Despite the huge variety of wine available in the U.S. market, picking out a bottle worthy of its price when you’re in the mood for red can be tricky. Some of the most popular options, like Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, can command hefty price tags that don’t always match their quality. But sometimes, you’ll have the opposite experience and find a surprisingly low price attached to a niche grape or region.
To help you resist decision paralysis and narrow down your choices, we asked sommeliers for the splurges they deem worthy and the under-the-radar deals within this mammoth category. In addition to specific bottles, the experts highlighted wineries and lesser known grapes that can be found at reasonable prices without compromising taste. Keep reading for a list that spans from California to Greece and plenty of stops in between.
The red wines that offer the best bang for your buck, according to somms: Barbera, Grignolino, Schioppettino, and Refosco Portuguese Baga Prunotto Nebbiolo Langhe Beaujolais Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon Bierzo Producer Raúl Pérez Ribera del Duero Producer AALTO Canary Islands’ Producer Envinate Xinomavro Bodegas La Horra Corimbo Lions de Batailley Pauillac Love You Bunches Sangiovese from Stolpman Vineyards Producer Diego Losada Remelluri’s Winemaker Telmo Rodríguez Carménère E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage Lambrusco Bodegas Artuke Rioja Crianza Bodegas Akutain Rioja Crianza Cacique Maravilla Pipeño Wildmakers Brisas Cinsault Villalobos Costino Cabernet Sauvignon Casalibre Minimo Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains, Marsannay, and Mercurey Ridge Zinfandel López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Garnacha from Sierra de Gredos Burgundy sub-appellations: Monthélie,
