# Tips for sourcing "value" wine



## Helianthus (Oct 19, 2010)

Any wine drinkers on the board? 

If so, do you have a methodology for finding reasonably priced wines with the same quality and complexity of their higher priced counterparts? 

I like to enjoy a bottle (or three) every now and then, but it really hurts the wallet.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm not quite sure what you mean. Usually, I find wines through trial and error or through referrals.

For comparable wines, I try and buy any first growth wines through the US when I go there, and I buy them when they first come out when the vintage is unknown, and will save them for future years. I picked up some first growths for around $100, which is steal.

For other comparable wines, I have picked a couple of regions that I have found almost always produce good wines, and that you can get for reasonable price. I have yet to find anything I didn't like from the Margaux or Emilion regions.


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm not a wine drinker, but I don't think you can get more reasonably priced than free! 

I find the best way is to get free wine is send out an invitation to all your friends along the lines of:

"Hey guys, we're going to be moving soon, and there's no way we're moving with all this damned wine we'll never drink, so we're going to host a dinner party, and you'll come over and eat our food and drink our wine. And your hands better be empty when you show up at the door, because the point of this exercise is to get _rid _of our cache of wine!"

Then the next day you'll have half a case of beer and three or four bottles of wine more than you started with.


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## Zara Mari (May 19, 2011)

Potato said:


> I find the best way is to get free wine is send out an invitation to all your friends along the lines of:
> 
> "Hey guys, we're going to be moving soon, and there's no way we're moving with all this damned wine we'll never drink, so we're going to host a dinner party, and you'll come over and eat our food and drink our wine. And your hands better be empty when you show up at the door, because the point of this exercise is to get _rid _of our cache of wine!"
> 
> Then the next day you'll have half a case of beer and three or four bottles of wine more than you started with.


Have you tried this? Is it really that effective? I thought the invitation would be "bring your wine and we'll serve the best dish."


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We find the Chilean Frontera brand to be palettable and inexpensive in the 1.5 litre bottle for about $16. Merlot, Cab Sav and a blend of the two.


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## Mockingbird (Apr 29, 2009)

If you get a chance, do visit some wineries including those small unknown estate vineyards. I believe it's one of the best way to pick up your "value" wines. You get to taste different varieties and get to learn a thing or two about the wine world. But most importantly, you only need to buy what you really enjoy. Remember, many excellent wines don't make to the stores due to limited quantities. 

At least you can say you tried them before they became famous. 

MB


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## Financial Cents (Jul 22, 2010)

No real tips to offer. My palate and likes will be very different than yours I'm sure. That said, here are my favourite budget-friendly table wines for everyday drinking:

Red: Cono Sur Merlot, ~ $10/bottle.
White: Cono Sur Voignier ~ $10/bottle.

If you have more expensive tastes, send me a message and let me know. I can give you some options. My wife and I have been fortunate enough to travel to Italy, Spain and Argentina in the last 5 years. We've taken wine tours in all these countries. We love wine and happen to be large (err, moderate) drinkers of the grape-stuff. We're no experts, but we've tried our share


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Sorry, I misunderstood your question. I thought you were trying to find the best way to get expensive wine for less, or at least wines that taste as good as the first growths, without the price.

If you're looking at a good way to learn and try wines. I would say you could do a couple of things. Pick up a beginners wine book (or google it) so you understand the lingo.

Then get 2 or 3 more people that have a similar interests, and start drinking ! Just not all on the same night, it's hard to tell what you like after the 3rd or 4th bottle. 

How I've learned about wine is just by hanging out with someone who was really really into, and also going to some wine tastings, sometimes they offer them for free, and then drinkin


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

We took a wine course a few years ago, which is also a great way to learn -- for one thing we got to try six or seven wines every night and then evaluated them. It was amazing to see how different the group's tastes were; some of the wines we really liked were deemed undrinkable by others, and vice versa. So I agree with all the suggestions above to taste and try for yourself. 

One thing we learned, though, was that for "value" wines, Italy is a good origin to explore. Italy's table wines (vino de tavola) can include some wines that are made from one region (most table wines are a mix of grapes grown from everywhere), and many of the grapes used are the same varieties you'll find in fine French wines. You can find some truly superb Italian table wines in the $10-$15 price range (equivalent in depth and complexity to wines in the $50-$100 and higher range), but it's largely a matter of trial and error to find them -- or you can rely on one of the annual guides where someone has done the tasting for you.

The next level up in Italian wines is the category IGT (indicazioni geografiche tipiche); all of those wines come from particular region but they don't have to meet the same requirements as a controlled appelation. You can also find some great bargains in this category.

Then you move up (in assured quality and price) to the general classification VQPRD, which includes the categories DOC and DOCG, which are equivalent to the French "appellation controlée" and must meet strict requirements to receive that designation.

Another thing we've discovered in our tasting and testing is that Argentina makes some really good wines -- the malbec grape used widely there is the same grape used to make some of the big wines from southern France (e.g. Cahors), and we enjoy in particular a malbec from La Cafayatte vineyard which also makes a good cabernet as well as a few very nice whites (chardonnay and torrontes). These aren't "big" wines, but they're what we usually turn to on Friday nights -- we pretty much only drink wine on weekends as we're too tired during the week to appreciate a good wine.

We've also been pleasantly surprised by the quality (and cheapness) of wines from Bulgaria and other countries in Eastern Europe -- we've stocked up on a few bottles of a Bulgarian wine called Cluster.

Finally, so much depends on the year. A winery that produces a world-class wine one year can produce totally forgettable bottles the next depending on the weather and other conditions. So going back to the same brand isn't always a guarantee that you'll relive the taste you first experienced.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We took a personal winery tour with Benzinger in Napa. They told us that $20 is all it takes to get a bottle of good wine. All higher prices are the result of marketing premiums.

(BTW Cono Sur is also available in 1.5 litre bottles and is a reasonable alternative to Frontera, also from Chilean Central Valley area.)


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## travelgeek (Nov 29, 2009)

Everyone's palates will be different. What's a 93 to one, maybe a 0 to another. I have tasted many $20 wines which were better (to me) than the $60 ones. So it's best not to get caught into judging a wine by price. 

On one of the wine tours I was on in the Barossa (Australia), the guide mentioned that we should be on the alert for shopkeepers that place a $10 bottle of wine next to a $20 bottle, but price the $10 as $30, since they know many people will perceive the higher priced bottle to be better.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

Value is such a strange word. It could mean cheap, as in a $9 bottle of wine. Or it could mean a $140 bottle that tastes as good as a $500 bottle. And your own personal tastes will also impact it. You may love a $12 bottle of wine more than a $100 bottle of wine.

Toronto Life has a nifty little wine search engine based on their ratings:

http://www.torontolife.com/wine-and-food/

They give various wines a score, but you can search by price range as well. For 95+ points, I couldn't find any wines in the $10-$15 range, but I found 6 in that price range for 90+. 

I'm not saying wine drinking is a score thing, just that there are highly-rated options at very affordable prices. 

12 wines under $10: good, affordable wine is no longer an oxymoron

Maybe start with the less expensive options and develop your taste buds. I don't drink a lot of wine, so I doubt I would even be able to appreciate some of the more expensive wines anyways. But my appreciation has gone up a bit over the years as I consume more.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

We did a wine tasting and everyone completed their evaluation. Here are the results:


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

i make it with my father in law. straight from the grape, he is croatian and has been doing it all his life. it is very good.

I went in for two demijohns with him. so 108 litres (144 bottles). hope this lasts until next pressing in the fall!!


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## miltiadiss (May 27, 2011)

Check out Gary Vay-ner-chuck. He has a daily wine web-show. He explores different wines at all kind of prices.

WARNING: Gary's personality may not be for everyone.

http://tv.winelibrary.com/

He's also insanely involved in tech and business in general. Check out this video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4

Gary is freaking awesome!

Edit: He's doing smaller videos now at http://dailygrape.com/

(not affiliated with Gary in any way... not yet!)


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