I recently had the 2000 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese which was quite good and at only $13.99 a steal. I generally prefer dryer rieslings, but this had good acidity to balance out the residual sweetness.

Depending on what part of the world you're in, Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Chardonnay might fit in the $12 budget.

When in Singapore it's under S$20 and is probably the best white wine you can get at the price (though generally I much prefer Sav Blanc).

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from NZ. Retail is often over $12, but I wait for a sale (I've seen it for $10 or $11) and pick up a case or two.

I try to mostly stay away from the mass produced wines because even though some of the are very good, I already know what it's like--I enjoy trying new ones. Terroir! For those who think similarly, this discussion could go on for ages, and the options open up exponentially at the $15 and $20 or $30 level, but my current $12 favorite is '08 Small Hill Red. $11.99 - 13.99 depending on where you buy it. It's from Austria and is a terrific food wine.

Foxglove Chardonnay is reliable for the price

USD$10/11 is on par with the retail price of it in a NZ supermarket (adjusted for exchange rates). But yes a nice wine.

I have to agree regarding the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc--one of the best mass produced wines available, and I always end up getting a few each year at Costco.

I'll add Albariño and Orvieto Classico to Torrontes and Vinho Verde, or if you don't mind wines from VA: Viognier!

There is a world-wide glut of wine, making some really excellent wines available sold as either cleanskin (no label but often delivered boxed from the winery thereby identifying the source) or as 2nd label. Quite common to buy for 25% of the MSRP of the label for good wines, so it is possible to get $40 wines for $10-12. Something that wasn't the case 3 years ago (pun intended). My personal choice for everyday drinking white wines are 2 wines: cask Verdhello from De Bortolli ($4/liter) and cleanskin riesling from South Australia for $3/l. Huge step up from two buck chuck :) but I have to buy both in Australia and import it myself. Used to drink lots of Moselle (both riesling and gewurz) but it is more like $30/bottle now (and with the EU origin laws there are too many Italian grapes going into German wine now for my taste).

Duck Pond Pinot Gris

It's $12 through the winery, but I can usually find it at the grocery store for less than that.

Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay - $10 at the grocery store, $9 at Costco

If I'm feeling even cheaper, the Contadino Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's is still pretty good for $5 a bottle.

Opps. I was just mortified :eek: to learn I suggested a red wine in a white wine thread a few days ago. For some some reason I just saw wine . . . and failed to see the white. My apologies to that grand group of you who were so rightfully offended. I beg your pardon and your forgiveness. :cool:

And to make up for it, I offer you my current favorite sub-$12 white, the 2008 Ried Sandgrube Gruner Veltliner. It's a Kabinett Dry white. And it's LOVELY. It's not mass produced (or it wouldn't be my favorite) but is fairly widely available around the US (and Canada?), if you care to track down their US distributor, WJ Duetsch & Sons of Harrison, NY. They can tell you the retailers that carry their wines.

And to summarize, whether drinking red or white, I am a big fan of what is coming out of Austria in terms of wines that are versatile and pair well with food. It's not first growth Bordeaux greatness, but it's exciting what Austrian winemakers are doing now. Exciting to my palate.

I fully agree with this post.

We have just returned from a trip to Austria and this time spent a full day touring the wineries of the Carnuntum area. The production there is red as opposed to those of the Wachau where the production there is the terrific whites which both DullesJason and I have mentioned earlier in this thread.

The reds are fresh and fruity and, to agree with the above, exciting and quite worthy of attention. I like them and am getting to know them a lot better now.

However, since this thread's topic is whites, I will need to mention what are probably the most elegant of this breed outside of Germany, the excellent trockenbeerenauslesen produced on the banks of the Neusiedlersee, all the way to the east, almost to the border with Hungary.

Austria is, IMO, the great sleeper wine producer of Europe and our group is likely to return for another wine trip there in the not too distant future.

I'm on the same boat as well. Austrian whites are only occasionally surpassed by East German Saale-Unstrut and Saxony wines in the lower and medium price categories. No one else even comes close.