Good, cheap wine to buy for Christmas gifts

[CallieMar]

Bevmo is having their 5 cent wine sale right now. They have quite a few qualifying 90+ point wines in the $10-$20 range at regular price. And if you need gift bags, they're also selling those at 10 for $20...nicer quality/designs than at the dollar store and I stocked up so I can use the rest of them for next years gifts

 

[HeatherC]

Chateau St. Michele wines are very good and reasonably priced. I am a red wine drinker, but also really like their whites as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

when did two buck chuck become three buck chuck?????

In the state of Virginia it is Three Buck Chuck because there is a $1 import tax added on to the price. My sister in California can buy it for $2, but I pay $3.

 

[aprilchem]

I'm a wine educator (I teach viticulture, enology, and wine appreciation courses at the college level) and I never really gift wine to people, because I've been gifted wine so many times that I honestly couldn't drink and had to throw out. Wine is just a personal thing - unless you know what type the person likes very, very well you stand the chance of getting something unappealing to them.

Maybe a gift card to a local winery or a wine store?

 

[monorailmom]

I am by no means a wine expert, but my husband and I do enjoy it. I can say that for the past few years, I've been able to use the passport from the Food and Wine Festival to go to local liquor stores and buy some of the wines we enjoyed. Today I was able to get the Kaiken from Argentina and one from Australia (whose name is escaping me!) for just $10 each. Except for the Kim Crawford ones, they aren't typically expensive wines, but they are very nice.

It wasn't featured this year, but one of our longtime favorites that we originally found at the Food and Wine was the Montes Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I'm a wine educator (I teach viticulture, enology, and wine appreciation courses at the college level) and I never really gift wine to people, because I've been gifted wine so many times that I honestly couldn't drink and had to throw out. Wine is just a personal thing - unless you know what type the person likes very, very well you stand the chance of getting something unappealing to them.

Maybe a gift card to a local winery or a wine store?

That's probably the best advice.

 

[brertoad]

I agree with previous posters. You probably should not gift someone wine that you would never drink yourself. For instance, if DH or I got a $3-5 bottle of wine, we wouldn't drink it. They usually make you feel like crap, the ingredients are noticeably different than a better bottle. It's like drinking cheap beer, it gives you a hangover, headache, or muscle aches. I don't even cook with it, because it has made DH feel sick before.

There are very nice bottles of wine in the $10 - 15 range. Total Wine has great prices and has such a huge selection. There should be a staff member there to suggest something nice. There are some Spanish Riojas that are excellent and under $15.

If you know someone drinks a certain brand of wine, then buy them what they normally drink. For example, my brother likes Killian's Irish Red beer, so sometimes I'll pick up a 12 pack for him as a part of his Christmas presents, or something better like Sam Adams.

I have bought cheap wine as gifts for the cheap wine drinkers in the family, many years ago now. My SIL doesn't know the difference or doesn't care, and some people's palates probably prefers cheaper and sweeter wine. One Christmas my SIL cracked open that cheap bottle, threw some ice in it, and I could tell she was happy to have ANY alcohol, she drank the bottle. But for anyone who knows about wine, it will stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Eastern]

One Christmas my SIL cracked open that cheap bottle, threw some ice in it, and I could tell she was happy to have ANY alcohol, she drank the bottle.

Merry Christmas

 

[Sandy321]

In the state of Virginia it is Three Buck Chuck because there is a $1 import tax added on to the price. My sister in California can buy it for $2, but I pay $3.

Same for IL -

and you can taste the wines at TJ's, they have some wine that have a pig on it -(I can never remember the name of the wine, I just look for the label that has a pig!) its really good wine, and its around $5! Just ask them, there is at least one person that knows about wines - They also do have a great Prosecco (like posted above, its a sparkling wine/ie Champagne, it tastes better than Cook's Champagne, none of that... fake oaky taste, or yeasty taste, its a crisp clear, small bubble feel, its really good!)