help me pick a nice red wine for my dad for Christmas

December 22, 2011 5:47 AM

I'd like to get my dad a nice bottle of red wine to drink with Christmas dinner. I'm thinking a nice table wine that he maybe hasn't tried before. His favorites are Masi's Campofiorin and the Cesari Mara. In the past I've splurged on some nice Amarone's and Barolo's but I'm thinking I'd like to do something in the $10-$20 range. Any suggestions? Thanks!
posted by machine to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Based on the tags in your profile, it looks like you're in Ontario, in which case you should be able to get a bottle of the Inniskillin East-West Series Cab-Shiraz. Being a cab-shiraz, it's obviously got a different flavour from the Masi Campofiorin, but I think if he likes one he'll like the other. The tannin taste does come out a bit more strongly though, so I guess skip it if that turns him off. It's $17 a bottle and you can get it at the Wine Rack.
posted by 256 at 6:32 AM on December 22, 2011

Mark West Pinot Noir is my go-to for red wines as well as Goat Do Roam which is a South African blend.
posted by floweredfish at 6:37 AM on December 22, 2011

My folks and I all love Evohe Garnacha. It's about $13-15 a bottle in the states. If your dad normally likes Merlot, this is a somewhat more interesting choice (IMHO).

Evohe

(And have a great Christmas & any other winter holidays you may be celebrating!)
posted by brackish.line at 6:42 AM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure how it compares to the others you listed, but for relatively cheap table wines, I really like buying anything from the Côtes du Rhône (if you can find something from Cairranne, that's my number one pick). They are from a great area for wine (it's basically adjacent to Châteauneuf-du-Pape) but they are usually very well priced, and even the cheaper ones ($12-$15) are great (IMHO).
posted by Grither at 7:04 AM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is there a Trader Joe's where you are? They sell one Amarone that is about $20 and it's wonderful.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:51 AM on December 22, 2011

Along Grither's line, Grenache is a good grape to look out for at that price point. It's the primary grape in Rhone wines, and is very reliable as a safe-yet-elegant choice. One thing I'm very jealous of you Canadians about is lower tariffs on French wine, so your local wine seller should be able to pull a delicious bottle at your price.
posted by mkultra at 8:40 AM on December 22, 2011

If you're aiming for Italian, I highly recommend Nero d'Avola; it's delicious and relatively unknown, so you might be introducing him to a new favorite.
posted by languagehat at 8:43 AM on December 22, 2011

Are you having Turkey? Why not try a nice dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer? If your dad prefers reds, you might go for a wine from the Douro region of Portugal, or even a Beaujolais Cru. Try the Vintages section of your LCBO, and you should find examples of each in the $20-24 range.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:29 AM on December 22, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks everybody! I have some great selections to check out. Woohoo!
posted by machine at 1:51 PM on December 22, 2011