Recommendations for inexpensive wines

[winterland1]

Trader Joe's Charles Shaw. Also called two buck chuck. They have most of the variety of wines. I have purchased the Merlot and Cabernet. People say the batches vary, some better than others.
You can't beat the price and I have been happy with it every time I have purchased.

 

[Edward]

Cassilero de Diablo from Chile is also another good one, and reasonably priced. And as I've mentioned before, there are some good ones from Argentina as well. Lucky Duck and Altamonte are both very reasonably priced.

Oh, yes. It is good.

 

[belfastboy]

I will check out the Shaw at Trader Joe's. We are Canadian with the accompanying tax burden so we enjoy the lower prices of wines and spirits in the US. Our wine of choice when we travel the US these days are the offerings of Bare Foot Cellars. A range of varietals, from $4 to $8 and all are very drinkable. We stock up when we find them on sale.
Lately their Bubbly wines have been on sale for $8 to $11 and have yet to drink a bad one.

 

[dnjan]

Recently, I've found good value in Spanish wines. I've rarely been disappointed, even at $10 and under.

 

[TM]

Try Sylvester Vineyard and Winery, if it's available where you are. Very inexpensive and quite nice.

http://www.levignewinery.com/wine-shop/index.php?category=3



Tony

 

[TM]

And J. Dusi has a great deal going on with a Pinot Grigio:

http://www.jdusiwines.com/wines/index.php?product=25

 

[Gregg Axley]

I used to drink wine, but eventually just quit going to the store for it. [huh]
Reds-M.Chapoutier is a good choice, as they make several wonderful wines for under $25 dollars.
Belleruche is one of these.
Michael David is another good winery, 6th Sense Syrah is a favorite of mine from them.
Casillero Del diablo is one more suggestion, their Reserva Carmenere 2011 is really good for the price.

 

[Edward]

Recently, I've found good value in Spanish wines. I've rarely been disappointed, even at $10 and under.

Yes, they can be very pleasant. I find - sweeping generalisation I know, but... - French wine tends to be a bit overrated. Not that there aren't plenty of good ones, but it tends to be more expensive (at least here in the UK) than New World wines, and in my experience isn't any better. Chmpagne is the biggest riot going: there's nothing inherently better about making fizzy white wine in the Chmapgne region than anywhere else, but it certainly is charged at a premium. I find a decent Prosecco is a better buy if you're looking to keep the overall spend down.

 

[dnjan]

And don't forget the Cava's when you want sparkling.
I agree that many Prosecco's are both good and inexpensive, but to me there are a lot of similarly-priced Cava's that have more depth of flavour.

 

[swanson_eyes]

Every year for the holidays World Market brings out Reindeer Reserve. The sparkling white they have is to my liking. I forget what grape it is, though. They only have one sparkling variety in that brand.

Don't laugh at me and I'm not quite sure if this is the kind of "inexpensive" you're talking about, but I have two options. One is any of the dessert wines by Manischewitz, specifically the blackberry. The other is a Maryland winery called Linganore. They have a red wine called Steeplechase that is out of this world. It usually runs about $12 a bottle and I pair it with most Italian pasta dishes.

I'm not going to laugh because up in Door County cherries and berries do well and the wineries make all kinds of interesting fruit wines. They aren't pricey either. I tried a plum wine* and while it was very sweet, it wasn't too acidic. It was kind of...spicy, for lack of a better word. I guess the Linganore is from lingonberries?

* https://store.dcwine.com/winery/product-category/wines/

 

[Trenchfriend]

"Blauer Zweigelt" (austrian, german, etc....)
-dry (most)
-taste of vanilla-cherry

 

[swanson_eyes]

Surprisingly, the Sutter Home pinot I bought the other day is better than I've had previously. It has bite.

 

[gear-guy]

Barefoot Merlot- I find this to be a very smooth Merlot. This is a good beginner's wine- it is smooth with a hint of tannin. I agree for a cheap wine this is a decent wine. If you find a Twin Oaks brand these are not too bad.

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

Most cheaper wine (maybe not rock bottom but from €3-6) can be made to taste better by decanting and filtering out any sediment (if there is any). If I'm going to drink wine with food I pour it out at least half an hour before to start oxidisation. Rough wines like Bordeaux and Rhône benefit a lot from this, far more fruit in the flavour and evaporation of bitter elements.

 

[Kevinthewineman]

Look for unknown regions for the best value. Puglia in Italy, The Languedoc in France and La Mancha in Spain are good bets

 

[Big Man]

Stay away from MD 20-20 (aka "Mad Dog 20-20").

Sorry, couldn't help myself. Flashbacks to 1970 and my some of my "misspent youth" days.

 

[Sharpsburg]

And do not scoff at a well chilled "Boone's Farm"! Old Lady Boone sure knew her plonk!

 

[newsman]

A wonderful bottle of French wine is Lirac. Retails about $25 a bottle and drinks like a wine from just down the road that sells for...about $80 a bottle.
Justin, a California cabernet, that retails for about $34 a bottle is a fine glass.
Brecca, a Spanish red of very old vines, a wine that screams for a nice cut of meat...retails around $18.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Joke:

Years ago, a female teacher said for fun, what drinking wine is, for real: "binge-drinking for academics"

 

[B Dale Mauger]

I've been enjoying Smoking Loon Cabernet lately, $7 a bottle on sale