Wine doesn’t have to be expensive to to be good. In fact, there are many quality wines for under $10, but there is an art to finding these gems. Though taking a chance on an inexpensive bottle of wine is hardly a risky undertaking, following these simple guidelines will help you with the art of finding great value wines.
1. Research!
The internet is full of awesome resources for wine lovers. One of my favorite sites is Snooth.com. It allows you to search for wines by varietal, price, and region, and it has great suggested pairing guides.
2. Read Wine Blogs
Wine bloggers are passionate about wine and offer an array of information about a variety of wines. Most are the true wine experts and will gladly answer any questions you may ask in the comments section of their blog.
3. Phone a Friend
Ask your real life and social media friends for suggestions. Wine lovers are eager to share what their recommendations.
5. Participate in Twitter Chats
I find that twitter chats to be a great source of information for wine. Three of my favorites are #Foodiechats on Mondays and #WiningHourChat on Wednesdays, and #FoodTravelChat on Wednesdays. Participants are knowledgable, engaging and entertaining.
5. Catalog what you like
The older I get, the less I can depend on my memory so when I come across something I like, I snap a picture of the bottle, save the cork and sometimes write a blog post. Then I’ll have something I can recommend to friends who ask. Vivino is a great app for cataloging your wine experiences.
I can’t end this piece without offering my own value wine suggestion. I was recently sent samples of Dark Horse wines. Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and intense with flavors of mocha, dark fruit and hints of vanilla. Dark Horse’s Chardonnay will please any white wine palate with aromas of ripe red apple and peaches, layered with buttery notes and nuances of caramel and vanilla. At a suggested retail price of $8 you can’t go wrong.
Disclosure: I’m not a sommelier or even a wine snob. I’m just a regular guy who loves wine. I frequently participate in food and wine chats on Twitter where I share what I like and I learn from others what they like. From time to time winemakers and marketers will send me a bottle of wine to review. If I like it, I’ll tweet about it and possibly even write a blog post about it. If I don’t, you’ll never see it mentioned. I am not paid to review wines. The wine is my only compensation.
This is of great value considering I will be in France for WTM later this year, I considering having a wine tasting experience after the travel show. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Great article! Wine should be fun, not intimidating, and learning just a little can help a lot. I don’t know wine well, but my best advice is, when dining out, drink local wines to get the best value. When you’re in France, drink French wines. The cheap wines will be cheaper (and likely better), while the “splurge” wines might still be expensive, but will have a smaller mark up than equally fine wines that have to be imported in.
Excellent point, Vanessa. I like your style!!
Much like your suggestions of online research and asking people online what they think, it’s important to remember that at any good wine shop or liquor shop that people working there know, or they should know, about wine. If you are up front and say, I don’t know much about wine and I only want to spend X dollars, they should point you in the right direction. For the most part people involved with wine know that more expensive doesn’t always mean better. But you’re right about the Twitter chats, they are super informative.
Thank you Eric! Excellent point on asking for something good within your budget.