The Bottom Shelf: Guide To Buying Cheap Wine

What’s the best cheap wine?
Let’s be real. Some nights you want to feel fancy AF, but you just don’t have the cash on hand to do so. Maybe it’s the end of the month and you’re saving up for rent. Maybe you’re stuck working a minimum-wage gig in a  city where the rent (and everything else) is too damn high. Or maybe you just can’t accept the idea that what “experts” consider a “good” bottle of wine costs at least $20 to $30. Well, have no fear. We’ve done the tipsy legwork to find the best wines out there at a reasonable price. And by “reasonable,” we mean under $10. Because ain’t nobody got time to take their chances on a cheap wine only to discover that its palatability is on par with Two Buck Chuck. We’ve got proof that just because it’s cheap, it doesn’t have to be bad.

Reds: Alamos Malbec

cheap wine
IMAGE BY: Total Wine

Price: $8.97 (Total Wine)

Quality: 4/5

Taste: 4/5

Smoothness: 3/5

Cool Factor: 3/5

Black cherry, chocolate and toast. If you’re looking for something that appeals to the dessert for breakfast drinker in you, this is it. Malbecs are also great reds for summer drinking, since they’re not especially heavy but tend to have more body than your typical Merlot. Basically, if you want to appear more cultured than an average sorority sister but still know nothing about red wines, go with this one.

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