What we really drank

It’s time to come clean about something. I talk a good game about all the lovely wine tastings we did Down Under, and that’s all true, but to be honest, most of the time we drank on the cheap. Booze are expensive in Australia . . . really expensive, at least in comparison to here where it’s not heavily taxed and where we have places like Trader Joe’s and Bev Mo. So to come completely clean, most of time we drank boxed wine. Yes, boxed wine . . . and not the new-wave kind that uses the high-tech packaging to better preserve the taste and freshness of the wine. Just boxed wine . . . a lot of which tasted much like slightly alcoholic grape juice. We did find a couple that were ok enough to replace of Two-buck Chuck as everyday table wine. (Stanley's, in the lead picture, was one of the more passable of the cheapie boxed wines.) I know many of you are probably debating even the wisdom/taste level of allowing Charles Shaw onto our table, but hey we're on budget. While I can appreciate a good wine, we have to make concessions for the weeknight table. There, the truth is out.

Alchy grape juice. Beware of sugar shock.

For those who are unwilling to sink to such levels, Australian wineries offer another option for budget conscious – cleanskins. Wineries put out these bottles with minimally marked labels containing only the basic information. It allows them to get rid of excess wine that might not otherwise get used, such as wine produced in the first or last pressing of a batch. This way they make a profit of this wine without potentially damaging the quality of one of their lines. You can actually get pretty good deals this way, but its also kind of a grab bag.

For anyone searching for decent prices in OZ, we found Dan Murphy’s to generally have the best prices. You can do pretty well here. (See lead picture for one day's loot.)

You’ll also find another convenience around Australia that you won’t find around here . . . the drive-thru liquor store. Almost makes up for the higher prices . . . well, not quite but it’s still novel to a wandering American.

Kate shows off the drive-through, a la Vanna White.