| No matter what you may have heard elsewhere, | | | | and heavily advertised wines. Why? Well, |
| buying good wines cheaply is easy. Simply | | | | large brand wines are produced in significant |
| follow these useful tips and you'll be well | | | | volumes, using mass production techniques, |
| on the way to finding great value wines | | | | and as winemakers look to achieve |
| without compromising quality. | | | | consistency, they compromise quality by using |
| | | | artificial processes such as adding sugars |
| Firstly, always "back the little guy". By | | | | and adding citric acid to their wines. In |
| this, we mean hunting down small, boutique | | | | addition, they heavily promote and market |
| wineries, which don't have large advertising | | | | their wines, meaning that significant mark |
| budgets to convince you to buy their wines, | | | | ups are likely. |
| or cash to buy space on supermarket shelves. | | | | |
| Instead, the only way that they can get their | | | | Similarly, big name bargains are a definite |
| wines noticed is to ensure that the quality | | | | no no. Although, through their buying power, |
| is of a very high standard. Wines of this | | | | supermarkets and large wine retailers can |
| type can be bought from retailers who support | | | | force producers to sell wines at incredibly |
| small producers. | | | | low prices, they can only do this at the |
| | | | expense of the quality of the wine. To make |
| When looking for a decent, cheap wine, a good | | | | ends meet, producers will be forced to plant |
| tip is to seek out less fashionable regions. | | | | on land that isn't good enough to bear the |
| The wine trade is obsessed with fashion and | | | | region's name or worse, they will increase |
| the result of this can be a compromise in | | | | yields and dilute the wines. So while a |
| quality. Wine estates in Bordeaux and | | | | bottle of Chablis for a fiver may sound |
| California for example, are often more known | | | | great, we guarantee that it will leave you |
| for their investments by millionaires, rather | | | | feeling disappointed! |
| than the wine itself. So to enjoy good wines | | | | |
| without the fashion tag, you should search | | | | Finally, make sure that you buy your wine |
| out the retailers who source their wines from | | | | from an online wine retailer. Online wine |
| places that make similar wines. Chilean | | | | retailers will offer you far better value for |
| Cabernet Merlot is a good alternative to | | | | money compared to supermarkets and ordinary |
| Bordeaux, while Grenache/Syrah blends are a | | | | merchants, as they don't incur many of the |
| perfect substitute to Chateauneuf du Pape and | | | | building costs, which are then passed on to |
| Chilean Chardonnay is to Chablis. And don't | | | | you, the customer. Also, as online retailers |
| forget New World fizz if you are looking for | | | | aren't restricted by shelf space, they can |
| a cheaper alternative to Champagne. | | | | offer an unlimited range of wines that |
| | | | ordinary merchants don't necessarily have |
| Another useful hint is to avoid wine brands | | | | space for. |