Wine Tips: When Scouting for Good Yet Cheap, Look Before You Leap
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When in a search for a good yet cheap wine, think outside of the box – consider cheap wine online deals, new wine regions, look for second labels, and be open to trying new grapes or similar styles. Cheap does not mean bad, it means simple, while expensive usually means a more profound wine. However, for an extraordinary drinking experience you do not need to spend $50-plus; even if you are comfortable with spending only $20 or less, you should be able to find a good wine (may require a bit more sniffing around though).
There are so many wines available for you to choose from, the only problem is how do you know which under-$20 wine makes a good choice and which one doesn’t? Picking the right bottle, can indeed be a bit overwhelming. The key to getting a winning bottle of wine on a budget is knowing what you are willing to spend, preferable choice (in terms of flavour, texture, aroma, style and grape variety) and pairing.
Shopping online can also help you find pretty cheap wine deals. Many online wine shops buy limited editions of good wines in large quantity, which allows them to offer these wines at very low prices. You should know that these sales often have a limited time frame, usually a one-day deal or until supplies last.
Look For Lesser Known Wine Regions
Check out wine regions that are experimenting with new grape varieties or are still trying their own international wine ascendancy. Explore Australia’s adventures wine scene and get to know Shiraz; or explore the Portugal’s Douro reds, or keep South America on your top list of good wine values.
Consider Online Deals and Buy By The Case
Although brick-and-mortar wine shops account for the majority of wine sales, online wine sales are on the rise. Because of deal-a-day and other cheap wine online deals, such as buy-by-the-case, more and more customers are getting accustomed to buying wines online. While it might seem too much to buy wine in bulk, you usually get a discount of anything between 10% and 15% by doing so. Moreover, many online retailers offer the discount on mixed cases as well. This means you don’t have to buy 12 bottles of wine from the same varietal, mix it up, have some fun and save money.
Check out Bin Ends Selections
Bin ends are odd bottles of wines that a retailer is trying to get rid of. A wine can end up being “bin-end” for many reasons such as a scratched bottle, torn or damaged label, a new vintage has arrived, or for some reason, the specific wine is not selling.
Shop Around
You will be amazed to find out that the same wine can cost three times more in a retailer store than online. There are also significant price differences between the states because of different sales tax, but even within the same state and even the same city, you can find considerable price differences.
Don’t Get Too Cheap
Remember, cheap has a the limit. Any bottle under $5 is rarely something you would want to drink, and is more often reserved for cooking. Therefore, stick to the $15-$25 range.