The trick to buying good cheap wine

Knowing a bit about wine regions is an easy way to get more for your money. Famous wine regions can demand a higher price tag. Internationally, think places like Tuscany, Bordeaux and Burgundy and, you know, Champagne. Closer to home, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Margaret River come to mind (though there’s plenty of value to be found there, too). Regions, and indeed countries, that are less renowned will give you more bang for your buck. Plus, it takes a really long time for everyone’s general knowledge to update, so you don’t have to go especially obscure for this hot tip to change your outlay. Portugal, Spain and Argentina, for example, make some of the best wine in the world, but don’t tend to charge as much as other places.

And sometimes you just need to go a region over. Paul Mas Chardonnay is a particularly balanced French white wine, but from Languedoc-Roussillon rather than Loire Valley, so it’s a steal as opposed to $20-plus – and absolutely excellent. Rieslingfreak No. 34 Riesling is from the famous-adjacent Eden Valley (a subregion in Barossa), which is home to some of the oldest shiraz and riesling vines in the world. It’s dry and light (like a good riesling should be) and constantly gets ripper reviews. If you’re looking for something mega complex from the Eden Valley (with a price tag to match) you can absolutely find that, but No. 34 is what you want for your inexpensive Sunday afternoon sip.