I adore Barefoot's merlots. Just about everywhere carries it, and my local liquor store has it on sale occasionally. I stocked up when they had it for $5 a bottle. Familiar, affordable, and can compete with wines two to three times the price.

Glen Ellen cabernets are a staple for friday night steak dinner at the gf's parents' place.

I rarely ever spend more than $10 on a bottle of wine, and almost always have a super cheap (<$3 on sale) sweet red half-empty in the fridge as I cook with red wine all the time. Just today I was using some in a marinade for portabella burgers. Red wine, Worcestershire sauce, A-1 steak sauce, garlic powder, and any cooking oil.. yum.

If I want a nice wine, for about $20 or so, Benziger is great, and worth holding on to for a while to age. All of their reds are primo stuff at 6-8 years.

I'm really glad that the malbec grape is becoming more popular as a standalone for red wines. Some of the stuff coming out of South America these days is incredible.