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Love a little vino? The June issue of ShopSmart shares six tips to scoring deals on wine. I summarize their suggestions below. Plus, I share 6 of the 21 wines worth buying for less than $11.
Surf the web – Comparison shopping is a breeze online. ShopSmart suggests using Wine-Searcher.com to finding the cheapest bottle of the wine you want. Other sites to hit up are:
- Wineaccess.com
- Snooth.com
- Wine.com.
Go after special deals – The catch? You’ll have to fork over your email address. Having deals delivered to your inbox is convenient. Site like Groupon, Invino.com, Wine.Woot.com, Vino.com, and Bottlenotes.com offer deals on more expensive bottles.
Give store-brand bottles a chance – Don’t turn up your nose on these deals. ShopSmart has found good private label wines from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and 7-Eleven (yup, you read that right!). Here’s what to try:
- Old Moon Red Zinfandel for $6 from TJs
- Trackers Crossing 365 Cabernet Sauvignon for $7 from WF
- Cherrywood Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon for $8 from 7-Eleven
Shop by country – Look for South America and Spanish wines. These countries are known for value wines.
Ask for discounts – Many stores offer 10% off when you buy 6 or more bottles — the same goes for cases. Make sure to sign up for loyalty program if a store near you offer one.
Forget the bottle – Not all good wines come in a bottle. More and more wines are being sold in a box. These wines also last longer after opening and they are environmentally friendly!
These are the wines worth sipping:
- Columbia Crest Grand Estates 2008
- Cupcake 2010
- Wine Cube Cabernet Shiraz
- Dancing Bull 2009
- Bogle 2009
- Alice White 2009
Where do you shop for inexpensive wine? Cheers!
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
Great article. Trader Joes has some fantastic wines. They even have wine tastings, so it’s a good way to try out that cheap wine before you buy it.
@Rusty Good suggestion! Wine tastings are ideal as you can find what you like without spending a fortune.
TJ’s has a good selection of both white and red wines that are inexpensive. BevMo has buy a bottle, get the second for 5 cents fairly often. Ralphs has 30% off when you buy 6 (in any combo), and Vons/Pavilions has 10% off for the same deal. (Their regular prices are usually lower than Ralphs.) Total Wine & More is a great warehouse-sized venue for a huge assortment of wines as well as all kinds of other alcoholic beverages, and their staff members are very knowledgeable and always helpful. All of these places offer local convenience, and avoid additional hassles of online shopping, which can be a royal PITA!!!
@EllieD Great list you have there for SFV folks! Thanks for sharing.
I’d suggest readers in other areas ask their local stores what type of discounts they can get as they vary by location.
BevMo stores are only in California, but you may be able to find similar stores in your state.
@Yazmin ~ Actually, Total Wine & More has extended into Orange County, and is getting closer to San Diego, so I’d consider their area as SoCal, rather than just the SF Valley. My son is hoping they’ll go to CO, but that’s not likely to happen, as CO government has a hand in all stores that carry alcohol.
Trader Joe’s is outstanding in terms of very good wines at reasonable prices. My son is in the wine business, and he turns up his nose at Charles Shaw (TJ’s), but I like their Shiraz.
@SueK312 ~ I used to drink 2 buck chuck, but found the wine a bit harsh after a time. I still buy it to use in cooking, as the harshness seems to mellow in the cooking process.
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I’m surprised no one has mentioned Vons. They have a surprisingly good selection and the amount you save with Vons club is out of control something like 30-40% with a 6 bottle purchase. Also Costco is incredible. A few here in San Diego have Sommeliers ready to help.
@Melissa I like Costco too, er, liked when I lived near to one. Good to hear that Vons offers a nice discount, too! Usually you only get 10% off when you buy 12!