Chateau de Gourgazaud, 2008, Minervois

I have a tier system for the wines in the closet: the daily (-$15), weekly (-$30), monthly (-$50) and - once I've made the necessary calculations and drawn the necessary diagrams - the sacred yearly wine. I don't particularly want to crack my bottle of 2005 Chateau de Beaucastle some dreary Wednesday night while watching a home renovation program on HGTV, gripping as these episodes can be. Witnessing some drama queen lose out on the perfect sink or wallpaper gives me more satisfaction than it should. Don't judge me. The point is this: in order to suffer such spirit-killing spectacles I need wine. Not spectacular wine. But good wine. Value wine. Wine that I would offer as a house wine if I had a restaurant. Wine that I can add to a pot while cooking with no qualms or hesitation. The 2008 Chateau de Gourgazaud is one of my daily wines.

Domaine Zumbaum Tomasi, Clos Maginiai, 2007, Couteaux du Languedoc

The wine I've pulled from the closet tonight is from Languedoc. If you haven't tried anything from this part of France, I suggest you do. I get a little excited when I hear the word couteaux. Midi is an outstanding region. It's located in the southwest of France on the Mediterranean coast pressed up into the Catalan border and includes tremendous value appellations like Costieres de Nimes, Minervois, Cotes de Roussillon, Corbieres and finally Couteaux du Languedoc, where Domaine Zumbaum Tomasi is located.[...]