Ok, so you want to buy an awesome bottle of wine but don’t want to break the bank. I get it, me too. That’s why I decided to create this list with the help of Denny Kleber who is a family member and wine enthusiast with over 400 bottles of wine in his personal collection. One thing Denny particularly enjoys is finding a high-quality wine for a good price. (Now you’re starting to see why I asked him to help me create this list!) What’s a good price, you ask? Let’s go with less than $15. I don’t know about you, but for an everyday casual bottle of wine, I’m not trying to spend more than $10. For a nice dinner or having friends over, I’ll go up to $15… if I really like my friends 😉 Just kidding about the friends, not at all kidding about the price.
We are going to go over 5 reds and 5 whites that are less that $15 but pretty amazing.
Next, this is going to be a general list of wines that are fairly consistently good year to year. However, just because it’s on this list doesn’t mean we guarantee it’s amazingness. The quality of wine can vary from year to year, depending on many circumstances. The primary circumstances is the weather throughout the growing season. (Feel smarter already? I know, me too.)
The winemaker’s philosophy is another key determinant of the quality of the wine. The wineries mentioned represent winemakers who are able to produce quality value wines in most years, regardless of the various facts that can impact the wine.
And finally, Denny really wanted to emphasize how important it is to experiment and try different wines. If you drink the same thing over and over again, you will get tired of it. Don’t be afraid to expand your horizons!
A note about wine ratings
They’re not all on the same scale. Weird, I know. I thought they were all on the same scale before talking to Denny. Basically, it really matters who is rating the wine. Just because it has a 95-point rating doesn’t mean it’s awesome. Again, it’s all about who. Denny pays very close attention to Wine Spectator and their ratings because he feels it most closely aligns with his taste. For me, as an inexperienced wine-drinker… that’s good enough for me. However, not all wines are rated. If they’re not rated, just Google it and see what other people online are saying about it. But, treat it like you would buying something off of Amazon. Not all reviews are created equal, so look for reliable reviews.
Recommended places to buy
Denny highly recommends NOT buying wines at grocery stores (sorry guys). Denny said the sale price of a wine at a grocery store is typically the normal price you would get it for at another location. So, if you got it on sale at this other location, it’d be even cheaper.
By other location, we mean places like Costco, Total Wine, Fruggal McDoogal, Friar Tuck, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and so forth.
Wine shops will have have high quality stuff that you know you can’t find stuff elsewhere, but may not have the cheapest prices. But, if you know you want something specific and they have it, you know you’ve got it.
5 Affordable Yet Delicious White Wines
Kim Crawford | Sauvignon Blanc
Region: New Zealand
Price Point: $11.99
Why Denny Recommends: it’s clean, crisp, versatile, with citrus tones
Pairs well with: Fish, chicken, appetizers, cheeses (goat cheese is particularly yummy), and sun-dried tomatoes with mozzarella
Notes: this is a great go-to wine for before dinner
Hannah says hi
Yalumba | Viognier | The Y Series
Region: Australia
Price Pint: $10.00
Why Denny Recommends: Floral, fragrant
Pairs will well: Soft cheese, fruit
Noblio | Sauvignon Blanc | Regional Collection
Region: New Zealand
Price Point: $7.99
Why Denny Recommends: Consistent quality, classic New Zealand citrus profile
Pairs well with: sharp cheeses, fish, shrimp, scallops, chicken francese
Kendall-Jackson | Chardonnay | Vintner’s Reserve
Region: California
Price Point: $11.99
Why Denny Recommends: Medium-oak, fruit-forward and versatile
Pairs well with: Chicken, fish, scallops
Joel Gott | Sauvignon Blanc
Region: California
Price Point: $11.99
Why Denny Recommends: Meyer-Lemon on the palate, multi-dimensional complexity
Pairs well with: Fish, chicken, sun-dried tomato and mozzarella cheese
5 Affordable Yet Delicious Red Wines
Columbia Crest | Cabernet | H3
Region: Washington
Price Point: $12.99
Why Denny Recommends: Consistent quality, every year true Cabernet characteristics
Pairs well with: Burgers, steaks, any red meat
Notes: Perfect Tuesday night wine, any of Columbia Crest are a great value – specifically the Grand Estates label
Michael and David | Petite Sirah | Petite Petit
Region: California
Price Point: $13.99
Why Denny Recommends: Great everyday wine, upfront fruit, crowd pleaser
Pairs well with: Any red meats
Notes: You should be able to get it for $13.99 but if you are not looking in the right places you may spend around $18 for it
Trader Joe’s | Zinfandel | Lot 84
Region: Paso Robles, California
Price Point: $9.99
Why Denny Recommends: Pepper, cherry-vanilla, and raspberry profile
Pairs well with: Grilled meats or salmon
Notes: Tasted blind and blew me away
Kendall-Jackson | Pinot Noir | Vintner’s Reserve
Region: California
Price Point: $14.99
Why Denny Recommends: One of the best Pinot Noir values on the market; tastes of bing cherries, strawberry
Pairs well with: Grilled or rotissary chicken, or just easy drinking
Thorne-Clark | Shiraz | Terra Barossa
Region: Australia
Price Point: $12.99
Why Denny Recommends: White pepper, bold fruit, long finish
Pairs well with: Grilled meats, meatloaf, Mexican food
Recommended Resources
Here are some additional wine-resources!
- Wine.com provides reliable wine reviews
- Cellar Tracker also provides good reviews – they also have an app!
- Wine Spectator – online or print magazine that is a great resource. Use this website (or app, mentioned below) to look up reliable wine ratings.
- Pro-tip: you can get promos for the print magazine for promos if you get the online version, you can also redeem airline miles for it as well
- Wine Spectator X Values – a free awesome app from Wine Spectator. It shows you wines at various price points that are extremely reasonable ($12 and below for example). Download it and do a quick check of a wine before you buy it at the store.
- Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – a good website and resource
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine – another great resource and website,
- Wine Enthusiast – an offshoot of Wine Enthusiast Magazine with a ton of great gifts for wine lovers
What are your favorite wines?