Let me preface this by saying that I don't consider myself a wine drinker, but... I have a boss who has more money than sense and during some of our corporate events he introduced me to a couple of reds that I really like, namely Silver Oak and Cakebread Cellars. Though they are very different from each other, they are both wonderfully complex and pair well with a variety of smokes. Suddenly I found myself enjoying a periodic glass (or three!) of wine. The only problem is, for a guy like myself who actually works for a living, I can't afford to drink either of them with any regularity
To that end I found a Chilean merlot called Santa Emma which only costs ten to twelve bucks a bottle and is easily comparable in terms of flavor and complexity to either of them. Depending on the vintage it is a 90 or a 91 point wine and is an absolute steal for the price. It is VERY woody and spicy. Depending on what you want to do with your palette for the evening, you can mix it with a number of different smokes. I had some the other night with an A Fuente Gran Reserva and it was amazing. My wife, on the other hand, was smoking an Acid Kuba Kuba and loved it. It is just very versatile, very affordable, and the oak flavor in the wine let's you pair from extremely mild to extremely earthy with your cigar and it still works. I highly recommend it if you aren't afraid to try a very powerful merlot. Caveat: This is not a wine for someone who drinks only rieslings, this is a scotch drinkers red, in my opinion.
