Recently, I've been doing a lot of extreme bargain hunting at Grocery Outlet. They tend to buy closeouts from wineries that are either in a liquidity crunch, or are changing label designs, or are undergoing ownership change and need to clear out inventory fast. I've found that Grocery Outlet have a vast range of stuff in the $3-10 range, that was originally intended to sell for the $10-$25 range, and their buyers must be pretty good, because at least 80% of the wines I've tried are worthy of their originally INTENDED pricing, well beyond the pittance that GO is charging for the stuff.

Some of my most notable recent bargain scores from there:

Alicia 2012 Reserva Pinot Noir from Chile for $3. Clearly identifiable as a fruit-driven, clean pinot noir without noticeable flaws, that would have been fair value at $8-10. Blows away any 2 and a half-buck Chuck.

St. Francis 2011 Red Splash for $4. A blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petite Syrah and Zinfandel that would have been a very pleasant $10 wine.

Vista Regua 2013 Carater Duoro for $5. A very good Duoro that I posted about last month, easily worth $15, I went back and bought a case of it.

Cuvee Darius Fitou 2013 for $6. A quite good, fruity Cotes du Rhone style GSM blend, typical of what normally sells for $10-12.

Finca Landaluce Crianza Rioja 2007 for $8. A well-bottle aged estate bottled quality Rioja that wouldn't have missed a beat at $15-18.

Torn 2013 Old Vines Lodi Zinfandel, $5. A perfectly good zin of the sort that sells for $10-12.

Bonny Doon 2013 Mourvedre $9. I know this wine was originally intended to sell for around $25, and Bonny Doon has a great reputation with Rhone Varietals. I don't know why it was being cleared out at GO, as it's exactly what it should be.

Ol' Red NV $4 A field blend that I know was made by Cosentino, heavy on Zinfandel, Carignane and Petite Sirah sourced from Mendocino. Cosentino used to sell this under their name for $12-15. I personally think it's worth around $10.

Cline Syrah, Sonoma County 2013, $5 A good, well concentrated Syrah, not complex, but tasty, from a good producer at a great price.