Originally Posted by MSD

I developed a taste for Yellow Tail wines a few years ago when my mom got 4 leftover cases of it after a fundraiser for the museum where she works. It's not something that wine snobs are going to rave about, but it's under $15 for a magnum at BJ's liquor, and it goes well with everyday food and nice dinners at home. The Cabernet is complex and fruity, but not overwhelmingly so. Merlot is similarly good but less complex, pretty much what you'd expect from a decent Merlot. I go back and forth on their chardonnay -- 2005 was too smoky, 2006 was pretty good, and 2007 was a bit to acidic and dry for my taste.

For super cheap in bulk, I'll probably be looked down on for saying this, but Franzia (yes, the stuff in boxes) Chianti is as good as anything you'll get in a cheap bottle, and goes perfectly well with a simple pasta dinner (especially if you're serving a lot of people in an informal setting; put out some decanters at a buffet and nobody will ever know.) Not very complex, on the sweet side, tastes good and gets you drunk.