We're getting off topic, but that's fine with me. I'll never be a high end wine drinker and I agree that most any decent wine, food, drink or company is better when they all come together.
Over the last year and a half I've gotten seriously into Italian cooking. And with that I'm trying to learn my way around wine, at least on a basic level. And there is a new trend in the wine world in which a younger generation of wine drinkers are paying more attention to good affordable wines as opposed to high end, high dollar limited production wines which most people wouldn't really appreciate it even if they could afford it.
There is a great website called Wine Library that has good, down to earth reviews of high quality affordable wine. (They also do the high end stuff). Two types of wine they reviewed are Prosecco and Lambrusco. Prosecco is a sparkling wine from northern Italy kind of like champagne but not as sweet. It is made in stainless steel tanks and is not aged at all. So it is very inexpensive and very popular in northern Italy. It is low in alcohol, has a very simple flavor and is great with food, especially appetizers and dessert.
Prosecco. Sparkling Wines From Italy Epsiode #314
The second wine is called Lambrusco. I had this for the first time in Parma Italy (family trip) where a proud local shop owner urged us to buy a bottle of local lambrusco. We loved it. It is a deep purple, grapey, sparkling (con gasata) wine. It is also not aged and is served young. It is awesome with the great northern Italian dishes like lasagna. It is also cheap.
Lambrusco sparkling wine- not just Riunite anymore Episode #617
If you like wine, and you like Italian food and you want to drink/serve an authentic wine that is cheap and easy to drink, take a look at these two. They are both getting more popular in the US although Lambrusco can be hard to find.
