I'm sure we all have friends who are totally incredulous on how much we spend on wine. One such friend gave me a bottle recently that she had bought for $4.99 at Trader Joe's. Skeptically -- how good could a $4.99 bottle of California wine be -- I opened it up the other day to serve with some burgers.

I was pleasantly surprised. The color, while not very deep or intense, was a clear and pretty red. Both the nose and the taste reminded me of strawberries -- in fact, the wine was quite light and fruity with little noticable tannins. It’s short finish was smooth and pleasant. Don’t stock up too much on this one, because it’s not going to age, but if you want something cheap to go with a burger or for cooking (with the necessary glass or two for the chef) this is a good deal. My scale gives it an 83.

Make Cab, not War.