Break open the penny jar, because today we’re pampering your thirsty little palate with 6 widely available bottles between $10-20 that will challenge your opinion of inexpensive wine.
If you have been following the recent “Wine Conversations” thread we’re involved with, you may have noticed that numerous WONDERFUL points have been made by the writers involved about how wine quality and pricing is one of the biggest issues plaguing the industry today.
It’s true that mass market wines are often terrible and completely unrepresentative of what wine in its purest form actually tastes, smells and even “looks” like (#megapurple). That’s why we felt obligated to go out and track down a handful of red wine options in a variety of styles that put your “quintessential” blockbuster plonk offerings like Meiomi “Pinot Noir” and Josh “Cabernet Sauvignon” to shame.
Just like any other product, at lower price points there are always going to be sacrifices made on one measure or another. Generally speaking, wine isn’t cheap to make, and the only way the economics make sense is if selling the stuff is profitable 🤯 (WOW!). But the way that the margins are achieved from one producer to another can be vastly different.
Cost of land in New World regions is generally much higher, especially in places like California where real estate is orders of magnitude beyond most of the country. On the flip side, Old World producers in many cases have resided in their rustic little estates for generations upon generations, which means that while producers in California may be busy paying off loans on $100,000 an acre vineyards, the humble producers of yore are sleepily wandering their familial estates producing fruit with a tiny fraction of the overhead.
What does that mean for the consumer? Well if a New World producer with a high overhead wants to sell a bottle for the same price as a producer from the Old World with almost no land costs to deal with, they have to find other ways to cut costs. Just about every method of doing so reduces the quality of the wine and in many cases introduces low cost additives to either take up more space in the bottle or mask the shortcomings of bad fruit.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t a universal truth. There are producers in the Napa Valley and Sonoma regions that have been there for long enough to have acquired land at sickeningly low prices (like a few hundred an acre or less), and they get to enjoy the benefits of not worrying if they’ll have their land repossessed if they don’t cut down the production costs dramatically. A great example is the Sonoma based Alexander Valley Vineyards, which in our opinion is one of the best sources of high quality bargain mass market wine in the US. Now by some measures it still isn’t “cheap” but you can get several of their wines for under $20 and the price to quality ratio is incredibly good.
DID YOU KNOW… A quick and easy tip is that if you know nothing about a producer and you are trying to find a bottle quickly and cheaply with little other information, you are generally better off looking at wines from Old World regions like Chianti, or southern France.
Regulations in many Old World regions also help protect the consumer from trying wines that contain endless additives, a topic we’ve written about in the past.
Hallmarks of “recipe winemaking”
Let’s quickly recap the difference between "recipe winemaking" and “real wine” so we can understand what “we” look for when seeking out good quality in mass market wines under $20. Many mass market wines (LIKE MEIOMI) rely on cheaper grapes, artificial additives (like megapurple), addition of sugar, and excessive oak (staves and chips rather than extracted more slowly from barrels) to mask flaws in the fruit quality, often resulting in a lack of varietal character and an unbalanced, stereotypical “fake wine” flavor profile.
These are the things that mislead countless would-be winos into believing they have tasted representative examples of wine. The reality is it’s not even really the same category of beverage, just a flood of well marketed brands with a disturbingly large share of the shelf space. Some people like it, but it turns a large number of people away from wine as a whole, without them even knowing what they are missing.
So without further ado, here’s a handful of reasonably priced bottles to try next time you’re hankering for wine but don’t want to go over budget…
Profile: Cherry, plum, copper penny, thyme, hint of strawberry Palate: Dry, high acid, high tannin, medium body, medium finish
This is a great entry level Chianti and you can find it basically anywhere in the US. One of the best places to look for a consistent baseline level of quality anywhere in the wine section is going to be Chianti (& Tuscany in general), which can often be found starting at around the $10 mark. Chianti is a great go-to wine with dinner, because it is incredibly food friendly, completely dry and unmanipulated, and features a real “sense of place” even at the lowest price points (meaning it looks like Chianti, it stinks like Chianti, it is Chianti — you know what you’re getting).
This particular Chianti is straightforward and approachable, starring bright red fruit character with a dash of herbs and a hint of copper penny (you’ll get it whence you sniff). Not complex, but you won’t mind. For $10, I’ll take it any day of the week.
Profile: Blackberry jam, cassis, plum, clove, touch of chocolate Palate: Dry, medium+ acid, medium tannin, full body, medium finish
Jammy black fruit, fairly grippy tannins. A hint of baking spice and chocolate offers a touch of dimensionality, but really it’s dominated by ripe black fruit. Slightly bitter finish, but the intense jammy fruitiness of this wine actually gives the impression of sweetness (the wine itself is categorically dry).
For the mass market wine lover who cut their teeth on the more manipulated styles and likes a fruity wine with a bit of residual sugar, this could be a nice way to ease into drier styles.
Profile: Strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, wet stone, hint of cinnamon Palate: Dry, medium acid, medium+ tannin, medium+ body, medium finish
Extremely easy drinking, fruity and fresh with red berries and some mineral character. A little cinnamon adds a bit of intrigue, and it’s got some nice structure to it. I was actually apprehensive going into this one because I’ve had some bad — or we can call it “inconsistent” — experiences with Louis Jadot, but this was really pleasant. The acidity level is “tame” but fully in balance making this very smooth to drink a la carte, but perhaps detracting from its appeal as a mealtime wine. Still, it’s a fine choice for the price and a wine I’d gladly drink again.
Note: Average price on WineSearcher is $15, but we have consistently found this bottle at lower prices in store.
Profile: Black plum, blackberry, strawberry, licorice, cedar, walnut shell, bay leaf, dill, coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate Palate: Dry, full body, high acid, medium+ tannin, long finish
Great value Rioja Reserva for under $20, delivering quintessential Rioja character. The wine showcases prominent American oak influences, with notes of dill, vanilla, and coconut intertwined with black and red fruits and vibrant acidity. The oak flavors are quite pronounced, so you need to be accepting of the “oak monster.” The balance would be even better if the richness of the fruit matched the prominence of oak a bit better, but nevertheless, this wine remains a great bargain representation of Rioja Reserva characteristics. Marques de Riscal consistently produces highly accessible and affordable Rioja wines, so this is one to seek out if you are scouring the wine aisle at your local grocery store for a solid bottle.
Profile: Black cherry, blackberry, plum, strawberry jam, wet stone, dried herbs, cedar, dark chocolate Palate: Dry, medium+ body, medium+ acid, medium tannin, long finish
The 2021 Kunde Estate Merlot captures the essence of Sonoma Valley winemaking at a surprisingly accessible $18 price point in the category of widely distributed California red wines. Vibrant red and black fruits along with well integrated oak spice, herbaceous and “mineral” undertones demonstrate the quality and depth that is possible, even in moderately priced California red wines. Kunde Estate practices “sustainable viticulture,” producing estate-grown wines that showcase varietal character and generally outperform the generic, mass-produced red wines crowding your grocery store shelves. As Jeff Kunde once said: "We're just farmers, not big corporate gurus," a sentiment reflected in the authenticity, quality and varietal character of their wines, which tend to overdeliver for the price.
Note: Average price on WineSearcher is $20, but we have consistently found this bottle at lower prices in store.
Profile: Plum, red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, tobacco, orange peel, black pepper, clove, cinnamon, chocolate Palate: Dry, full body, medium+ acid, medium+ tannin, long finish
This is the first time featuring a Zinfandel (a grape we generally don’t “love”) in this Tannic Panic “journey,” but this one delivers a good balance of red and black fruit, spice along with good tannic structure and a long finish. It’s worth noting that this Zin doesn’t come off as overtly jammy, which is a common characteristic of many California Zinfandels that “we” are not a big fan of at Tannic Panic. Shout out to AVV, a producer that consistently produces widely accessible bargain red wines.
When it comes down to it, it is hard for the modern day shopper to navigate a sea of choices (or even want to) when the shelves are riddled with absolute trash. But the first step on the road to winelightenment is discovering that you won’t have to reverse mortgage your children just to have a little glass with dinner.
Got any insane bargain recs we missed or against all odds possibly haven’t even tried ourselves? DROP EM IN THE COMMENTS.
Disagree with our infallible opinions on this topic? REPORT US TO THE FEDS (Or fight us in the comments).
Thanks for these! I'm going to send your list to my mother-in-law who lives in Tennessee. She drinks a bot of Bogle Cab Sav and I think she could do with some alternatives.
Small suggestion: " we’re pampering your thirsty little palate" " we’re pampering your thirsty/thrifty little palate/mindset" :-)
Thanks for these! I'm going to send your list to my mother-in-law who lives in Tennessee. She drinks a bot of Bogle Cab Sav and I think she could do with some alternatives.