Winebits 210: Cheap wine edition

It's not that easy finding blogs and websites that do cheap wine. There aren't many to begin with, and those that do exist are usually shilling for on-line wine retailers or are abandoned or infrequently updated. Here are three, though, that do cheap wine well in the run-up to the 2012 $10 Hall of Fame:

• GoodCheapWines.com: Not sure where this one comes from or how the wines on it were selected, but it seems reasonably legitimate for a site apparently designed to drive traffic to an on-line  retailer. Most of the wines are $12 or less, and include some regulars here -- Cristalino, Evodia and La Vielle Ferme among them. The commentary isn't bad, either. Consider this description of Pennywise Pinot Noir (which sounds like I wrote it and is spot on): "As long as you’re not uptight about what a Pinot Noir should be, you will enjoy this very fruity, almost poppy wine. A great wine for non wine drinkers."

• Good wine under $20: This review site has won a variety of awards for its content, including two prestigious American Wine Blog awards. The format is tight and concise, it isn't afraid to review grocery store brands, and the wines hit the price points as they should (though I'd argue that it's not that hard to find good wine for $20). One surprise, though: The blog has not been updated since the end of October, which may mean its creator, Deb Harkness, has moved on to other things.

• The Reverse Wine Snob: This Minneapolis-based blog, which focuses on reviews, believes that "Wine doesn't have to be expensive to be good!" Which, other than the exclamation point, is a fine sentiment. The upper level is $20, but there are plenty of $10 and grocery store wines on the blog, including Smoking Loon, Woodbrige and Flip Flop, a Barefoot knockoff. Jon Thorsen, who runs the blog, makes a serious effort to find inexpensive wine (which I know isn't easy).

Comments

[ReverseWineSnob]

Thanks for the kind words Jeff, much appreciated(!)

[bburnsey]

Thanks for the links, always good to see some other sites trying to stay on the budget side of wine.