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You don’t need to spend a lot of money to enjoy great wine! You can easily find great wine in the $10-$20/bottle range. However…it helps to know which wines are truly a good deal at $15 and which are nothing but a rip-off. Lots of things go into the price of a bottle of wine. The two most obvious ones are the cost related to growing the grapes (so that’s either the cost of the land and labor to grow the grapes yourself or the cost to buy the grapes) and the cost of making the wine (labor, equipment, etc). But you also have the cost of bottle design, marketing, shipping and more! Whenever anyone asks me for a great budget friendly wine, I tend to steer them towards European wines. Why? Two reasons:
Wine #1: Portuguese Vinho Verde First wine is called Vinho Verde from Portugal. It’s a light, refreshing white wine that often has a bit of a spritz to it. This spritz traditionally was from fermentation happening in the bottle (which produced carbon dioxide) but nowadays it comes from just a slight amount of carbonation added manually. Think a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and your favorite sparkling wine. Some common tasting notes are lemonade, grapefruit, melon, and flowers. It pairs amazingly with picnics, sushi, salads, and fish tacos. When looking for a bottle you just have to look for the words Vinho Verde DOC. This means it comes from the Vinho Verde region in Portugal which is what you want. You can typically find it for about $10/bottle. Trader Joe’s has a great bottle for just $5! Wine #2: French Muscadet Next up is another great white wine, this time from France. It’s called Muscadet and it’s made from a grape called Melon de Bourgogne. This wine is also light and refreshing, but it also has a slight creaminess to it and a flavor that reminds people of the ocean! The creaminess comes from a technique used when making the wine called “Stirring the Lees” and you’ll know the wine has used this technique if it says “sur lie” on the bottle. When wine is made a process called fermentation happens where yeast eats sugar and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. Then the yeast dies and becomes lees. If a winemaker chooses to leave the wine in contact with the lies, and especially if they stir the wine with the lies, it’ll add a unique creamy texture and bread-y flavor to the wine! These wines are perfect paired with Seafood, but honestly they’re also my go-to dinner wine as I think they pair with just about anything. Look for a bottle that says “Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie.” The Sevre et Maine is the best region in Muscadet and Sur Lie means you get a little creaminess! I’d say you should expect to spend about $15 for a good bottle, though our good friend Trader Joe’s has a great bottle for I think $12. Wine #3: French Beaujolais Now it’s onto the red wines. The first one I’m going to recommend is for all my Pinot Noir lovers out there. The best Pinot Noir comes from this region called Burgundy in France. But just below this region is Beaujolais and they make a red wine out of a grape called Gamay that is equally as delicious as Pinot Noir! It’s a fresh, juicy wine with flavors of raspberry, tart cherry, cranberry, mushroom, and smoke. You may even notice unique aromas of violet, forest floor, and even bubblegum. Beaujolais is the ultimate dinner wine and one of my personal favorites to have on the table on Thanksgiving. It’s also great during the summer months because you can pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes and enjoy it with a slight chill. Look for a wine that says Beaujolais AOP or for something a little higher end but still within a reasonable budget look for Beaujoalis Village AOP. You should easily find a bottle under $20 for either of these. One of my favorites is from the producer: Louis Jadot. Wine #4: Spanish Rioja And finally, you know I wouldn’t leave without a recommendation for all my big, bold, Cabernet Sauvignon lovers, right? There are lots of options to choose from but I decided to go with a Spanish Rioja. This is a wine from the region of Rioja in North Central Spain and it’s made primarily from the Tempranillo grape. Rioja is almost always aged in American oak barrels which helps soften the wine (aka not as much dry, grippy feeling on your cheeks when you taste it). You can expect flavors of cherry, strawberry, tomato, cloves, and vanilla. It pairs really well with tomato and meat heavy dishes like pizza, pot roast, and bolognese. When searching for a bottle, if you want something bright with more fruit flavor: look for a Rioja Crianza. If you want something a bit richer with more savory flavors, look for a Rioja Reserva. The cool thing about Rioja is that you can find great bottles of aged Rioja (think like 5-10 years old) if you extend your price point to just $30. If you’ve ever wanted to taste aged wine, Rioja is a good one to go for! If buying an aged wine, you’ll want a Reserva and not a Crianza as the Crianza is meant to be drunk young. This was just a taste of the great budget friendly wines that are out there. Sign up for my mailing list on the bottom of the page to get access to my free 15 Wines under $15 Guide! Connect with me: Cork and Fizz - https://www.corkandfizz.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/corkandfizz/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/corkandfizz/ Email - [email protected]
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