Keep your glass out; these wines won’t wipe your wallet clean.
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Dazzling wine doesn’t have to be damaging to your bank account. Brian Mallie of Kowalski’s Wine Shop and Ray Zemke of Cellars Wines & Spirits suggest some best-value wines:
- 2012 Veraz Garnacha ($10, Cellars, 1815 Radio Drive; 651.738.8110; thecellars.com) Hints of jamminess and great clarity make this Spanish red stand apart.
- Udaca Vinho Tinto ($13, Kowalski’s, 8505 Valley Creek Road; 651.578.8800; kowalskis.com) This red from Portugal is a great sipper, exhibiting an Old World flavor complexity.
- Glen Carlou Grand Classique ($16, Cellars) This meritage-style blend weighs in at just over 50 percent cabernet sauvignon, with merlot, cabernet franc, Malbec and petite verdot rounding out its richness.
- JCB No. 21 Cremant De Bourgongne ($25, Kowalski’s) Comparable to Champagne, which is triple the cost of this beauty, this crisp cremant wins us over with its apple- and lemon-flavored profile.
