Tips For Finding Inexpensive Wine

We’ve all been there, standing in the wine aisle – facing hundreds of bottles – looking for something to jump out at us, waiting for that eureka moment where we’ll say “Aha! That’s the wine I want!”.  Dumbfounded, our eyes jump around at price tags, labels, and little signs that indicate which awards the wine has won, looking for any indication of what awaits us inside the bottle.  If you’re like me, you’re a little hesistant to buy the cheapest wine and smart enough not to buy the most expensive bottle, so you look for something in between. However, in the wine world price is rarely an indicator of quality.  With so many factors like varietal, region and vintage playing a role in the price tag, it’s difficult and nearly impossible to judge a wine based on how much you’ll be shelling out at the register.

So then how do you find a bottle that lives at the crossroads of affordable and quality?  That sweet spot where you get a little bit of pleasure knowing that you got at least your money’s worth, and that you bought something inexpensive, not cheap.

Avoid the Trends
- Find out what’s hot in the wine world, whether it be a region or a varietal, and avoid it.

Ask For Help
- Instead of going to a supermarket to pick up a bottle, check out a local wine or liquor store where the employees will probably be more knowledgeable and ask for their advice.

Think Inside of the Box
- Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and don’t judge a wine by its packaging.  It may seem blasphemous (and a little embarassing) for even a semi-serious wine drinker to pick up a box, but there are a lot of great value wines out there living in a cube.

Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone
- Try something you haven’t tried before, it’s great advice for life and for wine drinking in general.  Next time you’re out, try a varietal/region/wine you’ve never had and you may find an affordable wine that you’ll love.

Do Your Research
- And finally, explore the web, because there’s plenty of readily available advice out there that will help navigate through that sea of bottles the next time you’re standing in the wine aisle.  Here are a few resources that I found:

- 7 Surprising Tips for Buying Affordable Wine

- [Video] A Few Tips on Finding Inexpensive Wine from the WSJ

- Tips for Finding the Best Inexpensive Wines from MSNBC

- Good Wines for Tough Times from the Chicago Tribune

Do you have a great wine deal that you’ve found?  Or do you have any additional advice on finding inexpensive wine?  Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear what you think.