Looking for the best value wines of 2021. Sommelier Sarah Tracey says the trick is to spend just a little bit more.

“I don’t personally advocate a lot of wines that are under $10. They’re just not worth it. But if you want to pay $12, you’re going to get exponentially better quality,” Tracey told host Nick VinZant during an episode of the Profoundly Pointless podcast.

Tracy says wines in the $12-15 range are the number one sweet spot in the American wine market.

“That’s what everybody is looking to spend, it creates a lot of competition that’s good for consumers. A lot of wineries try to deliver their best wine for $14 bucks, so I think that $12-15 range is awesome,” said Tracey.

Tracey says that as the wines get more expensive, the differences get smaller and smaller

“Once you get over $30-35, the differences in quality get a little bit harder to spot. The difference between a $60 bottle and a $62 bottle might be pretty minor but the difference between a $10 and $12 bottle is huge,” said Tracey.

Best Value Wine Regions

Finding a really the best value wines isn’t just about looking at the price, it’s also about looking at what region the wine comes from.

“Bordeaux in France is famous for it’s wines. They’re really high end, really expensive. Cortes de Bordeaux is just outside of it. It’s basically the same but most of their wines are $20 instead of potentially hundreds of dollars,” said Tracey.

Tracy says New Zealand and Chili are two other regions with incredibly value.

“Chili is killing it with value. You can get an incredible bottle of wine from there. It’s $15 but it drinks like a $40 bottle,” said Tracey.

To hear more of Sommelier Sara Tracey’s interview with the Profoundly Pointless podcast check out the link below. We talk expensive wines worth the price, the secret to developing a good palate and more.