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- Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, BJ’s, and Lidl all sell inexpensive wines.
- We asked a sommelier to taste-test a selection of budget wines from each of these retailers.
- The wines were all priced below $10, with one bottle costing as little as $3.99.
- Here’s how they compared.
Spending under $4 on a bottle of wine might be unthinkable to some people, but if you’re in the market for a budget wine, there are plenty of good options at major retailers.
With this in mind, we asked a sommelier to taste-test a selection of budget wines from Costco, Target, BJ’s Warehouse Club, Lidl, and Trader Joe’s. We compared a cabernet sauvignon, pinot grigio, and rosé at each of these stores. In some cases, not all bottles were available to test.
Find out how she ranked the wines below:
First, meet our sommelier, Sara Lehman, a wine expert and teacher who also specializes in pairing food with wine.
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We first asked Lehman to test the red wines, of which there were five. We kicked off with Costco’s Kirkland cabernet sauvignon, which costs $7.99.
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Lehman was immediately impressed and surprised. "I actually like this," she said, noting cocoa and spice flavors. "It has a lot more complexity than I was expecting it to have."
Wine drinkers should note that this wine is lighter and less fruit-forward than a typical Californian cabernet, however.
She recommended serving the wine with stuffed mushrooms or a carne asada with roasted potatoes.
"This is a great wine to take to a BBQ," she said.
Next up was Trader Joe’s famous Charles Shaw cabernet sauvignon, made with organic grapes and costing $3.99.
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The organic Charles Shaw wines launched last summer. This was the cheapest of all the reds we tasted.
"The nose is really light," she said, and it has "a lot of floral influence to it."
She recommended this for wine drinkers who prefer a lighter drop, such as a pinot noir, as it is not as powerful as a typical cabernet. It’s easy to drink and smooth, she said.
While she’d be happy to drink this without food since it’s so light, she said that the wine would benefit by being paired with something "tangy" or barbecued to bring out the flavor.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Anheuser-Busch and Keurig are teaming up to make a $399 ‘Keurig of cocktails.’ Here’s how it works.
- We taste-tested 7 of Costco’s Kirkland wines and found this one offered the biggest bang for your buck
- The secretive German family behind Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme, and Pret a Manger is donating more than $11 million after the discovery of its Nazi past. Here are all the chains the family’s company owns.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Mary Hanbury)