Great summer wines under $20
In the stores where I shop for wine, the shelves have looked a bit less packed than usual with intriguing bottles. I suspect I’m not the only one to notice.
Inflation, delays, supply chain problems — we’ve heard all the reasons goods are more expensive and harder to come by. Wine is subject to all these pressures.
It’s not that wine stores are showing a pronounced scarcity. But as I was shopping for this list, I did note fewer new producers and unexpected finds.
Instead, I bought a lot of bottles that I have gotten to know over the years. They still are great values, and, as it is summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, this list is heavier on whites and rosés than reds.
It has been my experience that the greatest concentration of values for wine can be found in the $15-$25 range. Does this mean that a $20 bottle will always be better than a $10 bottle? Of course not. But it means that at $20, you have a much greater probability of finding a distinctive, intriguing bottle than you would at $10.
Not every $20 bottle is going to be good. The best way of increasing your odds is to shop at serious wine merchants, which have already done the work of cutting away a lot of mediocre stuff. Chances are, they won’t have all the bottles I’m recommending here, but they might have a few. And they certainly should be able to recommend worthwhile alternatives to the wines they do not have.
Here are the bottles, all under $20, beginning with the least expensive.
Moulin de Gassac Pays
d’Hérault Guilhem Rosé 2021, 12.5%, $11.99:
This pale rosé is a great value. Mas de Daumas Gassac, one of the leading producers in the Languedoc region, has been working with local cooperatives to produce lower-cost wines under the Moulin de Gassac label. This blend, 50% cinsault, 30% carignan and 20% grenache, was typical in Languedoc before other grapes like syrah got popular. It’s dry and refreshing, with flavors of licorice and herbs.
Luberri Rioja Orlegi de Luberri 2020, 14.5%, $14.99:
The Monje Amestoy family farms in the Rioja Alavesa, the northernmost of the three Rioja regions. Orlegi de Luberri is a light, easygoing expression of Rioja, made of 95% tempranillo with a little viura, a white grape, tossed in. It’s fresh, fruity and well-balanced, perfect with grilled sausages or other informal dishes.
Château le Payral Bergerac Blanc Sec 2021, 12%, $14.99:
Bergerac in the southwest of France will always play also-ran to Bordeaux, its coastal cousin. The regions use the same grapes and make similar wines, yet Bordeaux is world famous and Bergerac, well, you would have to read a few Martin Walker mysteries to develop an urge for Bergerac. Or you could shortcut the process by trying this fragrant white, a blend of biodynamically grown sauvignon blanc, sémillon and muscadelle. It’s light and lively, earthy and tart, with a flavor of honeysuckle.
Loxarel Classic Penedès Sàniger Brut Nature Reserva 2016, 12.5%, $15:
This delicious sparkling wine is another great deal.
It’s made using the same method as Champagne, with the second fermentation in the bottle, and with the classic grapes of cava, parellada, macabeu and xarello. Did I mention the grapes are farmed biodynamically? It’s floral and herbal, dry and saline, and thoroughly delicious.
The Whole Shebang California Fourteenth Cuvée Red Wine NV, 14.2%, $16:
I have written about several iterations of this wine because it’s so good. Why stop now? It’s a modern version of a California field blend, from Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock Wine Co. Unlike the classic blend in which many grapes are grown all together in a single vineyard, these grapes come from several different vineyards from various parts of California and multiple vintages. This is mostly zinfandel but includes more than a half-dozen other grapes, fermented with native yeast and aged in old oak barrels. It’s fresh with spicy flavors of red fruit.
Romain Chamiot Savoie Apremont 2020, 11.5%, $16.96:
I have grown to love the white wines of the Savoie, a French region in the foothills of the Alps near the border where France meets Switzerland and Italy. This wine is not complicated. It’s fresh, light and floral, made from the jacquère grape, and just right for a lunch outdoors with a salad, gazpacho or light seafood dish.
Domaine Zafeirakis Tyrnavos Limniona Rosé 2021, 13%, $16.96:
Christos Zafeirakis is one of the dynamic growers and producers supplying great energy to modern Greek wine culture. This bottle, a rosé made of the limniona grape, which Zafeirakis practically resurrected from oblivion, is a great example of the Zafeirakis style. It’s fruity, herbal and unexpectedly complex for a rosé.
Ca’ Lojera Lugana 2020, 13%, $17.99:
Lugana, on the southern rim of Lake Garda in the Lombardy region of Italy, is not well known; but it can be the source of some terrific white wines, like this bottle from Ca’ Lojera. It’s made of the turbiana grape, also known as trebbiano di Lugana, which, oddly, is not trebbiano at all. Rather, it’s a synonym for verdicchio, a grape more commonly found in the Marche region. This wine is savory and bonedry, with a rich texture that lingers.
Domaine Douloufakis Crete Dafnios Vidiano 2021, 13.5%, $17.99:
Vidiano is a white grape grown historically in Crete. This bottle comes from the village of Dafnios, outside of Heraklion, where Nikos Douloufakis is a third-generation grower and producer. This fruity, floral wine is dry, with rich lingering flavors of herbs and peaches. It would make a nice combination with grilled sea scallops.
ColleStefano Verdicchio di Matelica 2021, 13%, $18.96:
This wine is so good and so reasonably priced that I regularly tout its virtues. It comes from Matelica, the smaller of two adjoining sources for verdicchio in the Marche, where Fabio Marchionni farms organically. It’s crisp and refreshing, with aromas and flavors of stones, flowers and almonds, a rich texture yet plenty of refreshing acidity.
Hubert Vignerons Vin de France Les Vacances de Monsieur Merlot 2019, 14.5%, $18.96:
The Hubert family makes some of the best values in Bordeaux under the labels Château Peybonhomme-les-Tours and Château la Grolet, all from biodynamically farmed grapes. This bottle, made entirely of merlot, does not require aging. It’s supple, not soft and amorphous, shaped by acidity and beautiful fruit flavors.
Meinklang Osterreich Roter Mulatschak 2020, 11%, $18.99:
Meinklang is one of my favorite producers. Wine is just one of the products from its mixed biodynamic farm just east of the Neusiedlersee, a long shallow lake in the Burgenland in eastern Austria.
This light, savory red is gorgeous. It’s made of sankt laurent and zweigelt, and is spicy and deliciously refreshing.
Empire Estate Finger Lakes Blanc de Blancs Brut NV, 12.5%, $19.99:
Don’t let the Blanc de Blancs fool you, this is 100% riesling. Blanc de blancs simply means a white made from white grapes. Generally, though, it’s used in the context of Champagne, where 99.9% of the time it means all chardonnay. It also connotes a wine made in the Champagne style, in which a second, bubbles-inducing fermentation takes place in the bottle. This wine is made in a less expensive, less labor-intense fashion, with the second fermentation taking place in tanks. No matter: It’s brisk, elegant, savory and refreshing.
Matias Michelini Uco Valley Esperando a los Bárbaros Malbec 2021, 13.5%, $19.99:
You malbec skeptics out there, here is a wine for you. Matias Michelini farms biodynamically in the Gualtallary region of the Uco Valley in Mendoza. These grapes were grown in granite and limestone soils and fermented and aged in concrete eggs. It has got the plummy fruit typical of malbec, but it’s focused and balanced, tempered by fine tannins and an earthy minerality that gives the wine shape and energy.