La Crema has always been my go to wine for taking to parties etc.
I personally love Pinot Noirs from Oregon or Saviougn Blanc from New Zealand (much crisper and I think very refreshing in summertime heat).

I posted earlier about seeking out a true $25 bottle of wine, and suggested Italian. In general, these days $25 is a sweet spot for wine -- during the downturn, there was a huge inventory of higher priced wine that couldn't be moved and the $25 mark is where you can find lots of good deals -- generally the wines will be much better than the $10-15 wines. It does help a lot to go to a good wine store where someone is knowledgeable, not as easy to find as it should be, though the DC stores that have a good selection tend to be quite good. MoCo stores not so much in my experience, though there are exceptions . At a good store, if you tell them what you are looking for they will steer you to something interesting, not something they cannot sell. For Italian, at $25 you can get a Rosso di Montalcino, generally very high quality, or a Chianti Riserva (more mixed), good Sicilian wines in that price range too and all will give you good value. There are nice Valpolicella Ripassos in that price range too, and very good Dolcettos. There are also a lot of very good $25 French wines but also lots of overpriced wines in some regions so it helps to get someone knowledgeable for those. Lots of people like Malbecs, just not my thing in part because they seem to be going the way of Shiraz, great initial deals, they get very popular and then a whole lot of over alcoholic junk. I do not think Malbec is there yet and you can find some good and distinctive ones, particularly if you move up to $25, but something to be careful about too. I have not tried the Cline Pinot Gris but Cline is typically a $10-15 wine, maybe they have exceptions but it is certainly not what I would reach for, and if you want a good American Pinot Gris, Oregon has many more, though quality varies quite a bit.

Apothic Red.

For anyone drinking mass-produced pinot grigio, step up to pinot gris--I think you'll find it a lot more interesting. Same grape, different regions, different approach to winemaking. Much more food-friendly and much more satisfying.

Cline Pinot Gris is at least $21 a bottle in my grocery store and it is so smooth and refreshing. You'll never want to go back to $10 wine again!

Also, I would totally NOT recommend Italian. No one knows how to figure it out, including particularly the store employees. I'm sure there are values to be had but there's also a ton of plonk out there. Someone posting questions on DCUM isn't going to be able to find the good stuff.

Argentinian Malbec, different story. Hard to go wrong with Argentinian Malbec. Particularly if it says "Mendoza" somewhere on the label, and it costs more than $10, it's going to be good.

You're singing my tune, 18:40, believe me, but I've gotta take exception with the Cline. I haven't had a bad Cline yet. Just because it starts at $10 (and runs up to $25, depending what you get) doesn't mean it's bad.
I'm not talking the "Red Truck" blend, but the stuff with Cline on the label. Good stuff.

Those are all $10 bottles of wine and none is very good. If you are willing to spend $25, you can get a decent bottle but you will have to figure out what you want. Don't just grab something. I would recommend Italian, still decent values, but stay away from everything that was mentioned if you are planning to spend $25 unless you are going to buy 3 bottles.

Angeline Pinot noir

If they have Cline in there, anything by Cline is good.

Ménage a trois red. Cline Pinot Gris. Fire road Sauvignon blanc.

Good Lord. Get out of the county store.

That said, for PP's Kim Crawford recommendation, I like the Unoaked Chardonnay or the sauv blanc. For a good entry level pinot noir, Mark West. (I hope they have that there.)
Can't tell you what else 'cause I haven't been in there in a long time.

Smoking Loon - generally in the $12-13 range but sometimes on sale for $10 or $11. My reliable go to wine.

Kim crawford

Just curious what you recommend.

Thanks.