My Favorite Budget Friendly Wines

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This post has been a long time coming. In fact, I apologize for how long it’s taken me to create it. I wanted to try out as many wines as possible so I could get a comprehensive guide up. If you’ve read a few of my posts, you may have seen me mention that I am a wino. In fact, my dream job is to be a sommelier. I watched a whole documentary on it and would love to do it some day. While I am not seasoned enough to pick out wines from a blind taste test, I do enjoy myself a glass of vino. My favorites are dry reds, sparkling wines, and rosés. Just like I did with coffee (going from coffee with lots of creamer to now just black coffee), I started off with sweet wines but now I only like dry wines. I started off with Riesling and, although I no longer enjoy most sweet wines, I do still like Rieslings.  When trying wines, my goals are something that is smooth, dry and budget friendly. I rarely spend more than $15 on a bottle. I buy my wines at Target, Walmart, Piggy Wiggly, Publix or Trader Joe’s. 

My favorite Rosés:

My love of rosé comes from our trip to Malibu. We stumbled upon Malibu Wines accidentally and their rosé has forever made me a rosé lover. I like something dry and crisp, but not too sour. I do like little hints of fruit. 

• Saddle Rock: This is sold at Mailbu Wines and is excellent. It is the perfect balance of dry, but delicious. 
• Yes Way Rose: I wanted to try this one due to the cute name and packaging and it didn’t disappoint. This is our favorite; it’s literally as smooth as drinking water. It has a hint of fruit and is just delightful.
• Apothic: I tried this on Saturday and love it. We are huge Apotic red blend fans and this one lived up to the Apothic name. It was smooth and not too sour. 
• La Ferme Julien: I buy this one at Trader Joe’s and love it. It’s very budget friendly and tasty. 
• Les Portes De Bordeaux: I tried this one recently and also loved it. I think it’s from Trader Joe’s. 
• Pinot Nior Rosé by Villa Wolf: The guy who works in the wine department at Piggly Wiggly recommended this one and it’s truly excellent. It’s so smooth and has fruity flavors. 
• Le Grand Noir: I bought this one at Walmart and it’s very refreshing.
• Charles and Charles: I am pretty sure I picked this one up at Target due to the cute packaging. It is a bit sour, but I still enjoy it. 

Riesling:

Originally my perspective was that the sweeter the Riesling, the better it was. Now I prefer something that is crisp with just a hint of sweetness. Usually German Rieslings are my favorite.

• Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling: I discovered this at a restaurant and it is probably our favorite one. It’s the perfect balance of sweetness and crisp. 
• Chateau St. Michele: Their Riesling was the very first wine we truly loved. It is the wine responsible for turning us into winos. Though we haven’t had a bottle of it in several years now, it will always hold a place in my heart and I would recommend it as a great starter wine.

Sparkling Wine/Champagne:

We went to Reims, France in March and visited a Champagne house (see post here). If “champagne” is not from the Champagne region, then legally it’s not Champagne, but rather sparkling wine. 

For budget friendly:

• Mumm Napa: Their Rosé sparkling wine is my favorite, but I love them all. We went to the Mumm Napa vineyard in Napa and it was one of our favorites. We didn’t like sparking wine before. I have bought this at Target and Piggly Wiggly. I believe it’s right around $20. 
• La Marca: This makes excellent mimosas and is also delicious alone. 

For Fancy:

• G.H. Mumm: While this isn’t extremely expensive, it’s more than I typically spend.
• Veuve Clicquot: We didn’t get to see this Champagne house in Reims, but I have tried this one and it’s excellent. 
• Cristal: I’ve had Cristal twice: at our rehearsal dinner and Jake’s medical school graduation. It’s very good but obviously is only something for very special occasions.

Red:

My favorites are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Malbec

• Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon (This is more of a splurge for us, but is delicious.) We went to the Paraduxx winery in Napa, which is part of the Duck Horn wine family (which owns Decoy). This is probably our favorite wine.
• Hahn: Both their cabernet and pinot noir are excellent. I actually prefer their Pinot Noir I think
• Scaia Cabernet Sauvignon: I tried this one at a party and it’s excellent. I had to take a picture of the bottle so I could remember to track it down. 
• Apothic Red Blend: This is one of the first red wines we tried and it’s one of our favorites. The price point is excellent and it’s a perfect balance of  fruity, but not overly sweet. 
• Moon X Pinot Nior: I picked this one up at Trader Joe’s and it’s excellent. 
• J Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon: This is always a winner. It’s one of those you know will be great. 

White Wine:

I’m not a huge white wine person at all, but I do need to branch out. This will be my next step in my evolution as a wine connoisseur.

• Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay: This is a great buttery wine. It pairs perfectly with a creamy pasta with white sauce.

About this Dress:

I wore this Chicwish dress on the last night of our beach vacation and it was perfect for an evening at the beach. I decided to play up the coral/red color with multi0color tassel earrings. The ruffles and color are just beautiful. It runs a little large without the matching belt, but once you belt it, it fits perfectly. I’ve also styled it with cobalt blue for my 4th of July Instagram post.

What are your favorite wine brands? I would love to know.

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