Bargain Wines—As Close As The Local Grocery

Talking about wine is one of my favorite pastimes.  Bargain-hunting is another passion, but what I really love is when I get to do both.

It is a myth that good wine costs a lot.  It is certainly easier to find spectacular wine for $30, but there are real stinkers in that price range, too. Meanwhile, real treasures may be on the next shelf over for half the price. To help you get started on your treasure hunt, let’s talk about what makes a bargain wine.

First, a bargain wine is simply one that tastes great for the money.  That means that the first step to finding a bargain is finding something that you like.  How?  Ask yourself some general questions about your preferences: Do you prefer red or white?  Sweet or dry?  Powerful or subtle?  Fruity or earthy? Do you want to taste herbs?  Do you want to taste spice?  There are no “right” answers. 
The true definition of “good wine” is household specific—it’s what YOU like.

Now that you’ve determined your general preferences, you can match them up with the major varietals.  A varietal is a wine that is made from a particular type of grape, like cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay. Generally, here are the characteristics of the major varietals: 

Cabernet sauvignon:  red, dry, powerful, herbal. 

Pinot noir:  red, dry, subtle, fruity and earthy.

Merlot:  red, dry, sometimes earthy, sometimes herbal.

Zinfandel:  red, dry, powerful, fruity, peppery, sometimes spicy.

Chardonnay:  white, dry, sometimes fruity, sometimes buttery.

Riesling:  white, sweet or dry, subtle.

Sauvignon blanc:  white, dry, subtle, herbal. 

Once you know what varietal you like, look for regions famous for producing it.  Generally, the more they produce, the more likely it is that you’ll find something affordable.  You can ask a knowledgeable employee, look on the internet or pick up a book on wine.  The following are some of my “best bet” regions for particular varietals: 

There are lots of bargains in cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and zinfandel (the red kind, not the pink) grown in California.  As the popularity of wine in the U.S. increased in the recent past, more would-be winemakers quit their regular jobs, bought land and started growing grapes.  That explosion of wine growers combined with a string of “good weather” years has created a grape glut that depressed wine prices.  As a result, Charles Shaw is now able to produce some rather tasty cabernet sauvignon for only $2 a bottle, giving it the popular nickname, “Two Buck Chuck”.  Likewise, Coppola sells its claret (a cabernet sauvignon blend), Ranch Zabaco sells its Dancing Bull zinfandel, Cline sells its Sonoma County zinfandel, Ravenswood sells its Vintner’s Blend zinfandel and Kendall-Jackson sells its chardonnay for between $8 and $15 each.  I recently was astonished to find half bottles of Gloria Ferrer chardonnay—a rather yummy wine--on grocery shelves in Prineville for the bargain basement price of $2.99.

Another great source for cabernet sauvignon is Australia, which is generally better known for its shiraz.  Australian producers also make some of my favorite chardonnays.  Beware, however, that Australian chardonnay differs from typical California chardonnay.  If you like buttery, oaky chardonnay (a California style), you won’t like Aussies like Lindeman’s or Peter Lehman. On the other hand, if you like the tang of a more acidic white wine, either of these is a real deal at $10-$15 per bottle.  I also recommend that you try anything from d’Arenberg, which is one of my all-time favorite wine producers.  I recently found d’Arenberg’s “Stump Jump,” a shiraz blend, at several Central Oregon stores, for the incredible price of about $10. 

If sauvignon blanc is your thing, check out these New Zealand producers – Mud House or Oyster Bay (approximately $10) or Kim Crawford (approximately $15).  There are a number of easy-to-find and inexpensive but tasty California sauvignon blancs, too.  Kendall-Jackson, Sterling and Geyser Peak are some great examples (each between $10 and $15).  Remember that in California some wineries label sauvignon blanc as “fume blanc.”

Sweet wines are an Oregon and Washington specialty. Hogue’s late harvest white riesling is great.  Blue Moon makes a sweet riesling in a distinctive blue bottle.  Montinore’s sweet riesling and sweet gewurztraminer are excellent.  Each of these can typically be purchased for around $10.  One of the best deals in sweet wines I’ve found is Sutter Home’s moscato.  It’s at several local grocery stores for as little as $3.99.

If you can’t find one of the specific wines I’ve mentioned, don’t be afraid to experiment.  Choose a varietal (and perhaps a region), and then experiment.  Ask the person stocking the wine if he or she has ever tasted a particular wine.  Or read the winemaker’s notes on the back of the bottle. They tend to be overdone, but you can look for key words that match up with your preferences. If available, read the descriptions many retailers post on the shelf next to the wines.  (A word of caution: be sure the wine notes are referring to the same year that you are buying; a wine produced from the exact same vineyard by the exact same winery can vary substantially from year to year.) 

Once you taste a wine, keep notes.  If you like a wine, buy it again or ask a shopkeeper to recommend something like it.  If you didn’t like it, avoid it and anything like it in the future.

And always remember the first rule:  Don’t get so caught up in choosing the RIGHT wine that you overlook the most important one—the one you like.