Everyone likes a bargain, even wine drinkers!

Right now, there’s a glut in the wine market and worldwide wine production is in over-production. For consumers, this means more great wine at a great value! Naturally, this excess includes a lot of average wine, but there is also a ton of terrific wine out there too. And you’ll find a lot of that wine if you come into our store.

What does a wine bargain look like?

I probably spend more time tasting bargain bottles than anything else. I’m always looking for the latest, greatest, best tasting, most reasonable priced wines out there for my customers. I consider a bargain wine to be a wine that tastes a lot more impressive than the price might indicate. It could be an eight dollar bottle that tastes like one that’s twice the price. It might be an inexpensive bottle from an obscure wine region, or an unfamiliar grape that knocks your socks off.

Keep in mind that price is only half of the equation.  An inexpensive wine might look like a good deal until you taste it. Bargain wine isn’t much of a bargain unless it tastes good.

Emerging wine regions for great wine value

Many wine regions known for sub-standard production have redoubled their efforts to make fine wine. These are places where wine was made more for local consumption (not particularly export worthy), and where quality was not always a major consideration. Fast forward into the twenty first century and these same places are turning out high quality wines at bargain prices. For example, unfamiliar parts of Italy and Spain, not typically known for high quality wines, today are turning out some terrific value wines where poor quality was once the norm. Chile (Cabernet and Carmenere) and Argentina (Malbec) are now both major sources of fine wine. And much of it, very fairly priced. Surprisingly , parts of France are also worth checking out. Particularly the south of France (most notably the Rhone Valley). These are all places where prices remain far behind the quality of the wines being produced. Overproduction in California has also led to the creation of a number of new value labels that are sourced from some very famous high quality vineyards where sales have stalled.

Worldwide Winemaking Standards are Improving

Modern vineyard management and advancements in cellar technology have led to greatly improved products. It is not a stretch to say that there is very little poor wine produced anymore. I’m not suggesting that every wine you taste is going to be outstanding. What I am pointing out is that today there is a better chance that you’re going to pick up a high quality wine at a fair price than at any other time.

So, what are your favorite wine varietals? Stop by the store today and I’ll show you around the store and point out the best bargains in that category.

Cheers, Jay