I asked my expert on all things wine (and friend!), ‘Madame Syrah’ AKA Sara Pena of Duckhorn Vineyards, for her recommendations on how to buy a better bottle of wine for a better price point. Whether you want to gift a bottle for your child’s teacher or coach, or to enjoy with your partner after a long day, Sara has got a bottle for everyone!
(Guest post by Sara Pena)

“The best bottle of wine is the one you like. No matter the cost, the more expensive bottle is not necessarily the one you like better.

When gifting wine, ideally you know the type of wines the recipient enjoys. If you know nothing about wine but would like to gift a bottle or bring a hostess gift, I recommend using resources. Most wine shops or even grocery stores have wine stewards that can help you choose a decent bottle.

Here are my favorite bottles that make great gifts at great price-points:

For those who like a very juicy, fruity sweeter wine try Meomi Pinot Noir at $18 (#1 selling pinot in the US!).

Decoy is also a crowd pleaser and makes several white and red wines plus a sparkling that was just introduced this year. The Decoy Sauvignon Blanc $16 and the Sparkling $20 are two of my favorites, and that not just because I work for them! You should be able to find it at Safeway or Whole Foods.

If you like Brut Rose, we made an exclusive sparkling for limited Whole Foods’ locations.

You can’t go wrong with champagne in my opinion. We just released our first bubbles under Decoy and it’s really good. If you want more of a splurge, I like Veuve Clicquot $58 (Costco has it for $48).

BIG TIP: We mostly buy our wines from Costco since Costco has such pricing power in the market. They usually have the best prices on alcohol and in CA, plus certain other states, the state law prevents Costco from selling alcohol only to members thus, non-members can buy beer, wine or liquor, but nothing else in the store (other than prescription medications or unless you were gifted a gift card).

The 2018 Napa Valley harvest was big and great quality so there was a lot of good "bulk wine" on the market which resulted in private labels releasing good everyday drinking wines from Napa. We've enjoyed the 2018 Kirkland Napa Valley Red Blend for $10 and the 2018 Hook & Crook Cellar Napa Valley Cabernet normally $20 (but I only get it when it's on sale for $10). We also get Bordeaux's (Cabernet/Merlot) based wines or Rioja (Tempranillo) based wines from Spain in the $11-$20 range at Costco as well.

Two other higher-price point bottles we enjoy are Beringer’s Knights Valley Cab $30 and Chappellet Moutain Cuvée Red $40.”

Have you tried any of these bottles? We’d love to hear your favorite!!

Thank you SO much to Sara for sharing her harvest of knowledge (couldn’t help myself there!).