After spending twenty minutes browsing the red wine room at my favorite spirits store, the owner recommended a new brand I hadn’t yet tried. I’ve been trying to pick up at least one new wine per week to give it a try, especially for those like me, who aren’t wine connoisseurs, and know little to nothing about it 
Wine – Trapiche (Oak Cask) – Cabernet Sauvignon (Year 2006)
Like all the wines I try to review, and with my limited budget, this is another wine under the $20 price mark. This wine came with a tag on the neck showing it to be a “Best Buy” from The Wine Advocate. I would agree with Robert on that mark, for it’s price range this is an excellent Cabernet. This wine comes out of Argentina with the rear label mentioning the grapes being grown the Andes, and with at least twelve 
months of aging in oak barrels before being bottled for sale. As all Cabernet Sauvignon wines are, you can expect a dry, crisp flavor from this one, which goes excellent with red meats and other spicy dishes. The finish of this wine is quite long and pleasant, making it a great pick as well for sipping on while you enjoy leisure activity around the house. Highly recommended as a first pick for those trying out a Cabernet for the first time, or for those looking for a good house wine to keep around the house. 9/10 ($12.99 avg – 750ml)
Scotch – Johnny Walker “Red Label”
I can’t review this much myself as it is the first time I’ve every tried a scotch whiskey. The owner apparently doesn’t like scotch himself as he said that like beer you needed to develop a taste for it, as it wasn’t a very pleasant spirit in his opionion. I wanted to start with the Black Label scotch next to this one, but it’s about three times the price of the red label, and since I was only getting enough to have a taste I didn’t want to throw down the money.
I personally think scotch is a fine liquor, in my view it has a better flavor and drinkability to it than that of a regular bourbon, but that of course is all a matter of opionion. Since I have never had scotch before, I can’t say one way or the other how good this would be compared to others, but anyone I’ve spoken with said the Red Label was of very high quality, with only the Black Label (from the same maker), being better. As most scotch is, it’s realitivly expensive, but I do recommend those that enjoy bourbon to give scotch a try if you haven’t already. (No score as no experience to judge on) – $3.49avg – 50ml