Wines under $15 (and $5)

I'm pretty lucky. It's not bragging, and it's not snobbery, but working in the wine business means I get some pretty great wine. Most nights we get to take home some "leftovers" to enjoy. There are some other perks too, including discounts at most wineries in the area which means I'm able to acquire some other great wines at reasonable prices. In fact, I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of wine at a grocery store or retailer. With one exception. I occasionally buy a Cava (Spanish Sparkling wine) from Trader Joe's. It good and under $6. Again, I'm not trying to be a snob, but felt I needed to preface the posting below with this information.


Carneros Highway (Highway 12 Winery) sells this Chardonnay for about $14 a bottle... This wine was quite good. The grapes in the wine came from the Los Carneros region and it spent 10 months on oak. My only criticisms would be that maybe there was a little too much oak for me, but it came through in some nice nutty and creme brulee notes and it was just a little on the buttery side. This characteristic is not uncommon in wines that cost two and three times more than this, so I wouldn't consider it a flaw at all. In general, it's still what the American public seems to enjoy the most.

We also opened this bottle....

This wine is a blend of 60% Shiraz (in California we call this grape Syrah) and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. Surprisingly, this wine had a real cork. Australia is known for embracing the screw cap revolution and I thought it was interesting that this wine didn't have one. My experience with Australian wines is pretty limited, but mostly they are known for fruit forward, big (giant in some cases), bold wines. This wine followed suit: tons of fruit on the nose and it continued in the mouth. It was rich and full, but had a relatively short finish. My only complaint was that until the wine got enough air, it had a medicinal quality that was underneath the fruit and not that appealing. Overall, I'd try it again. Plus the regular retail price is $10, but a local store had it for under $5. A steal, in my opinion.

The next night, I thought I would try this one....

I was not overwhelmed by this Shiraz from Barefoot. In fact, I was quite underwhelmed. I couldn't even finish half a glass. I think I equated it to rot gut. It was totally void of fruit, oak or even one single character. This wine sells for under $5, but I've had plenty of 2-Buck Chuck over my drinking years that was far and above this one. Sorry, it's true.

The lesson? There are plenty of great wines out there at reasonable prices. But I think in the under $10 range, you have to search with more diligence. I also think in the under $5 range, it's like finding a needle in a haystack - it takes some serious effort to find good to great wine.

Cheers!