The Bottom Shelf: Guide To Buying Cheap Wine
What’s the best cheap wine?
Let’s be real. Some nights you want to feel fancy AF, but you just don’t have the cash on hand to do so. Maybe it’s the end of the month and you’re saving up for rent. Maybe you’re stuck working a minimum-wage gig in a city where the rent (and everything else) is too damn high. Or maybe you just can’t accept the idea that what “experts” consider a “good” bottle of wine costs at least $20 to $30. Well, have no fear. We’ve done the tipsy legwork to find the best wines out there at a reasonable price. And by “reasonable,” we mean under $10. Because ain’t nobody got time to take their chances on a cheap wine only to discover that its palatability is on par with Two Buck Chuck. We’ve got proof that just because it’s cheap, it doesn’t have to be bad.Reds: Alamos Malbec
Price: $8.97 (Total Wine)
Quality: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Smoothness: 3/5
Cool Factor: 3/5
Black cherry, chocolate and toast. If you’re looking for something that appeals to the dessert for breakfast drinker in you, this is it. Malbecs are also great reds for summer drinking, since they’re not especially heavy but tend to have more body than your typical Merlot.
Basically, if you want to appear more cultured than an average sorority sister but still know nothing about red wines, go with this one.
Reds: Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
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Price: $6.97 (Total Wine)
Quality: 4/5
Taste: 3/5
Smoothness: 5/5
Cool Factor: 2/5
Robert Mondavi is one of those labels every amateur wine drinker recognizes in the aisle of their local supermarket, so don’t expect any points for creativity here. Its Cabernet is everything you’d expect from them: easy drinking, smooth, basic. Be a basic bitch. Go for Mondavi.
Reds: Tarima Monastrell
Price: $7.79 (Total Wine)
Quality: 5/5
Taste: 4/5
Smoothness: 3/5
Cool Factor: 5/5
This Spanish sleeper actually rates a 91 by Wine Advocate, so if you’re looking for a wine with street cred, here it is. It’s also a Mourvèdre varietal, which just dropping in everyday conversation will make you sound like a legit wine enthusiast.
Pairs nicely with oversized glasses and a discussion on Faulkner.
Reds: Garnacha de Fuego Old Vines
Price: $7.99 (Total Wine)
Quality: 4/5
Taste: 3/5
Smoothness: 3/5
Cool Factor: 4/5
Another highly rated red, this Spanish Grenache is just behind the Monastrell in terms of quality, but flavor-wise, it’s more of a hard slap to the mouth than the Grenache’s smooth palatability.
It’s concentrated and punchy, and exactly the type of red you need to take on that reunion you’ve been dreading for the last six months.