Cheap wine that doesn't suck

I have two picks. Unfortunately I haven't found many under $10 that don't have that cloying vanillian flavor I detest (or some other major flaw). These two made the cut.

1.Contadino Pinot Grigio, 2007. We picked this up at Trader Joe's for $5. It isn't bad, very mellow with a papaya(or was it mango)afterglow. Would be ideal for a hot day.
2. Toasted Head Chardonnay, 2007. If you have a Costco membership it is only $8.50. Other places it is more $11. The ubiquitous choice, this wine is easy to procure and it is easy to see why. It is a creamy tropical wine with a toasted finish. A really great value for the complexity of flavors.

Hopefully I will find some more that don't break my wallet. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Spicy Sammich

a.A really awesome track by flying lotus
b.A delicious meal
c.All of the above

Sazerac

Last night was my husband Alaric's birthday. We celebrated by going to a place called the Shady Lady. It had a wonderful assortment of old timey drinks. This one was my favorite. Upon further research I found out that it is from New Orleans and dates back to before the Civil War. I was pleased that it had absinthe as an ingredient. Apparently it is again legal in the US (as of 2007). Yay for absinthe.

Aknahten

I'm not usually a huge opera fan but after listening to Aknahten by Philip Glass I
might just change my mind. Alaric found it whilst listening to Pandora and it is
pretty epic.