Originally Posted by
number_6
There is a world-wide glut of wine so quality has really improved for the no-name label wines. Try Trader Joe, the majority of their wines are well chosen and excellent value at any price point. Otherwise it gets tricky. Lately I buy wine mostly at auction, and can get $50 Cabs for $10/bottle that way but supply is unpredictable and frequently varying.
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This is definitely the case in the wine market presently. In fact much of the quite excellent $10-15/bottle stuff being sold under the Trader Joes, Cameron Hughes, or Kirkland labels, was originally intended to be sold by the wineries that produced them for prices in the $30-60/bottle range, but financial distress and the need for cash flows has forced the producing wineries to sell them to the folks running those labels at pennies on the dollar in bulk. Nowadays, it's very easy to find a high quality Napa Cabernet or Meritage - often from a prime appellation like Rutherford, Oakville, Yountville or Stags Leap, under those labels listed above for $12-14 or so. Five years ago, that was simply not possible, as the wines from those venues were invariably selling for north of $30 a bottle - often WELL north.