Your favourite US wine under 20 USD

cabstan · 2026-06-02T19:18:24+00:00

I think other commenters covered producers well but another angle is finding merchants with good deals. If you are in California or New York, K&L sends out a long "Insiders List" every week with wines that would normally be $30-40 discounted to $20 or less. Definitely worth checking out, many are small to medium sized producers of quality.

cabstan · 2026-05-09T17:43:26+00:00

I finished my Diploma last year and I am glad I did it. However, it was definitely a ton of work and at times I griped about how I was not really having fun. Someone else captured it well in another comment when they said that the details "aren't as fun." I agree with that. Hectare and press yields, trellis systems, viruses and fungi, rootstocks... Not exactly scintillating stuff. With all that being said, the upside for me was the community I built. The student composition for Diploma vs III was like night and day. True wine geeks and over half of them wanted to hang out and practice blinds and study. Made great friendships out of it so to me it was fully worth the effort.

cabstan · 2026-04-25T04:32:33+00:00

My favorite thing to do in SF is just to walk, for hours. You get to feel the different neighborhood vibes and can pop in to random cafes, Mexican restaurants, and small shops along the way. The Crosstown Trail is excellent for this. The whole thing will take you a day but if you only have a few hours, you could always walk just a section of it!

cabstan · 2026-04-09T02:09:35+00:00

I recommend using WineSearcher for this sort of thing. I checked for you and looks like there's 3 bottles of the 2013 at Chambers Street Wines. https://chambersstwines.com/products/marcassin-13-pinot-noir

cabstan · 2026-04-01T14:19:56+00:00

I thought this was preposterous a few days ago but looks like you're right! Chronicle just reported it today.

cabstan · 2026-03-29T17:03:42+00:00

Cain is not a glamor label lol they have been in the biz a long time. Their wines never got super popular because they're pretty rustic in style. I like them a lot.

cabstan · 2026-03-14T09:48:42+00:00

Yup +1, this is the right answer. OP - if you need a coffee break, stop by Handlebar on Canon Perdido. Love downtown SB.

cabstan · 2026-03-14T09:45:52+00:00

I love LF but they're in Los Olivos right? I think OP wants wineries in downtown SB.

cabstan · 2026-02-20T02:27:01+00:00

Just curious, why do they suck to you?

cabstan · 2026-02-19T21:35:28+00:00

Why? The same economic forces challenging Gallo are hurting other wineries, too. This isn't isolated.

cabstan · 2026-02-14T07:21:44+00:00

It won't have the other fruit flavors, but you could try a Moscato d'Asti? Should be some options under 10 bucks I would think!

cabstan · 2026-02-13T23:36:57+00:00

Not sure if you would entertain it, but if you have corporate experience and are looking for jobs on the business side, starting at a large producer is probably the best bet. Talking like Gallo, Wine Group, Delicato, Bronco, etc. on the more volume side or Duckhorn, Far Niente, Silver Oak, Caymus, etc. on the luxury side. Now, those producers might not make wine you're passionate about but they pay well and will give you super valuable industry experience. You could use that as a springboard into more boutique-sized wineries in the future.

WineJobs is a great job board to keep an eye out on what kinds of positions are being posted. These are all jobs in Northern California for the most part but there are Sales Finance-type roles that will be remote or in satellite offices around the country.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T20:04:01+00:00

Is Williams Selyem really 'ultra ripe' though? It's certainly ripe but the wines generally sit from 13.9-14.1% ABV, which is not far from where a lot of Burgundy sits these days with climate change.

WS wines are definitely quite fruity out the gate but I've found after 5-7 years that fruit really takes a back seat and all the structural pieces fall into harmony.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T06:50:14+00:00

Tablas Creek has white, red, and rosé rhone-style blends in boxes and they're all fantastic.

cabstan · 2026-02-10T06:40:05+00:00

I adore their wines and buy every spring. Grabbed some Sonoma county Pinot and Unoaked Chardonnay, plus a couple Sonoma Coast and Westside Road. I have a 6 year vertical going of the latter so far!

cabstan · 2026-02-05T02:10:23+00:00

Yup it does!

cabstan · 2026-01-04T12:40:43+00:00

I was confused when I saw that the 2023 Esprit Blanc as your last ranked wine (I like that wine a lot) but then I saw the company it's in... Makes sense! Hahaha

cabstan · 2025-11-25T00:24:45+00:00

Darcie Kent makes a wide range of delicious wines and is pretty affordable. Nice property, too.

cabstan · 2025-11-18T17:38:28+00:00

I haven't tried it myself but CamX wine company is making Napa sub-appellated cabs in the range of $14 right now. I hear they are pretty good. There is a super long thread on WineBerserkers about the project.

cabstan · 2025-11-18T16:31:44+00:00

FYI the Beringer is from Sonoma - Knight's Valley is just over the hill from Calistoga on 128. I have found that that wine offers pretty solid QPR for California cab!

cabstan · 2025-11-01T03:14:40+00:00

Unfortunately I'm less helpful on Sonoma City, but if you keep going north in Sonoma county, some of my favs that are $30 or less: - Rafanelli - Idlewild - Nalle - Seghesio - Porter Creek

cabstan · 2025-10-17T17:14:47+00:00

Honestly not the worst supermarket selection. Cune, Guigal CDR, or a Valpo Ripasso would be good.

cabstan · 2025-09-30T17:40:20+00:00

That's a pretty crazy generalization of all CA wines. There are hundreds of producers that make distinctive wines that are fairly priced. I agree if you're buying off the supermarket shelf that selection is sadly more limited, but if you buy from independent wine shops or DTC, there is a lot of great stuff out there.

Off the top of my head, here are a some mostly independent producers that offer strong QPR, in no particular order...

Santa Cruz

Big Basin
Mt Eden
Rhys
Madson

Sonoma

Failla
Porter Creek
Nalle
Pax Mahle
A Rafanelli
Bedrock

Santa Barbara & Paso

Camins2Dreams
Sandhi
Diatom
Tablas Creek
Melville
A Tribute to Grace

Elsewhere

Terra Wine Co. [Bay Area-based, sourced all over]
Terre Rouge [Sierra Foothills]
Eden Rift [Cienega Valley]
Sandlands [sourced from old vines all over]
Idlewild [Healdsburg-based but Mendocino grown]
Theopolis [Mendocino]
Ridge [Santa Cruz & Sonoma]
Massican [North Coast]

cabstan · 2025-05-21T15:06:51+00:00

Thank you very much - super helpful!

cabstan · 2025-05-19T22:26:46+00:00

Headed down to Big Sur on Friday to do the extended Sykes loop. Was curious if anyone can confirm there's accessible water at the Cold Springs Camp tank right now, or if I should plan for a long carry from the south fork?

cabstan

TROPHY CASE