Budget Wine - Barefoot Zinfandel

Being the careful consumers that we are (and let's admit it...battling the high cost of living in California!), the wine guy and I sometimes make runs to Trader Joe's to buy some "budget wines" so that we can save all of our $30-$60 bottles of the good stuff for special occasions. Our collection of the so-called "good stuff" is now around 37 bottles, but who's counting?

Anyways, a few months back I saw a Barefoot Zinfandel at Trader's Joe's for the low low price of $4.99. "What a steal!" I thought. The best part was that the bottle had a sticker on it that read, "Gold Medal. 2007 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition". Gold medal at a wine competition? Count me in! (Although I must admit I'm usually not a sucker for that kind of thing....but the stock of Barefoot Zin was pretty low and I thought "If everyone else is buying this stuff it must be pretty good.") So I bought the bottle and we enjoyed it a few nights later. Since then we've bought about 4 or 5 more bottles of Barefoot Zin and I'm pleased to say that we continue to enjoy it every time. If you're looking for a low-cost, medium-to-full bodied Zin with just the right blend of velvety texture and fruitiness (not nearly as much spice as some Zins I've had, just an FYI) this is the wine for you. Oh, and did I mention it scored 84 points in Wine Enthusiast? How many 84 point wines can you get for $4.99?

Here's a link to the Barefoot website, where you can learn more about their wines and where to purchase them. I've had some other Barefoot in the past that I wasn't nearly as impressed with, though the name is currently escaping me. I think it was probably the Cab. So...stick with the Zin! :)