You can buy great value wines for under $20 (some under $10).
By John ~ January 11th, 2008.
“You only have so many bottles in your life, never drink a bad one.†–Len Evans
Wine prices are not inherently linked to quality and pleasure. As we’ve said in the About page, we’ve tried wines in and from almost every major wine-producing area in the world. We’ve had blind tastings and wine tasting dinners to compare what we thought were our favorites from each region and each varietal.
My conclusion: A high price does not necessarily make a great wine. In fact, the least expensive wine has actually been the consensus favorite more often than the most expensive wine in our tastings. That is why we started this blog with the post, You can’t taste the label. Here are some examples of wineries I have found that produce great wines at reasonable prices:
United States
Washington:
Columbia Crest
Domaine Ste. Michelle (sparkling)
California:
Pedroncelli
Rosenblum
Sebastiani
Villa Mt. Eden
Australia
Jacob’s Creek Reserve
Penfolds (Koonunga Hill Range)
Peter Lehmann
St Hallett
Thorn-Clarke
Wynns Coonawarra Estate
Canada
Jackson-Triggs
Chile
Concha y Toro
France
Chateau Branda
Chateau Potensac
Chateau Thieuley
Guigal
Italy
Gabbiano
Michele Chiarlo
New Zealand
Kim Crawford
Nobilo
Matua Valley
Saint Clair
South Africa
Fairview
Spain
Las Rocas de San Alejandro
We’ll make specific vintage and varietal recommendations from many of these wineries in coming weeks and months as well as identify other great value producers from around the world as time goes on.
Filed under: American Wine, Australian Wine, California Wine, Canadian Wine, Chilean Wine, French Wine, Italian Wine, New Zealand Wine, Red Wine, South African Wine, Spanish Wine, Sparkling Wine, Washington State Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $10, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25