i personally love Layer Cake. it is a shiraz and its unbelievable. i also really like Boarding Pass which is also a shiraz. the liquor store i work at has been sold out of Layer Cake since Xmass and were supposed to get more in May but it still hasnt arrived so sad.



what are your favorite wines? are they expensive or not?



Boarding Pass is $14.99 at my store

There are a lot of great wines.  What I found is that my taste of wine changes through the years, and my favorite wines have varied as my experience grown.



Many years ago, I was a strict Californian Merlot and Cabernet drinker.  I am still a huge fan of Californian Merlot and Cab - those huge, in-your-face wine that is big on fruit and big on oak. With the Bordeaux having several good years over the last decade and half, I have grown a love for nice French Bordeaux.  Then I discovered Italian, especially the SuperTuscans.  My friend then bought a Portland vineyard and start making Pinot Noir, so that becomes a essential ingredient of our regular drinking when we go out for dinner.  It took me many years to find a liking of the spicy Syrahs/Shirazs, but since then I have also enjoyed my Cali and Australian Syrahs.  Most recently, I have fallen in lover Petit Syrah, which actually is reminiscent of the big Californian Cab.  What an interesting circle of interest.  



However, through all of these changes, I have fallen in love with a particular winery, Pride.  It is a nice boutique winery that makes many varietal of wine, including Viogneir, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Meritage/Claret, Syrah, Petit Syrah (sadly no longer in production), Sangiovese, and dessert wine called Mistelle of Viogneir.  Their wine making philosophy remains the same - to show off the fruity mountaintop wines from Napa and Sonoma area.  The end results are consistantly good wine years after years, not mentioning the ability to cellar and age these wines over the years.  I have Merlot for almost 10 years and still drinking great.  This is definitely my favorite winery.  The Pride wines are hard to find on liquor stores and only limited in availability in fine restaurants, but they are worth every penny - usually $40-60 per bottle from winery and up to $125-150 for reserve wines.  



As for other favorite wines, I also like Caymus Conundrum ($20), Revana Cabernet ($110), Joseph Phelps Cabernet ($50) and Syrah ($35), Swanson Merlot ($25), Frank's Family Cab ($45), Chateau Pichon Lougeville ($50-100), La Sirena Muscato Azule ($35), Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigares ($15), Heitz Port ($30), Frank's Family Rouge Champagne ($45).



As for you, might I suggest Molly Dooker (mollydookerwines.com), a nice Australian winery that makes good cab and syrah, some at good price (try Boxer, $20) and some more expensive (Goosebump, $50, amazing sprakling pink syrah, wow)



Cheers!

My favorite? Fetzer Gewurztraminer. It's semi sweet and is available in many locations. But I tend to drink more reds as a whole.



A semi sweet red that I really enjoy is Marika Nemes Kadarka.



Pinot Noirs are really great, and LaCrema is at the top of my list. And Shiraz is an amazingly drinkable red, I'll keep and eye on the Layer Cake.



Ranch Zabaco zinfandel has always been a peppery favorite of mine. And Falling Star Cabernet (Argentina)  is a bargain at $5-$7.



For chardonnays, Alamos is great for me because it's not to acidic. Most chards give me heartburn, but not this one.

I've taken to Viogniers recently, and Pepperwood has a tasty version.



All of these are reasonable, but La Crema runs $22-$25, but well worth it in my estimation.



In addition, if you want to go organic, Orleans Hill in CA has a line of wine that are really good, particularly the Cote Zero.

I like Italian Reds



Amarone, is very good usually starts around 40 dollars a bottle. you can get a bottle of Amarone at Trader Joes for around $15, but it is still pretty young and should be aged a bit longer.



Brunello di Montalcino,  one of the Best Italian Red Wines starts around 40 a bottle as well.



For a Cheap but Cheerful Italian Red  try Nero di Avola it is a wine produced in Sicily, and most I have had, have been good well rounded very drinkable wines.



As far as white goes Pinot Grigio is usually a safe bet,  but when I drink white I usually go for the Italian Sparkiling wine Prosecco,  I can't say I've had a bad Prosecco, and in my opinion it is better than a lot of so called Champagne, and you don't feel like a toffee nose drinking the stuff either.

Liebrefraumilch...  I have a german family (1st generation migrants).  I love this wine.  It's sweet, not dry, but also not sickly sweet.  And Creal and Kurly's berry wine.  It's sweet and red.  Not dry.  This one goes great with raspberries and white cheddar.

I love sweet German wines like Rieslings, Piesporters and Gewurtztraminers.



My favorites are J.Lohr Riesling, Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, Late Harvest Riesling



They are usually not expensive and run for under $10 a bottle.

REISLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

White wine Chablis...red wine St.Emilion...sorry I'm stuck up when it comes to wine...!