Cheap, Quality Wine for the Holidays?

General Discussion
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I’m sure many of us plan to attend a few get-togethers during the holidays. And a holiday party usually pairs pretty nicely with a bottle of wine, both as a gift and as something enjoyed by guests.

The Penny Hoarder has guides featuring quality bottles of red wine under $12 and white wine under $10. With that in mind, what are your go-to budget-friendly wines that still taste great?

I’ll start: Willm Blanc ($12-$15) is a great-tasting, budget-friendly alternative to champagnes like Moet. Try it for your NYE toast!

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I’m not a super big wine drinker. However, my wife most certainly is. I’ll be following this topic, but I do have a question. What would be a good sweet wine on the cheap? She loves it sweet!

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Cupcake has a great Proseco that you can find at your local grocery store for about $11. I enjoy any of the McBride Sister (Black Girl Magic) wines as well. The red blend is nice and not too sweet. They average between $11-12 as well. If I’m getting a case of variety, my go-to place is either Total Wine and More or Costco. They have a wide variety and will match between a $6-30 price point. I have never been disappointed in the selection or flavor. Their Proseco is also good, and runs about $7 per bottle.

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I’ve been enjoying the Josh Cellars Sauvignon Blanc - very light and crisp. And I can find it for $12 or less at Sam’s Club. @adrienne.washington thanks for the Cupcake Prosecco suggestion — I love a glass of bubbly during the holidays.

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Thanks for the tips! I seriously may need to look at Costco for a membership.

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I’m mostly a beer drinker, but I love Target’s wine cubes! They’re about $18, but you get 3 liters.

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I have found a couple affordable wines at small wine shops lately that I love: Ponga Sauvignon blanc for about $14, Better Half sauv blanc, about $15. Ca’momi Rosso for $8 (seriously). Total Wines carries these as well, and they have a garnacha that’s hard to find for about $12: Garnacha de Fuego. Cheers, all! Great suggestions from everyone.

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My wife and I joined First Leaf last year. It’s a box subscription that gives you really good deals on not-so-fancy wines that are still really good. We pay about $75 for 6 bottles every two months. All of the bottles would be more than that retail. They also highlight a lot of smaller wineries so it’s cool to help some of those businesses. We’ve been pleased with the wines we’ve got so far. You can tell them the types of wines you like and the frequency you want them (every month if you’d like) and they ship to your door. Only thing is you have to be there to sign because it’s alcohol. We’ve had a few times where they sent back to USPS and tried again next day because we weren’t there.

https://www.firstleaf.club/

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In Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Chef, (great book btw – awesome, bite-sized recipes and techniques that make cooking extremely easy to learn), he has a section where he suggests versatile, yet cheap wines. Here are some copy/pasted from the book:

White wines:

“SCHLOSS GOBELSBURG GRÜNER VELTLINER
2011, Austria ($15)
Terrific savory wine, with a flavor combination between pinot grigio, dry Riesling, and a dash of sauvignon blanc. Hints of celery root, green apple, lemon peel, and white pepper. Great as an aperitif or with food.”

“SCARPETTA PINOT GRIGIO
2010, Italy ($20)
Made in Italy by a sommelier and a chef from Colorado who really know what they’re doing. As a general rule, just about any Italian white is safe—most are low-to-average in alcohol and very few (other than mass-market pinot grigio) carry any RS at all.”

“Eradus Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, New Zealand (<$22)"

Red wines:

“DOMAINE DE LA CHAPELLE DES BOIS BEAUJOLAIS
2010, France ($16)
It’s almost impossible to beat the French for cheap, dry, inexpensive, flavorful reds. Beaujolais often gets a bad rap from the large-scale production wines that flood the market, but the smaller producers make incredible wines on the cheap. Ask your wine guy for a “Cru Beaujolais,” the highest ranking. For an extra $5 or so, it’s a huge step up in quality.”

“MELVILLE “ESTATE” PINOT NOIR
2009, California ($34)
One of the best values in pinot noir on the planet. Made in Santa Rita Hills, this wine so overdelivers it’s really not fair to the other producers in the area.”

“Luigi Bosca Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, Argentina (<$20)"

“Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009, California (<$23)"

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