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FRANCE
Though the wines of France have been less popular lately, there are great wines from many of its wine regions to be had for little cost. The Rhone region has Guigal’s famous Cotes du Rhone red bottling that is hard to beat at about 13 dollars a bottle. Top Rhone producers like Jaboulet and Chateau Beaucastel both offer some great inexpensive red wines within their portfolios.
Bordeaux, home of the world’s most expensive red wines, is also home to some great buys. There are great vintages in the Bordeaux pipeline right now, especially the highly acclaimed vintage of 2000.
Medoc’s Chateau Greysac, Margaux’s Chateau Haut Breton
Larigaudiere, Saint Estephe’s Chateau Lilian Ladouys, and Chateau Sieurac of Lalande de Pomerol are only a few classic bargains available.
ITALY
There are more vineyards planted in Italy than any other country. That’s a good thing because Italians drink a lot of wine. Affordable quality reds are plentiful here. From Tuscany lies the famous Chianti region where great value wines can be found in good numbers.
Brolio, Antinori, Banfi, Borgio Salcentino, are easy to recommend. Brunello di Montalcino can be costly, however, the less aged rosso bottlings are often good values.
Piedmont is home to expensive full bodied reds such as Barberesco and Barolo. Both wines can be a bit much for some wine budgets so why not try some of the regions fruity and complex
Dolcettos. Einaudi makes some of the best. Michele Chiarlo, and Banfi both produce lovely and affordable wines from the Barbera grape.
Puglia has many flavorful Primitivo wines that are super values. Seek out the producer A
Mano, who sells one for under 10 dollars. This wine offers a lot of bang for the buck.
This article and its recommendations could go on and on, but space unfortunately is limited. Chile, South Africa, Australia, Oregon, and Washington State all offer great red wine values as well and await your investigation.
In closing, it’s comforting to know that none of us need to spend a lot of money to get a quality wine.
"Drink Well,"
Joseph DeLissio
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