It’s hard to go out and look for a specific bottle, but it’s a lot easier to search for wines in a price range by region or by grape. I usually pay about $10— 15 for wines and I’m always pretty happy with the results. Wines from the new world and from up-and-coming regions are less expensive for the level of quality because they are less well-known. I have a lot easier time buying these than wines from, say, France, because France sells wine by the region and the winery. So you have to know every region to know what is in it and which ones are known for quality. There are a number of regions/ grapes I like a lot, and that’s a lot easier to remember than a specific type of wine at first.
Whites:
Vihno Verde from Portugal. You can usually find good ones for under $10. It is a dry wine and to me, literally tastes “green.” The flavor is very fresh and snappy.
Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Nothing else in the world tastes like this. They often taste like citrus fruits, green apples, or even grass. Soooo good, and there are many great examples between $10 and $20.
Chardonnay or Chardonnay/Semillon blends from Australia. California Chardonnay is very well-known, but it’s very hit or miss and the taste of oak or vanilla can be overwhelming and cover up the fruityness of the grapes. (Sometimes they add fake oak or vanilla flavoring.) Real standout California Chardonnays are often very famous and expensive, like Cakebread. Chardonnay from other regions of the world is more often unoaked and has lots of nice rich fruit flavors. Semillon tastes a lot like honeydew melons (to me, anyway.)
Falanghina from Italy or Greece. It’s nice and fruity, like peaches and pears.
Gewurtztraminer from Austria or Germany, and also great ones from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It means “spicy Traminer,” traminer being the type of grape. The wine does taste a teeny bit spicy, and it has a nice flowery aroma.
Chenin Blanc from South Africa. Dry and sometimes a little bubbly, very aromatic and fruity, with notes of honey.
Reds: (I really know a lot more about whites, and my brain is getting tired of writing.)
Cabernet Sauvignon from California is an obvious choice. Wines from the Paso Robles region are delicious and affordable.
Zinfandel from California tastes a lot like dark berries and chocolate. Not white Zinfandel.
Shiraz and Shiraz blends from Australia. Australian winemaking style is to blend different types of grapes to achieve a balanced flavor. They’ll list the blend by the amount of grape. So Cabernet Shiraz is mostly Cabernet, but a Shiraz Merlot is mostly Shiraz. Penfolds is nice and affordable for everyday drinking.
Pinot Noir from Oregon Many of these are expensive because Pinot Noir is difficult to grow, but there are some great affordable ones out there. They often taste earthy or leathery.
Malbec from Argentina or really anything red from Argentina. Malbec has a strong, distinctive flavor that is hard for me to describe… maybe I’d call it deep, acidic, and pungent. It’s great with grilled meats. They’re super affordable.