Tips for finding a good cheap bottle of wine.

Want a nice glass of wine but just don’t want to pay a lot of money for it?   Use the following suggestions:   

Good cheap white wine is easier to find.

Because most white wines are made to be enjoyed right away, and many red wines are meant to be aged, your odds of getting a good white wine at any price point will be better.  It also takes a lot less work to produce a white wine (with the exception of Chardonnay more on that later).  For that reason, your odds of getting a good bottle of cheap white wine you will be much greater then getting a good cheap bottle of red wine.

Buy wines that don’t need oak

New oak barrels are expensive and lose most of their flavor after they are used once or twice so they constantly need to be replaced.  Because of that any wine aged in oak will be more expensive then wine aged in less expensive containers like stainless steel or cement.   Oak aging adds at least $5 to the price  of a bottle of wine.  Most Chardonnays and most reds are aged in oak barrels making it harder to find good cheap bottles of either.  Some more popular reds that are generally made without oak are Barbara, Sangiovese, and Beaujolais.

Buy wines that don’t need a lot of  manipulation

Chardonnay is a miracle of science.  The oaky, buttery Chardonnay that so many people love goes through a process called malolactic fermentation.  That process involves introducing specialized yeast to the wine that turns sour acid into buttery acid.  The process is quite involved. That process takes time, time is money, so if you find a cheap chardonnay chances are they took some shortcuts.  

Buy wines that are easy to grow and taste good all by themselves.  

Cabernet Sauvignon and other varietals can have up to 25% of another wine blended into them and still be called Cabernet Sauvignon.  They don’t have to disclose what is in that 25%. To achieve a low price they need to mix in lower quality grapes. The same is true for blends.  If you find a cheap blend odds are they are mixing in lower quality grapes.  Because time is money, and if the wine is inexpensive, odds are good that the winemaker did not spend a lot of time getting the blend right.   

Buy Wines that are easy to grow

Pinot Noir is thin skinned and is dependent on almost perfect weather to ripen properly. Cabernet Sauvignon needs a long growing season that it does not always get.  If you find inexpensive bottles of these wines chances are there was something wrong with the grapes. 

Syrah/Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc grow like weeds and the chances of having a good harvest is much greater then with other varieties therefore the quality is more consistent across all price points.  

Buy wine from less popular regions

If you like Cabernet or Chardonnay you will pay top dollar for those grown in Napa.  Instead get your Cabernet from Washington State or South America and your Chardonnay from Amador County or Lodi.

Instead of getting your Pinot Noir from Burgundy, Sonoma, or Oregon try some from any  region of France other then Burgundy, from Italy, or from the central coast of California.

Instead of Zins from Sonoma or Napa try some central coast Zins.

Instead of buying Champagne from Champagne try sparkling wine from another region of France or other European sparkling wines like Prosecco from Italy or Cava from Spain.

Best/Worst Bets

Best Chance for getting a good bottle of inexpensive wine:

Sauvignon Blanc

Pinot Grigio

Syrah/Shiraz 

Washington State

California Central Coast/Amador County/Lodi

France other then Burgundy or Bordeaux

European sparkling wines other then Champaign
South America

You should not go cheap with the following:

Cabernet Sauvignon

Red Blends

Pinot Noir

Chardonnay

Agree? Disagree? Questions?  I welcome your thoughts and comments.