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How to Find the Best Inexpensive Wines on a Budget
As prices continue to rise, finding ways to stretch our budgets has become part of everyday life. Wine is no exception, and for those of us who enjoy discovering new bottles, knowing how to find the best inexpensive wines can make a real difference. Spending less doesn’t have to mean settling for less when you know what to look for.
However, treating yourself to good wine doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. So, as wine lovers, how can we continue to refine our palates while still watching what we spend? In this post I’ll share a few simple steps to help you determine what to look for in an affordable good wine and describe a few different avenues for getting the most for your money. Additionally, I’ll revisit a few affordable wine ideas from my Instagram Frugal Friday Series, along with a recommendation for an underrated California grape variety, Petite Sirah.
“A man will be eloquent if you give him good wine.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Choosing the Best Inexpensive Wines….
Wine can be sophisticated and complex, but thoughtful purchases can meet almost any budget. One word to remember here is “good,” because what makes a good wine is inherently subjective. In this article, I’m looking beyond some of the familiar big-brand names to wines that deliver on taste and quality without breaking the bank. Before getting to a few specific bottles, I want to share some of the ways I find good wines at prices that make them easier to enjoy any day of the week.
You’ll often see point scores prominently displayed on wine shelves and bottles. As a wine professional, I don’t generally make my own purchasing decisions based on scores alone. Instead, I think there are better tools available to help you find wines that fit both your palate and your budget. A little research can also go a long way toward building confidence when you’re standing in front of a shelf filled with unfamiliar bottles.
Now back to choosing a good wine and an important question. Are those $100 bottles of Champagne really better than a $20 Crémant from Alsace, and is that bottle of $150 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon better than a $30 Cabernet from Washington State? Sometimes the answer may be yes, but how much better varies and this does not mean you can’t find deals on good wines that are a little easier on your wallet.
Finding Good, Affordable Wines….
With crazy expensive wine tasting fees and bottle prices currently found in Napa Valley and other wine regions, combined with soaring prices of wines from Burgundy, many people believe wine must be expensive to be good. Seeing high dollar signs put on bottles may also make it feel impossible to think about enjoying a really good wine any day of the week. That may be true unless you are willing to do a little work and seek out great-value wines.
Finding good inexpensive wine comes down to one key thing, exploration. If you are set on only drinking your favorite Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon from a specific winery, you may be missing out on affordable wines offering great value and can come from every corner of the globe. Being flexible and willing to explore opens up opportunities to find diverse wines that fit your palate and your wine budget.
Ask People Whose Palates You Trust
Seek out your friends and family who may be able to offer recommendations of wines to try. Let them know what type of wines you enjoy the most, and be sure to ask for lower priced wine recommendations. Style and taste is of course subjective but friends and family tend to know you the best and in most cases they can come up with a few wines that will surprise you.
Look Beyond the Label
Ignore the Label….I think many of us have allowed our wine purchasing decisions to be swayed by the pretty or eye catching label on the bottle. That doesn’t change the fact that labels market wine and are used by wineries to get your attention. Whether a fancy intricate design or a plain labeled bottle on the bottom shelf, the label on the bottle doesn’t affect how the wine tastes. Choose a wine from what you know about the region, producer, varietal
Taste Before You Buy When You Can
If you have never been or it has just been awhile, going to a winery or tasting room allows you to try samples of local wines. You will also get to experiment wines that you are familiar with and explore new ones.
Explore Wine Regions Known for Value
Seek out not only local wineries but wineries and tasting rooms when you travel. I had always been a fan of the value sparkling wine produced in New Mexico by GRUET, but when I was in Santa Fe on a trip I was able to taste more than the brut and sparkling Rose’ that you find on the supermarket shelves. This tasting room experience allowed me to take notes on other Sparkling wines they offer and make a list to order in the future from the GRUET website.
American-made, this New Mexico winery specializes in Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines. The average price for the GRUET sparkling wines range from $17 to $36, these great-value wines are worthy of opening up even on an ordinary Tuesday night.
Use Annual Best-Buy Lists
Each year, publications such as Wine Enthusiast publish Best Buy lists that can be a useful starting point for discovering bottles that offer particularly good value.
Shop Online and Compare Prices
Buying wine can be challenging enough, especially if you’re navigating unfamiliar regions, producers and grape varieties. Buying online can help you find more options that fit your palette without limiting you to local bottle selections.
When buying wine, you may look at every dollar you spend as an opportunity to try something different and each bottle of wine is a learning opportunity. So why not try to drink as widely as possible? With this in mind, when online I tend to favor Wine.com and I take advantage of their yearly Stewart Membership which gives free shipping with a $75 purchase along with weekly, monthly and seasonal sales.
Many online stores will let you mix and match, which is a great way to save money while also stocking up on a variety of your favorite types of wines. Shopping from the comfort of your own home makes intentional purchases a little easier and the ability to find great value wines made with just as much thoughtfulness and care as wines that are three to four times more expensive.
Use Wine Apps as Another Tool
When you are in need of help to select a wine you can always open up a wine app like Vivino . For many wine enthusiasts including myself, this is one of the most widely used wine apps. Vivino is used by wine lovers around the world to check out comments and reviews on just about any bottle of wine. Vivino has photo recognition that allows you to take a photo of a label then the app will scan it and show you all of the information that it can find about the wine. I really like how Vivino uses simple language that’s easy to understand, meaning wine consumers on every level should understand the information being shared about the bottle.
Don’t Overlook Local Wine Shops and Retailers
When purchasing wine in local stores be sure to Keep an Eye on Sales. While you’re browsing the wine aisle at your state store or grocery store, you may find select wines are often offered at discounted prices. This is a great way to save money, but you should also be a little wary and do some research with an app (like Vivino) before purchasing. Here are a couple of my favorite stores to purchase wines that are in my region of the Pacific Northwest;
Trader Joe’s® is renowned for their selection of inexpensive private label wines, however there are some gems to be found in their collection of good value wines. Although many of the popular labels are always available, a number of wines are changed by season and by region. I often pick up some bottles of one of my favorite “house wines” Pine Ridge’s Chenin Blanc +Viognier for under $20 at our local Trader Joe’s. You can also find wines from Stel+Mar that I shared on a previous blog post, BACK TO GOOD TIMES WITH STEL+MAR WINES for under $10 a bottle.
Costco® is the number one wine retailer in the U.S. and just one look at their low wine prices should tell you why! Costco’s inventory of wines will vary by market so at times you can find some low production wines available in an individual store but not at another.
Costco Advent Calendar
Each year Costco offers an Wine Advent Calendar box, which is exclusively available at Costco. It sells for $99.99, contains 24 half (375ml) bottles and comes from Flying Blue Imports which means that all of the wines come from their portfolio. Don’t expect every wine to be great in the Costco Wine Advent Calendar, but If you look at this purchase as a fun exploration of varieties and regions you wouldn’t typically consume, then this has the potential to be lots of fun.
The wine selection isn’t always the broadest but in addition to their Kirkland Signature Line, they do tend to bring in some very nice wines from all over the world Including California, Washington, France, Italy, Australia, Argentina, Spain and Portugal, many of these fall under $20 price point. I often find some of my favorite wines at Costco such as Hedges Wine Red Mountain Estate Red and Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio which I share more about below.
Buy More Than One Bottle
If you are willing to buy a case, you can save anywhere from 10% to 25% on wines. Many retailers will give you a discount if you buy wine in bulk, which is the cheapest option over the long-term.
Wine Buying Tip: Most wine experts recommend buying at least three bottles of anything you come across that you really enjoy drinking. Don’t just buy one bottle at a time because if that bottle is “corked” you have a replacement bottle on hand. Also if you have a few bottles, you can get to know the wine over the years as it develops.
A ‘corked’ wine will smell and taste like musty cardboard, or a moldy basement. It’s really easy to identify! Some wines may have the faintest hint of TCA, which will rob the wine of its aromas and make it taste flat. This problem only occur in wines closed with a natural cork.
Something to think about….Wine can be a complex, cultural, multisensory stimulus that evokes our senses of its properties and is influenced by everything that touched it during its creation from vineyard to bottling. As wine lovers we focus a lot of attention on sight, smell, taste and feel which help us build stronger wine memories. These wine memories keep accumulating with each bottle opened building a library of wine knowledge that is unique only to you.
In addition to the sensory components, I think that whatever wine you buy should always show a sense of place, no matter which appellation it hails from, which grape variety it is or in what manner it was farmed. This “Liquid Geography” wine knowledge is also a valuable tool in assisting you when you find you like a particular variety, say Pinot Noir, but only from regions like Burgundy or Oregon as oppose to California or New Zealand.
There are many reasons to search for bargain-priced diamonds in the rough beyond being friendly to our bank accounts. Finding an under $20 Rosé that you love and can pick up by the case, ensures you always have a refreshing bottle on hand for the summer season and cool weather food pairings. If you discover a similarly affordable sparkling and you are able to stock up, it will put to bed the belief that bubbles should be saved for special occasions.
Here are some links to articles that I think are really helpful when trying to find good quality wines on a budget:
- 5 Wine Regions that Deliver Amazing Value from Wine Spectator
- 8 Cheap Wines That Absolutely Do Not Suck! from Wine Folly
- 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust from Food and Wine Magazine
- How to Find Budget-Friendly and Splurge-Worthy Wines? (Video) from Natalie McLean
A Few of My Best Inexpensive Wine Recommendations
On my Instagram page, Drink In Nature , I recently started to feature Frugal Friday wines that I felt really fit the bill for wines that are under $25 and a good quality wine you can rely on to be consistently produced year after year. The following are some of those wines that might give you a head start in stocking your wine shelf or fridge with some budget friendly gems. Consider this a list of “buy it now” wines you should instantly pick up when you see them on sale and keep on hand for everyday drinking.
California Petite Sirah
I have often thought that Petite Sirah is a wine that deserves more respect and attention. This exceptionally rare grape, grown mainly in California, has less than 10,000 planted acres worldwide and is a crossing of Syrah and Peloursin. Petite Sirah has always been used for blending but in California there are numerous 100% Petite Sirah wines that range in price from $20 to $75. Within this price range you can widely find several notable bottles that are worth investigating.
Pedroncelli Petite Sirah
Petite Sirah is profoundly deep purple in color, powerful, robust and delightfully aromatic. From start to finish this varietal delivers a juicy blueberry, blackberry and dark cherry fruit bomb often with notes of chocolate, coffee and spice tones that delight the nose and grace the palate.
The Pedroncelli family has deep roots in the history of California wine, tending their 90 acres of vineyards in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley since 1927. In 1934 Pedroncelli Winery became California’s 113th Winery and since then this small family winery has prided itself on keeping its wines affordable for all to enjoy.
The 2018 Pedroncelli Petite Sirah from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County is framed by a smooth patina of oak of the nose and palate. These smooth oak notes mingle and blend with the wine’s generous and deep blackberry, black currant, plum and dark cherry aromatics and flavor. Hints of white pepper, smoked chocolate and savory dried herbal notes give length to an already delightful medley. This full bodied Petite Sirah with its complex flavors and well structured firm tannins is a nice introduction to the wines being produced in California from this distinctive varietal.
On the Pedroncelli website this wine is available for about $36
Corvezzo
If you are looking for easy drinking, great value Prosecco then you can’t go wrong with the Prosecco DOC Treviso Extra Dry or the Prosecco DOC Rosé Extra Dry Millesimato From Corvezzo. These all Organic and Vegan sparkling wines along with the Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC are such a great value with an SRP of $15.00 and are available nationwide.
Many of you may be familiar with Corvezzo’s Prosecco, now it’s time to try Corvezzo’s Rosé Prosecco which has its own level of elegance and charm. Made with the legal maximum level of 15% Pinot Nero which is added to the Glera base, the Rosé Prosecco has an expressive intense flavor of fresh wild strawberries and mixed red berries with inviting speckles of floral notes. Instantly fresh and delicate on the palate, the creamy froth delivers flavors of vibrant red-fruit and citrus that linger in the long finish.
Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc +Viognier
One of my favorite ‘Go To’ wines that many people may recognize is the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier. Since this wine is available for under $20 a bottle, I bring it to friend’s houses when we are having a casual get together or I’ll put out a bottle or two when Friends and Family gather at my home. It really is a wine that everyone enjoys.
Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc and Viognier blend that is aged in steel, a crisp and fresh white that is amazing with hearty savory dishes. This wine has a subtle sweetness that provides a welcomed balance to the Umami and earthy notes of the Mushroom Pâté.
For me this blend is all about the taste, a compilation of melons, apples and citrus with a zesty finish that sings with a slight floral acidity and lots of character.
This wine is available in most grocery stores.
Hedges Wine Red Mountain Estate Red
Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain Estate Red
No matter the weather, I can’t think of a better Washington value wine than Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain Estate Red, a wine that has become a staple in our wine cellar.
Located on Red Mountain in Washington State, Hedges Family Estate produces wines that reflect both the character of the region and the family’s commitment to organic and biodynamic farming. Their Estate Red is a wine I return to because, while each vintage brings its own personality, it consistently offers the depth, structure, and sense of place that I look for in a Red Mountain wine.
This is also a good example of why I don’t think finding the best inexpensive wines should simply be about finding the cheapest bottle on the shelf. For me, value means finding a wine that delivers something beyond its price point, and Hedges Estate Red has repeatedly done that. When I find it at a particularly good price, it’s a bottle I’m happy to bring home.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
This is one that I often suggest when someone asks me for a reliable, inexpensive white wine recommendation. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is widely available, consistently produced, and I can still find it at my local Costco for under $23 a bottle.
Many of you are probably familiar with the distinctive label and the crisp Italian Pinot Grigio inside the bottle. First produced in 1961, Santa Margherita helped establish the modern style of Pinot Grigio that became so popular around the world.
For me, its appeal is its consistency. It’s dry, fresh and food-friendly, with bright apple and citrus notes and enough acidity to make it an easy bottle to pair with a meal. It’s one of those wines I like to keep two or three bottles of on hand because I know exactly what I’m going to get when I open one.
At under $23 when I find it at Costco, I still consider Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio a good value. There are certainly less expensive Pinot Grigios available, but value isn’t always about finding the cheapest bottle. It’s about finding a wine that consistently delivers for what you’re spending.
Elk Cove Vineyards Estate Pinot Gris
I love great-value wines that not only become members of my “go to” wine list, but that are also a little more friendly on the pocket book when it comes to bringing wine to share at parties and get-togethers. When it comes to consistency, excellent value (typically under $25 for their whites and Rosé), Elk Cove wines are on top of my list.
Each year you may pick up on subtle flavor variations, maybe last year’s vintage had a little more grapefruit notes and this year’s has more pear and apple notes up front. Yet, what doesn’t change is the balanced acidity and great body of this wine and how it always brings a smile to my face when I pour myself a glass or the smiles I see on the faces of family or friends when I pour them a glass for the first time. I often think that is an important sign of a well-crafted wine, ‘The Smile Factor’
My favorite food pairings with Elk Cove Pinot Gris:
Although I enjoy sipping this wine alone, it pairs so well with a number of different dishes including Thai Take-Out, which I may have done a few times! A favorite combination however is when I pair it with my homemade crab or salmon cakes, carrot puree and potato latkes with a side of mango chutney that has a sweet spicy kick to it. I hope you have the opportunity to try this ‘Frugal Friday’ wine recommendation, if you do, it might just become one of your “go to” wines as well.
These aren’t wines I’m suggesting you stash away in the cellar for the next 10 or 20 years. They’re bottles to keep close to the kitchen, open with dinner, bring to a friend’s house, or pour simply because Tuesday seems like a perfectly good reason.
Sometimes you simply want your favorite bottle, no matter the price. But I hope these tips make it a little easier to stretch your wine budget and, perhaps more importantly, encourage you to explore. Some of the best inexpensive wines I’ve discovered weren’t wines I went looking for at all. They were bottles, regions and grape varieties I decided to give a chance.
I’d love to hear about some of your favorite wines under $25. Leave me a comment with your recommendations or your own tips for finding good wine on a budget. Cheers, everyone, and thanks for reading.
About Elaine
Elaine is an international award-winning travel writer, wine writer, photographer, and WSET Level 3 wine professional who believes every destination has a story worth telling. Through Drink In Life, she explores wine, travel, gardens, books, food, and the quiet moments that make a life well lived.
All text and images © 2017-2026 Elaine Luxton, Drink In Life Blog & Drink In Nature Photography. International French 75 Day™ and French 75 Day™ are trademarks of Elaine Luxton. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Drink In Life. I’m Elaine Luxton, an international award-winning travel writer, photographer, wine expert, and founder of International French 75 Day. Through stories of wine, food, culture, history, and travel, I explore the people and places that give every destination its unique character. I’m glad you’re here.
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