What is a good, cheap ($15ish) bottle of wine for this time of year?

Question

So I know nothing about wine but my boyfriend and I got invited to a dinner party and thought we should bring a bottle of wine. It's the end of August and I'm not even sure what we'll be eating. These people are from Greece but I'm not sure the food will be Greek....or burgers...or something really fancy...I have no idea!!!

White?

What should we bring? It should also be easy to find. THANKS~~

Answer 1

sebastiani cabernet

its real good and pretty sweet not too dry but not to sweet like reisling or some c**p.  You should pair the wine with what your eating though.  Some wines dont go well with certain foods!

Answer 2

Surprise your host..

If they are from Greece, then take a nice Greek wine. Two of the best are:

SKOURAS Nenea Grande Cuvee, a very graceful red, hints of plum and cherry and only about $20

SKOURAS Viognier Vin de Pays de Peloponnese, a very very nice medium bodied white and worth the $26

If you can't find these two at your local wine shop, Ask for any Greek wine bottled by Skouras or Vatistas.

Answer 3

Carlo Rossi(Pisono)  it's a red wine.  $14 for a gallon. they have smaller bottles also.

Answer 4

Ravenswood Red Zinfandel. You can find it any grocery store for 10-15 bucks. It's Red so it'll be good for any kind of red meat.

Answer 5

Hey, 15 bucks ain't cheap.  Lot of great wines out there in that price range.  Around there, summer time, my two favorites are Beaujolais-Villages from France and Dolcetto d'Alba from Italy.  Both red, both nice, refreshing acidity to it, both soft tannins - both nicely balanced and smooth.    Both are very versatile.  

Dolcetto is more Mediterranean and might be a very match for Greek Cuisine but on the chance it could be burgers, both are just fun to drink.  For the Beaujolais, go with the biggies, Louis Jadot or George Dubreuf.  For Dolcetto, I like Bruno Giacosa, but you could also ask the wine shop proprietor.  

Cautionary note, I was invited to dinner with a German family for Christmas, many, many moons ago.  Didn't know what to bring, some one suggested wine.  At 22, I thought Boone's Farm was fine wine (so many moons ago), so I brought along some German wine.  Turns out, he had a little vineyard on the Rhine and bottled his own.  My gift went into the "the thought that counted" category.  So, unless you know Greek wines really well or plan to buy a really nice bottle, I'd avoid that route.