ScrewZoo

I love wine, but like many people, can’t afford to drink a $20 + or $50 or $100 + bottle on a regular basis. I like to drink wine every night! Studies show that a moderate drinker (4 drinks or less) actually enjoys an 18% LESS chance of dying of any given cause if they have strong social support for their moderate habit. Please note, anything more than 4 is considered heavy drinking and those folks sport an 18% GREATER chance of dying of any given cause, so, be moderate!

Up to 4 five ounce glasses of wine per evening is good for your health, but in this economy, is tough on the pocket book. To this end, I’ve decided to search out the best wines under $6. Some will only be available on sale at this price or special deals in bulk. For example, Safeway almost always has a 10% off deal on 6 bottles of wine or spirits, mix and match and occasionally, Cost Plus will have a special price on 12 or more bottles.

I really wanted to make the list Best Wines under $5, but it’s really tough! Whenever possible, I will include wines under $5 on this list.

The Wines:

Columbia Crest Two Vines

Recently, my wife heard a nice piece on NPR regarding inexpensive wines and the Columbia Crest Two Vines line was mentioned as a definite winner in the best wines under $10 category. I like the Cabernet Savignon very much and was able to procure that and the whole line for $4.40 a bottle at Safeway on a 6 pack price. Great wine for under $4.50!! I’ve tried the Merlot as well and it’s pretty good.

The Watusi Zinfandel

I recently shopped Cost Plus for under $5 and didn’t really find more than 1 or 2 that didn’t require a special membership. The membership is worth it and doesn’t cost anything by the way. Anyhow, nothing I was willing to gamble on, based on intuition but they had plenty of good wines under $6. I settled on The Watusi Zinfandel by The Watusi Vinyards in Sonoma county California. Wow, I was surprised. This vinyard has no presence at all and yet, here they are in Cost Plus for about $5.70 or so. I think I’ll pick up a few bottles before they run out and this one disappears. With the lack of presence, I doubt I’ll see them again anywhere. Too bad, what a GREAT Zin!!! It’s different than, but rivals Ravenswood Zin. So there!

I’ll keep adding to the list here as I go along trying both the good and bad in the under $6 range.