Vin Ordinaire for the End of 2009

I'm always on the lookout for good cheap wine. After all, good wine is easy to find if you're willing to drop a couple bucks, but there's plenty to drink in the under $15 a bottle range. During this holiday season I've been checking out some of the large size offerings, and I've found two favorites:

Pinot Evil This wine comes in a box. It wasn't too long ago that box wine was a joke. In fact it often wasn't even pure wine, often having to be labeled "wine with other natural flavors". Awful stuff, but cheap. Times have changed, and Pinot Evil, which my brother has been drinking for a while now is a nice example. It's a Pinot Noir that comes in a box with cheezy "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkey graphics, defying my prejudice against "critter wines". It's sourced from two places, Ile-de-Beaune, France and Hungary. Both are light bodied, as one expects wine from this grape to be. Unlike New World Pinots these wines aren't very soft and plummy. They don't have the bright cherry and refreshing acid you'd find in a good Burgundy, but they are both restrained and simple, which is all I can ask for a budget wine. My experience has been the Hungarian version has a bit more spice, but both are fine for quaffing or accompanying lightish meals. And at about $20 for a 3L box this wine works out the be the same as $5 a bottle, making it one of the cheapest wines I've found this year that's actually some kind of a pleasure to drink.

Barefoot Merlot I'm sure you've seen this one around, in magnums for under $10. (As cheap as Pinot Evil above). This soft, jammy Merlot is just a bit too light on the acid and slightly too heavy on the residual sugar to be anything like a fine wine, but it is drinkable, with no off flavors. It's a blast of soft fruit, but not as heavily extracted as many inexpensive Argentine and Australian wines. Perfect for parties and casual fans of California Merlot.

Winter Udon

Back to the Northeast and snow, and guess what? Noodle soup is perfect for it! This particular one is both easy and delicious, not to mention economical. As with any soup remember how easy it is to get more of the stuff than you were planning on making. I always make too much and end up having the leftovers for lunch the next day. This soup is not like a stew that improves from an overnight rest in the fridge, so best not to go crazy with the quantities unless you're feeding a group.

For the noodles I use 1lb packages of cooked udon that I get in Chinatown for just over a dollar. Since this is the kind of item that could get expensive in a fancy supermarket I'd recommend a trip to an Asian market for the noodles. A pound of cooked udon will feed two very hungry people or as many as four or five with more modest appetites.

Here's what you need to make this at home:

1 small head Chinese Cabbage, cut up (or more to taste)
2-3 shitake mushrooms per person, stems removed and tops scored in a criss-cross pattern
meat of 1 chicken thigh per person
1-2oz tofu cut into bite size cubes per person
1 soup bowl of water per person
Soy sauce
Chinese cooking wine (optional)
pinch sugar
3 scallions per person, cut in 1/2 inch lengths
1 package cooked udon noodles

Start off with the water in a pot, adding soy sauce until the water picks up a light brown color and is a little less salty than you want your soup to be. In goes a generous glug of the cooking wine (if using) and every other ingredient except the tofu, scallions and noodles. Slowly bring to a boil. Add tofu and scallions, then reduce to low heat. You know everything is cooked through when the mushrooms are soft. In a separate pot bring some water to a boil, and toss the cooked noodles into it for a minute or so to get them ready to serve. Drain noodles, place a serving in the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle in the hot broth, veggies, meat and tofu. Eat with both chopsticks and a spoon.