You don’t have to spend a lot of money to drink good wine. As an ardent bargain hunter, I’m especially fond of finding good quality, great tasting wines at low prices. My “Best Buy” choices represent excellent wines you should be able to find at a discount wine shops or online wine sites for under $7 for a 750ml (0.75 liter) bottle. The price doesn’t include tax or shipping.
I have attempted to pick brands that are well distributed throughout the coun
try in the hope that you will be able to easily find them at a local wine shop. The price at a shop in your vicinity may differ due to distribution costs and the store’s overhead, but if you check different shops you should find one that offers these wines at relatively low prices. You can search online for discount wine shops in your area or use the phonebook. You can also join a shopping club in your vicinity or purchase wines online for delivery directly to you if the laws in your state permit wine shipment. In some states you may not be able to have wine shipped to you from a different state, but can order shipments from a dealer within your state.This list is not meant to tell you what you should drink. What you should drink is whatever you enjoy. I hope these wines will present you with a broader selection of wines that you like and will broaden your experience and save you some money at the same time.
To be on the list, the wine must be one that I have rated at least good. By this I mean it is without major defect and is well balanced. On a 100-point scale, I rate all these wines above 80. I have divided the wines by the type of grape used in its production. In each section, I list three or four of the lowest priced wines first and it there are some wines that cost a little more but are worth considering, I mention them at the end of the paragraph.
Whites
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the most popular wine in the states right now. Stores and restaurants are well stocked and offer customers a variety of Chardonnays to
from which to choose. The lower-priced Chards are usually low in acidity and have an easy drinking, smooth flavor compared to the more intense flavor of some higher priced labels. Chardonnay from Chile offers an excellent combination of value and quality. My bargain but good choice in Chardonnay is Frontera Chardonnay by Concha y Toro. The aroma of this slightly sweet, pale yellow Chardonnay contains citrus and apple. It has a fruity taste and soft acidity. Other good Chardonnays you should be able to find at or below my bargain rate, are The Little Penguin, and Yellow Tail from Australia, and Sutter Home from California. Sutter Home should be the easiest to find throughout the country. The company is a major wine producer and very well distributed.Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc offers a refreshing change from Chardonnay. It is known by many names, Fume Blanc, Pouilly-Fume, Sancerre or Bordeaux Blanc. Its taste and other characteristics vary widely according to the region in which it is
produced. Typically it has the aroma of herbs or a freshly mowed lawn. I have found four good selections that are available at Best Buy prices. Perhaps the easiest to find and one of the least expensive is Gallo Family Vineyards Twin Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Another low price leader with a very good wine is Barefoot Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma. The third is the Frontera Sauvignon Blanc from Concha y Toro. The fourth and perhaps the most difficult one to find is from French wine merchant, Georges Duboeuf. You can buy this wine online or ask your wine shop proprietor is he carries it. French varietal wines are known as “vin de pays” which means wine of the countryside. A few discount stores sell Columbia Crest Twin Vines Sauvignon Blanc at my bargain price limit, but since it is usually a little more, I am not including it as one of my best buys, but it is certainly worth trying if you find it at a price that is to your liking. New Zealand produces some excellent Sauvignon Blancs. They are quite trendy right now and their prices have risen accordingly. Nevertheless I recently purchased a Monkey Bay 2005 Sauvignon Blanc at a local shopping club for just under $10. While this was priced above my usual limit, when you find a superior wine for a reasonable price I suggest you seize the opportunity. I was also pleased to learn that Applebee’s Restaurants has added Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc to its by-the-glass selection.Pinot Grigio
Another refreshing change from Chardonnay is Pinot Gris, also commonly called Pinot Grigio, and less commonly Rulander or Tokay. I found several good Pinot Grigios that are best buys. The American-made varieties tend to be full-bodied and full of fruit flavors, while the Italian wines tend to be light and crisp. I found both very pleasant. The Americans also tend to be lower in price in more locations; they are Barefoot Cellars, Trinity Oaks, Fish Eye, Robert Mondavi Woodbridge, and Sutter Home. Fish Eye is available by the bottle or in a 3-liter box. If you can’t find a wine shop that sells the Fish Eye 750ml bottle for under $7, then check out the price on the 3-liter box. A 3-liter box contains the equivalent of four 750ml bottles. If you divide the selling price of the box by four, you usually obtain a result below $7 for each 750ml of wine. The good quality Italian Pinot Grigios which you may be able to find at a bargain price are Cavit and Folonari. At some shops, you may have to purchase the 1.5-liter bottle in order to reduce the price per 750ml to under $7.
Reds
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is one of my favorite wines. It is naturally low in tannin and unless tannin is added during fermentation, Pinot Noir is a soft, pleasant tasting, ea
sy drinking wine. My selection for a great tasting, cheap Pinot Noir is Sutter Home 2005. It’s a little more effort to have to remember vintage dates, but this was a good year and a good wine at a reasonable price. Two very good Pinot Noirs from Australia that are well distributed and qualify for my bargain but good rating are Little Penguin and Lindemans Bin 99. Premiat wines from Rumania were being advertised a few years ago and the company produces an excellent Pinot Noir. Wines from Eastern Europe tend to be overlooked, but are usually well made, pleasant to drink and relatively inexpensive. Premiat may be hard to find in some areas but it is available from many online sellers. Other great Pinot Noirs that you may be able to find right at or slightly above my bargain limit are Cavit, an Italian wine producer; and two Californians, Mirassou and Pepperwood Grove. Cavit, is available by the glass at many Olive Garden Restaurants if you want to give it a try.Cabernet Sauvignon
The British called it Claret. The French insisted it was Bordeaux--after the name of the renowned wine region of France were the grapes were grown. To many others it was a wine you purchased by the case when it was young and less expensive, then carefully stored away in a cool location while it aged to magnificent taste, texture and value. These wines were blends and the dominant wine in the blend was either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine of choice for many connoisseurs. It is blended with other wines in order to achieve roundness and complexity. It usually has a bite to it from tannin, and is not a good wine to try until you are familiar with other reds and have grown to like them. The wines offered at my bargain price are ready to drink when you purchase them. If there is too much of a bite for you, try swirling the wine in your glass in order to expose it to air, or leave the wine out in the glass for a while before you drink it.
The price-quality leaders in the Cabernet Sauvignon group are Glen Ellen from California and Walnut Crest from Chile. These wines typically sell at prices below my bargain target. Both are available in the 750 ml and 1.5 liter sizes, and Glen Ellen is also available in a 3.0 liter box. Fish Eye also produces a very good Cab and discount wine shops in your area should have it at bargain prices. Barefoot Cellars and CK Mondavi also offer good Cabs that usually sell at just under my price limit. Three other good Cabs that are usually just above the bargain limit are Covey Run, Fetzer Valley Oaks, and Fusee.
Merlot
Merlot is often used as a blending wine to be combined with Cabernet Sauvignon, however the wine has also become a very popular generic. Because of its immense popularity, you can find a great many Merlots and Merlot blends. My bargain picks for Merlot include three Californians: Woodbridge, Barefoot Cellars, and Fusee; and four Australians: Little Penguin, Alice White, Yellow Tail, and Lindemans.
Montepulciano
I am adding a fourth category to the red wine list and revealing my favorite red wine for pasta dishes, or anything else. It is Citra’s Montepulciano de Abruzzo (Mon-tuh-pul-CHEE-an-no-da BREWTZO). Montepulciano is usually priced well below my bargain target and offers exceptional flavor for an inexpensive wine. In most wine shops I visited it was not on display with the other Italian wines which usually sell for much more. You may have to look around the store or, better still, ask the proprietor if he carries Citra wines. If he doesn’t offer Citra wines, you can shop elsewhere or you may wish to try another brand of Montepulciano if the shop sells one. Montepulciano de Abruzzo is the name of a variety of grape and many other manufacturers also produce this wine and it is usually low in cost and quite good. You may find one with a price and taste you like. I frequently find a Montepulciano at Italian restaurants.
In this article, I have tried to present you with good tasting wines that you can purchase at reasonable prices. If you try one, or want to suggest your own favorite, I would be happy to hear from you. Just send me an email, by clicking on the words “View my complete profile” in the Contact section that appears near the bottom of the column on the right-hand side of the page.
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