You don’t need a high-limit credit card to get good wine these days. Yeah, we saw bottles of vintage 1899 Sauternes in Paris going for five figures, but we’d rather drink wine than invest in it. We rarely spend more than $15 on a bottle. Here are a few recommendations based on our experience.
Origins. Spanish, South African, and South American wines are quite reasonable. However, you can find plenty of bargains from France. The Loire Valley and the Côtes du Rhône produce affordable whites and reds, respectively. California is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to inexpensive wines. Washington and Oregon also have good wines at popular prices. My home state of New York has numerous wineries that produce good whites. Reds, not so much.
White wines. To be honest, I think chardonnay is boring. Sauvignon blanc and pinot gris/grigio are often too astringent for me. I’d rather drink viognier, chenin blanc, gewürztraminer, or riesling. During the summer, vinho verde is light and low-alcohol. Some of the vinho verdes have a little effervescence.
Red wines. I’ll drink almost any red provided that it’s not too tannic. Spanish garnachas and tempranillos are tasty fruit bombs. Inexpensive pinot noirs from France or the West Coast are easily found. We can occasionally get montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Italy within our price range. One of our favorite inexpensive reds is a Washington state blend, Fourteen Hands Hot to Trot Red.
Rosés and sparkling wines. We don’t drink much of either. Some inexpensive wines in these categories are drinkable. Others aren’t much better than wine coolers.
Do not be embarrassed by preferring inexpensive wines. If you like it, it works. You can spend your money on the rest of the meal.
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