Get ‘Classy’ Buzzed
On The Cheap: Noble Vines Wine

wineguy

Women don’t expect you to be a sommelier. Well, unless you actually fancy yourself a sommelier. Otherwise, knowing a thing or two about vino is all you need to keep up with a dinnertime wine convo. Like, knowing that a decanter gets rid of sediment and lets the wine “breathe,” and pouring about our to five ounces into a glass are plusses. Drinking from the bottle? Most likely a minus to non-winos.

Also: What Guys Should Know About Wine

That said, the wine you select says a lot about you, too. Two-buck chuck from Trader Joe’s or Barefoot wines can come with a stigma of being cheap. You can avoid that by buying a “cheap” wine that doesn’t taste or make you look cheap.

337cabernet

Noble Vines, a San Francisco-based company, offers two affordable options that fit the bill. We were sent two bottles to test: 446 Chardonnay ($12) and 337 Cabernet Sauvignon ($10-$15).

The Cab had a pleasant aroma and a bold and strong taste. Idiotically, we didn’t pair it with food. We just sucked it down over an important conversation about the time travel loops in Lost. Ideally, we would have paired it with a meaty dish, like herb roasted pork loan, baked chicken or sausage off of the grill.

We’re not fans of chardonnay. There we said it. So with the Chardonnay 446, we made mixed drinks. We trolled Pinterest (that’s right, we use Pinterest) and found a recipe for white sangria — chardonnay, oranges, lemons, sugar, and Grand Marnier. So far as we remember — the afternoon is a haze — each cocktail was tastier, lighter, and more refreshing than the previous one. At least that’s what our headache told us the following morning.