Bravo wines

ju10prd

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Bravo seems to be a supermarket in Santo Domingo with good wine buyers. Their selection is not huge but from what I have tasted in the 'medium bracket' price range....$10 - $15, I think they do very well. I often get my weekend bottles there.

I am a fan of Argentinian wine with a liking for a good Malbec which is what we see as the regular Argentinian fare. Good selection at the Argentinian steak house in Bella Vista by the Embajador Hotel.

I noticed this week a new line of wines Bravo had introduced from Argentina when visiting their outlet on Independencia, and what caught my eye was a single variety Cabernet Franc bottle. It is a wine usually used for blends and you find it in smaller quantities in some of the best Clarets. My fond recollection is finding it from small wine producers in the Loire Valley in France as a single variety and enjoying it chilled with some outdoor bbq food or local cheeses and grapes.

The wine producer this one comes from is as link.....

http://bodegamiestancia.com.ar/

I'm enjoying the Cabernet Franc chilled right now as I write.....happy drinking Bravo!!
 
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Fulano2

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It is one of the problems living in the DR as a wine-lover. Most wines are uncomplicated wines from Chili, US and Argentina.
 

ju10prd

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It is one of the problems living in the DR as a wine-lover. Most wines are uncomplicated wines from Chili, US and Argentina.

Frankly most supermarkets are churning up the same economy Spanish and Chilean wines which are sold in bulk around the globe.

I was a great fan of Oddbins in it's early days on the UK and it all comes down to the company's buyers to get some decent variation at fair prices. I find that even at Carrefour you don't find decent wines at good value and often find myself disappointed at their special offers. The French supermarket in Las Terrenas was always capable of supplying some very good value wines especially at Christmas time. Bravo has kept my modest expectations content with variation and value for money. The display in the store mentioned actually seems to be keeping the reds at the right temperature
 

Mauricio

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owner of bravo is a serious wine lover and selects and imports many of their wines himself.
 

windeguy

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One thing I miss from being in California before is good and inexpensive wine. From my perspective, what is available here is way over priced. But, it is an island with high import duty.
 

william webster

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Have you tried la Enoteca on Abe Lincoln?
they have a big sale near Father's Day..RD Father's day

el Catador also.
 

Fulano2

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Frankly most supermarkets are churning up the same economy Spanish and Chilean wines which are sold in bulk around the globe.

I was a great fan of Oddbins in it's early days on the UK and it all comes down to the company's buyers to get some decent variation at fair prices. I find that even at Carrefour you don't find decent wines at good value and often find myself disappointed at their special offers. The French supermarket in Las Terrenas was always capable of supplying some very good value wines especially at Christmas time. Bravo has kept my modest expectations content with variation and value for money. The display in the store mentioned actually seems to be keeping the reds at the right temperature
A serious wine-lover can't without the french and italians, Chili, Argentina, US, never will make the complexity even with the same grapes...the soil is different as well as the climate. But that's how it is, you cant have it all.
 

Fulano2

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One thing I miss from being in California before is good and inexpensive wine. From my perspective, what is available here is way over priced. But, it is an island with high import duty.
I know what you mean. Between my wife and me we easily drink a liter a day with our meals. 1000 to 1500 a day on wine would be Ridiculous , so it is santa carolina and Carlo Rossi haha.
 
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windeguy

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A serious wine-lover can't without the french and italians, Chili, Argentina, US, never will make the complexity even with the same grapes...the soil is different as well as the climate. But that's how it is, you cant have it all.

For that reason, I miss Trader Joe's. That company knows how to purchase and resell very good, yet inexpensive, wines.
 

windeguy

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There are hundreds of wines for sale on the dominican website https://hay.do, I found over 20 Malbec wines. There a also a lot of french, Italian and US wines. The wines are shipped countrywide for free.

Not just overpriced, dramatically overpriced. If the same mark up was used on automobiles, a Toyota Corolla would be $60,000 US here.
 

ju10prd

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The Bravo new line 'Mi Estancia' Malbec is good value imo too at 649rd as is their Cabernet Franc. For me pleasing finds.

I've paid much more for inferior tasting (imo) known label Malbec at Nacional.
 
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Koreano

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I was looking for thread like this and I was about to post one.
650 for a wine is bit pricy for me but I will try MI Estancia if I can find one.
 

ju10prd

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I was looking for thread like this and I was about to post one.
650 for a wine is bit pricy for me but I will try MI Estancia if I can find one.

I hear you on the price.

Back in the UK many years ago when wine consumption was growing exponentially in the country, I was always searching for good wines below 3.50 GBP and reading all the wine tasters reports and recommendations. Oddbins was the store of my choice and they always came up with some really good stuff from all over the world. Australian wines were the discovery at that time and I have never lost my liking for good robust yet elegant Cab/Shiraz blend from that country. Penfold wines were a the top of my preference list and rarely I would invest in one of their top of the range wines knowing it was going to be a treat. Wolf Blass was another favorite.

Now on my rare trips back to the UK, I know I have to be looking at 8 and probably 10GBP in order to find something decent and if one takes in to account the recent Brexit drop in exchange rate that implies a US$12 to US$15 price.

So on that basis finding a decent wine here would involve paying 550rd to 700rd and not excessively overpriced for a Brit seeking modest wines. By the way Californian wines seem pricey everywhere in general compared to other countries.

I have tried many of the sub 400rd offerings at Super Pola, Nacional and even Carrefour and nothing has bounced out as exciting, rather the opposite and I have been very disappointed often and poured some of the offerings down the drain. I often think it is due to handling and storage of these wines. Carrefour has a large range and if you want some of the recognized names they will likely be there at a price. But finding a good wine at modest price from the Bordeaux or Languedoc has not be something I have had success with so far.

So with my relocation to Miramar, I find I have a Bravo store close to the Scotiabank I use. I have read their wines are supposedly good so I am trying them a few at a time. I am someone who likes a couple of reds at the weekend sat on the balcony seeing the sun set. I am not a great white wine fan as a rule, but give me a good Sancerre or Chablis and I'm on board. What I am buying there has given me more enjoyment than what I was finding at other supermarket outlets......excepting the French one in Las Terrenas.

As you drive around Santo Domingo you might see Bravo signs on hoardings advertising a US range of wines with screw tops and the brand name escapes me right now. But I've tried those reds and they are good value for money at about US$10 and better with a buy two Friday and get the second half price. I do like that brand's Pinot Noir chilled a lot at that price.

I understand Bravo have a supermarket in Santiago too.