Wine is one of those things that doesn’t fit into a neat little category or box when it comes to pricing. You can spend as little as a few dollars to as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars on a luxury or collectible vintage. So much comes down to your flavor preferences, and of course your budget. But unlike in some other categories, budget doesn’t have to be a limiting factor; rather, it can help you to narrow down your options and find that “perfect” bottle a little easier.
Because you want to get the most bang for your buck, and the options can seem a bit overwhelming, Underground Cellar offers a number of tips that will help you to choose the best wine for your specific budget.
What Is Your Budget?
Before you even get started shopping for the best wine for your budget, you need to set a budget. What is an amount you feel comfortable with? Don’t worry if it seems “really low”, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find fabulous options. You just want to be sure that what you spend you are comfortable with.
Be Picky About the Location
The next tip is that you want to be ultra-picky when it comes to picking the best region. Some are known for fabulous quality wine, and yet aren’t typically very expensive. Some of the regions you may want to focus on include:
- Spain, Cava
- New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc
- Argentina, Malbec
- Australia, Shiraz and Riesling
- South Africa, Chenin Blanc
At the very least, these are some fabulous ones to sample, and you can see for yourself if they are for you. Within each of those categories will also be a price range, it just won’t be a massive range.
There’s Nothing Wrong with Shopping for Sales
Just as you might shop for sales in any other category, wine too can go on sale and there is nothing wrong with you “shopping the sale rack”, if you will. There always seems to be sales, special promotions, introductory pricing, and so forth that you can take advantage of. Perhaps the sale items are new to you, so this could be a great opportunity to potentially find a new favorite. Even if it’s only a couple of dollars you save, it’s still money saved.
Box Wine Can Offer Great Value
If you tend to go through a couple of bottles of wine per week and don’t really consider yourself a big collector, then boxed wine could be another option. Boxed wine is all about value, as it ends up much cheaper than buying bottles individually. Not only that but there is a real convenience factor with the boxed wine. The spout makes it very easy to pour a glass and keep it fresh.
Becoming a Smart Shopper
No matter your preferences the great news is that there is always a bottle of wine that can fit your specific budget requests and still taste fabulous.