Big liquor stores are overwhelming , both on-line and IRL . With 100 of bottle to choose from , it ’s temping to just stick with what you know ( what up , Californian pinot ) or to pick the cheapest one with the coolest label . But that ’s the opposition of what you should be doing fit in to Amanda Smeltz , head sommelier at Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud in NYC . When it comes to budget nursing bottle , you ’ll get the good quality by sticking to small producers and lesser - have sex wine regions , and cut the fancy label .
" If it ’s got a really cool , jazzy - looking label you should plausibly obviate it , " articulate Smeltz . Too much accent on selling often points to a vapid product ; effective to reckon for grape and wine regions that sound unfamiliar . " direct for the stuff that see puzzling and scarey , " she says . " Those wines tend to be less expensive but that does n’t mean dispirited character , it just intend that nobody make out about wine from that place . " To get you started , here are nine great cherry-red wines you’re able to buy on Amazon for under $ 15 ( plus one just over ) , pick out by a real - deal sommelier .
Sagelands merlot, Columbia Valley, Washington ($9.99)
" The monetary value is a combining of a lesser - known region and a grapeshot that has a lackluster repute . A lot of vernal people in the US think merlot is going to be just a icky flushed wine , but it ’s one of the two most of import grapes in Bordeaux . It can give pretty fruit notes like dark berry and plum , so it ’s a really peachy dip - wintertime boozing . And not a draw of Americans know that the Columbia Valley in Washington is a groovy region for flushed grape . It ’s cool climate , like Bordeaux , so it has the mental ability to produce a more balanced red wine . "
Cantore di Castelforte negroamaro, Salento, Italy ($11.99)
" Southern Italy has been economically depressed for a long time , and its wine culture has been sort of forgotten in light of the country ’s more celebrated regions in the centre and the north . That force the prices direction , way down . So you may wassail some really cool stuff from the Confederate States of America of Italy for not a great deal of money at all . Negroamaro is a unique grape , it gives really right , racy , piquant notes . If you ’re a bitter digestif or amaro imbiber you ’re potential to enjoy this wine . "
Di Majo Norante sangiovese, Molise, Italy ($11.99)
" Molise [ mo - lee - say ] is kind of like Salento which we mentioned before : It ’s a totally unknown Italian wine-colored part . Even mass in Italy do n’t imbibe from here . Chianti is made from Sangiovese , so if you know that you like Chianti this might be a cool thing for you to explore because it ’s the same grapeshot , just from a different place . It will have a more or less different role to a veritable Chianti because it ’s from this unique spot , maybe dark , average - incarnate , herbal . It will credibly have some good Elvis and a little bit of tannin , so it ’ll be groovy with red core or burgers . "
Willow Way shiraz/mourvedre, South Africa ($12.99)
" Most grapes have different names in other places . Shiraz is the same as syrah , and mourvedre [ more - ved - dra ] has like 50 dissimilar names . In California they call it mataro , in Spanish it ’s monastrell . This blend caught my center because in the south of France , syrah and mourvedre are blended together forever . But you ’ll get better value with a South African wine because the American grocery is n’t very mindful of them . There ’s just as much wine chronicle in South Africa as in Australia but due to the happenstance of worldwide marketing , people here do n’t know about it . "
Avantis “Charisma” vradiano/merlot, Evia, Greece ($12.99)
" There ’s a gross ton of red wine – and beautiful whites – all over Greece but it ’s the same tale as Southern Italy . Between economic clinical depression and really inadequate global merchandising no one know about their wines , which is a ruth because they have a net ton of indigenous grapevine varieties that are really alone and expressive . This is a slap-up tiro Hellenic wine because only one-half of it is a aboriginal grape . It ’s blended with merlot which will break out the spicy , herbal characteristics of the vradiano and make it more palatable to global juicer . "
Aimee June grenache, Santa Clara, California ($14)
" Grenache is entirely underrated in my opinion , both in the US and in Europe . I really like it because it ’s upbeat and gives a net ton of fruit , it can be really pleasurable if you like a ripe ruby-red wine . This one is from Santa Clara which is a lesser - known wine realm in California . If you ’re trying to drink Sonoma grenache you ’re believably go to pay five multiplication the price and that ’s just because of the relative celebrity of the area . So wassail from the lesser - know regions of California is a good way to get note value . "
Wild Meadows cabernet sauvignon, Washington ($14.99)
" If you like Cabernet Sauvignon and you only want to spend $ 15 , you ’re likely not going to be able to tope it from California because it ’s too expensive . But Washington is super - underrated and their winemaking is great , so this is a good way to drink American cab without breaking the bank . American cabernets are big - bodied and have a mature timber that come from all the sun we get along the West Coast . It mature the grapevine so the tannins drop out and the fruit comes forward . "
Les Coteaux de Fournes “Les Garrigues” Cotes du Rhone, France ($15)
" Cotes du Rhone is a really just first appearance to Rhone Valley in the SE of France . In the US we larn by grapevine type – I wish pinot noir or I care cabernet – but in Europe they guess in term of blank space and the way that impacts the wines . So when you say Cotes du Rhone , Gallic people have a go at it just what that is and how it ’s potential to taste . Cotes du Rhone is usually an earthy but advanced portmanteau word of grenache and syrah . So if you ’re interested in French wine-colored and you want a start point , this is an cheap manner to get a feel for the elan in Southern France . "
Chateau de Sours “La Fleur d’Amelie” Bordeaux, France ($15)
" If you like cabernet , Bordeaux is illustrious for bragging red blends and this is a great debut - stratum reading . In New York City , if you open up a wine listing to the Bordeaux section you ’re likely to spend century of dollar bill . But the price depends on how famous the vinery is . If you ’re just a little guy who happens to be in the Bordeaux region , you ca n’t fetch prices of $ 200 per bottleful because no one knows who you are . But this is from the same region , it will be made with the same grapes , so it ’s a nifty , cheap mode to be infix to Bordeaux . "
La Marouette syrah, France ($15.99)
" Syrah is a grapevine that not that many Americans reach for , but there ’s a vast tradition for it in France and it can be very tasty . It ’s typically big , good , and earthy . When people say they wish a big cabernet I ’ll often channelise them towards a syrah . This one is certified organic fertiliser which means they ’re not using any synthetic chemicals or pesticides in the vineyard . That ’s generally better for your body , better for the vines , and ultimately create well - sample wine . "
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