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Price: $9.99 at Macy's Liquors
Recommended by: Wine tasting at store
Comments: This is an exceptional wine for the price. It is a big, bold cabernet with delicious, round flavors of blueberry, cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate. The nose is equally bold. In fact, nothing is subtle about this one. Plus, the flavors last in a long finish that suggests you are drinking a $25 bottle of wine. We will be getting a few more bottles of this one soon!
Rating: 8/10
Price: ~$15.00
Recommended by: This was a gift, but we've had this on our wish list for a while. We think it was recommended by Sunset Magazine.
Comments: Yum. It was yum from the first sniff. Very flowery on the nose and the palate. We also smelled Fruit Loops (honest!) and tasted plum, cherry, and oak. The flavor lasted a long time, and the finish was very smooth. Lots of flavors going on in this wine. It's rather different from the California (in-yer-face-with-fruit) Cabs, but this was excellent. We're becoming huge fans of Washington State wines.
Ratings: 7.75/10
Price: $10.99 @ Blanchards (JP)
Recommended by: Sunset Magazine's Steal of the Year ($15 and under)
Comments: I don't know if we agree that this is a "steal of the year," but this wine was very enjoyable. Listed as a Cabernet, Louis M. Martini Sonoma County is actually 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 8% Merlot and some other stuff for the rest. Flavors of cherry, plum, currant, and spicy pepper conclude with a smooth, if short finish. We have had better red wines in this price range (Columbia Crest Merlot, Michael Pozzan Cabernet, Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz), but it was pretty yummy with pizza tonight. Our review might be a bit more upbeat if the Red Sox hadn't sucked tonight.
Rating: 7/10
Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: TJ's large display reeled us in
Comments: We didn't expect much from this inexpensive South African wine, but it's quite enjoyable. It's nothin' fancy, and it benefited from some decanting. The tannins were a bit strong at first, but with some time to breathe, it smoothed out a bit. It's not as bold as a Cali Cab, but it's earthy and well-rounded with flavors of cherry and blackberry. It doesn't have much of a finish, but the taste overall is quite nice. We recommend it over Charles Shaw (3 Buck Chuck). For those on a strict budget, pick up a few bottles.
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $5.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: the price and the region (Knights Valley produces some great Cabs)
Comments: There's not a whole lot to say about this wine other than it's pretty good for the price. (This is produced by the folks who make Two Buck Chuck.) It has a nice taste, and the tannins and finish are smooth, but there's not a lot of depth to it. However, with a slice of pizza or a juicy burger, this is a nice, cheap, enjoyable accompaniment.
Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $13.50 @ Solera (Roslindale, MA)
Recommended by: helpful wine dude at Solera
Comments: (We're a bit tired, so pardon the lame review.) This Cab (also 12% Merlot) from Paso Robles is smooth and very enjoyable. It is fruit-forward, has a nice finish, and would be great with anything other than the ice cream we ate shortly before drinking it (Ben & Jerry's AmeriCone Dream rocks! Oh, this is a wine review -- sorry!). We suspect that a nice meaty dinner would really bring out the great flavor of this wine. We recommend it, but we still prefer Michael Pozzan's Knights Valley Cab, which is virtually the same price.
Rating: 7.25/10
Price: $13.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: We really enjoyed the Beringer Knights Valley Cab, so we wanted to try this one.
Comments: Oh, happiness! This wine was a nice surprise. It's a young wine, but it doesn't taste immature (that sounds pretentious, doesn't it?). This wine exhibits a complex flavor dominated by cherry, blueberry, and plum. It's a fruity wine, but not overly so. Instead, it is very smooth and balanced; really amazing for the price!
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $10 @ Gary's Liquors; this is a very popular wine, so it shouldn't be difficult to find.
Recommended by: Description at the wine store enticed us
Comments: It's finally cold in Boston! And alas, we've broken out a new Cabernet to keep us warm. This one was a really nice surprise, as it does not taste like a $10 bottle of wine. It has a bold cherry, vanilla, and coffee flavor, and for a young Cab wine the tannins are not harsh at all. We should note that it has a very smooth, relatively long finish. Karie did not like it quite as much as the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet, but Rob liked it a bit more. For the price, it really can't be beat.
Rating: 7.5/10
We're back down to Planet Earth after enjoying a few really nice, expensive
wines over the past few weeks. First
of all, Karie had an article published,
so we celebrated with our favorite wine
from our trip to Napa Valley -- Artesa
Reserve Merlot. Then, we traveled to
Philly for the Thanksgiving holiday, where
we enjoyed three great Napa Cabernets --
Franciscan, Robert Mondavi, and Hess
Collection. Yummy! We loved all of the
Cabs, but Hess is still our favorite. Then
we returned to Boston and celebrated
our 5-year anniversary with a bottle of
Mount Veeder Cabernet. Since the
winery is near Hess on Mount Veeder
Road, we were curious to taste the
difference between the two. The Mount
Veeder was amazing, with an interesting
chocolatey, earthy, tobaccoey
flavor, with hints of pencil lead. In fact,
we liked it so much that we bought another 
bottle to save for another year or two. Let's see
if it will last that long! We're going to have to
kick our habit of drinking expensive wines or
else head to law school.
Price: $8.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: reputation of the winery
Comments: This Chilean Cabernet was a bit young, but we let it decant for a few hours; it certainly got better as we drank it. It is a tasty wine, with strong cherry and plum flavors and a nice, oak finish. We did not enjoy it as much as the Casa Lapostolle Cabernet, but we look forward to trying some other Concha y Toro wines!
Rating: 6.75/10
Price: $9.99
Recommended by: Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Best Buys of 2005
Tasting notes: This Chilean wine was a very nice find. It has a great bold taste with coffee and chocolate notes. This is another one that will find a place on our rack quite often.
Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $9.99 at Macy's Liquors 
