Vino Review: Bad Dog Ranch 2005 Petite Sirah
Posted by RenaissanceTrophyWife on November 24, 2008
I went to Grocery Outlet last week, and stumbled into a 20% off wine sale. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra bottles on hand, especially in preparation for the holidays, and this was one of my picks.
We opened it over the weekend, and it was surprisingly good! I think the bottle normally retails at $10 or so, but for a grand total of $4 at GO, this beats two-buck Chuck by an Obama-like landslide.
It was very drinkable right out of the bottle, fruity and jammy with pretty good body. I liked that it was tannic at the start, but finished softer on the palate. We had it with teriyaki chicken stir-fry and brown rice, but it’s also delish on its own.
(By the way, even though I live in wine country, I’m about the farthest thing from a wine snob there is. I don’t know wines– but I know what tastes good to me, and that’s all anyone needs. If stuff that tastes good can be had for $4 instead of $40, I’m all about that!)
One last note: I’m sure there are some total losers and winners out there, but thanks to my trusty BlackBerry and wine review sites, I gave myself a better-than-average change of getting decently drinkable stuff. Here’s a few fun links:
CellarTracker is actually a site for cellar management software, but their hugely extensive database of wine reviews is very helpful– and easy to search even from a mobile browser.
For the truly BlackBerry-addicted, there’s Nirvino mobile, an app which allows you to search cocktail, wine, and beer reviews, plus the best food pairings.
To get more of a learning experience, check out Vinography and Dr. Vino, a couple of wine-savvy blogs. The Frugal Oenophile is another favorite for great wine recommendations that won’t break the bank.
WineLoversPage has more narrative tasting notes; interesting to read but difficult to get through on a small screen. Save this for your desktop browsing.
Do you have any bargain wine finds you’d like to share?
CleanFreak said
with the big Thanksgiving Dinner coming up, this was very helpful!I’m sure this will go over much better than the box :-0
Your description sounds like something I would like. I’ll have to see if I can find it.
Thanks!
Carole
RenaissanceTrophyWife said
Glad I could help! So far we’ve tasted 2 other bottles (French Rabbit 2006 Pinot and Big Ass 2005 Cab, reviews forthcoming), and this Bad Dog one is still my favorite. I think the 20% sale is over but a bottle should still only be about $5 with the Grocery Outlet discount.
ViNotes: House of Nobilo Icon 2006 Marlborough Pinot Noir (done) « Renaissance Trophy Wife said
[...] not much stuff in the sub-$10 range that I’ve liked this much. Compared to the Bad Dog Ranch Petite Sirah, I’d say this pinot is smoother and fruitier, whereas the petite sirah is slightly more [...]
ViNotes: House of Nobilo Icon 2006 Marlborough Pinot Noir « Renaissance Trophy Wife said
[...] not much stuff in the sub-$10 range that I’ve liked this much. Compared to the Bad Dog Ranch Petite Sirah, I’d say this pinot is smoother and fruitier, whereas the petite sirah is slightly more [...]