Good, cheap wine to buy for Christmas gifts

[scrapgal123]

I need to buy a few "couple" gifts. Any suggestions on cheap wine that I can buy by the case? I was thinking of the Whole Foods Three Wishes. We also have a Total Wine and they have so many low priced wines but I don't know which one to buy.

 

[scheddj]

Three Buck Chuck from Trader Joes.

 

[scard192]

Three Buck Chuck from Trader Joes.

I second that!

 

[dllocals]

Try Earthstone Chardonnay, $3.99 at Trader Joe's. it is bottled by Rodney Strong. Limited!

 

[crisi]

I said this in the last thread on this topic. You don't want a wine that screams "I'm so cheap I bought you this known to be really cheap wine." Stay away from any "known cheap" labels - like Three Buck Chuck, or Yellow Tail or Barefoot or Cupcake. They are all decent wines to open on a Friday night at home, but gifting them to someone else makes you look cheap. (Well, my personal opinion of Three Buck Chuck (aka Charles Shaw is that its undrinakable and only appropriate as table stripper, but the other ones on that list I'd drink - I am a little bit of a wine snob though). There are lots of good lesser known wines in the price range - ask someone at your wine vendor. Most people buy for the label anyway - one of the best bottles I've gotten isn't a great bottle of wine - but its by Middle Sister - guess who gave me the bottle? So its meaningful. And most people can't tell a "good" bottle from a bad bottle - they simply know what they like - and you won't know that.

 

[baw]

i'm in the wine business. don't buy 2 buck chuck or 3 wishes. most people will know you're gifting them a $3 bottle of wine. those wines are made in factories and highly manipulated with oak chips, additives (like salt) and preservatives. they're the wine equivalent of 'fast food'
you can buy a very decent bottle of estate grown & bottled wine for $8-$10, or sometimes less. go to a wine store or nicer grocery store (wholefoods is good) and ask the wine person to show you a real estate wine (made by people, not machines).tell them exactly what you want to spend. I know of good, REALY wine that sells for $7, retail. the quality of the wine will be so much better, you are supporting small wine producers and you won't be busted giving a cheap, factory made wine.
ps-don't buy from total wine--they'll try to sell you their direct import "house" brands which is basically the same crap as 2 buck chuck, but they charge more and make a pretty penny on their own version of "fast food" wine.

 

[Eastern]

I wouldn't gift someone a $3 bottle of wine

 

[kateheartsdisney]

trader joes has sparkling cranberry wine that would be festive for a holiday gift

 

[NOLA_Tink]

I need to buy a few "couple" gifts. Any suggestions on cheap wine that I can buy by the case? I was thinking of the Whole Foods Three Wishes. We also have a Total Wine and they have so many low priced wines but I don't know which one to buy.

I bought a case of Three Wishes from Whole Foods & plan to use it for gifts. (I always leave a bottle in my mailbox for my mail carrier, etc.) I also like the Electric Reindeer wine (especially their moscato!!) from World Market/Cost Plus. Sometimes I buy a 12 bottle case of that with their 10% case discount & it comes to under $5 a bottle. Merry Christmas!

 

[Gigi22]

Try a Prosecco wine. They are not as familiar to most people as other sparkling white wines, and can usually be purchased inexpensively.

 

[figment52]

I know that wine is a very personal choice because it involves taste and everyone has a different palate.

You also didn't specify a price point so that make it difficult as well. Sam's club carries a surprising selection of table wines; I've bought Paul Newman there. I also recently had a Wente Merlot that I especially liked, very nice finish, and was surprised to find it at about $15/bottle at Kroger no less and I would have expected a much higher price for that flavor and never at a grocery store. But again, someone else may not like it at all; it is a personal taste thing.

 

[mum of two pirates]

Do you know anyone with a cricut machine you could personalize it.
https://www.groupon.com/deals/miramonte-winery-42-spokane-coeur-dalene

https://img.grouponcdn.com/deal/eWHjGGss2VbGo1JJGCci/ks-960x582/v1/c460x279.jpg
Hopefully the link will work. you just use the outside part of a heat and then the letters of the peoples names and put them inside the open part of the heart. then you put the etching cream on wait 3 min and wipe it off. we make glasses all the time and I was thinking of doing it for wine this year. then it would make it a bit nicer. etching is so easy to do. you could give a less expensive bottle and two personalized glasses from the dollar store.

 

[figment52]

Try a Prosecco wine. They are not as familiar to most people as other sparkling white wines, and can usually be purchased inexpensively.

I have seen this at Sam's Club for $10 -$12 I think.

 

[Cindy B]

I like the Coppolla Pinot Grigio (Usually around 11-13 )

 

[ferrytale]

I usually go with Cielo Pinot Grigio or Pinot Noir for gifts, not as cheap as "Chuck", but not expensive.

 

[Chelley00]

Do you have a winery nearby? I'm a huge fan of local wines for gifts and many places have reasonable prices (at least around here)

 

[OKW Lover]

I need to buy a few "couple" gifts. Any suggestions on cheap wine that I can buy by the case? I was thinking of the Whole Foods Three Wishes. We also have a Total Wine and they have so many low priced wines but I don't know which one to buy.

I agree with the PP's who say to avoid wines like 3 buck chuck. It just screams "I didn't want to buy you anything so I found the cheapest wine there is". Go to your Total Wine and ask them for some suggestions in your price range. It would help if you knew what the recipient liked to drink - at least red or white. They should be able to recommend some good bottles under $10.

 

[KBW]

Have you tried wine shopper.com? They usually run case specials every week, where you can get a case for $99, with free shipping. The also have a Tin Roof merlot on sale right now for 6.99 a bottle. I've ordered it before and liked it. The only drawback ordering from here is that you (or someone 21+) needs to be home to sign for the package when to arrives. You schedule the delivery day when you order.

 

[Mousemom234]

Depends on your definition of 'cheap' Mine is $8-15

I just picked up a few bottles of Jam Jar, a sweet red, for just under $10 - this is also available at Jiko.
I also bought some Banfi Rosa Regale, a sparkling rose we first had in WS Italy - the 375ml was $9, the 750 was $12. It was on sale, but the 750 is normally only around $15.

 

[dakcp2001]

I would not gift someone a 3$ bottle of wine, it is really tacky. And if you are ok with it, I would recommend you avoid the ones that yell " you are only worth 3 bucks" like the 3 buck chuck etc. Choose something that is not known for being so cheap.

I would do about $8-10 a bottle for a cheap wine. For a Chardonnay I would do a Chateau St Michelle or JLohr. For a nice red you could do a Blackstone Pinot Noir. For a Pinot Grigio I would do Ecco Domani. I find it is safe to choose wines that restaurants choose as their "house red or house white". Thats how I chose most of these.