, decent body (not thin) and not much tannins.  Not much nose, very slight alcohol  but none really on the tongue.  It does go great with steak (which is what I had it with), and I think it would be great with burgers or grilled chicken.

If your looking for a bottle of red wine for grilled foods, this is a winner at $4.99.  If your having a lot of friends over and would rather spend more on the steak than the wine, I would definitely go for it. It won't impress anyone as a great wine, but it might impress those who appreciate a good wine that is inexpensive.  Pretty much as advertised - you will not be disappointed in spending $5 on this wine.