Hooray! Another Wine Wednesday post! And today, since I started out having NO idea where to buy wine, we’re going to chat about my favorite places to shop for the stuff.

First things first: let’s get past the preconceived notion that you have to spend $15 to get a decent bottle of wine. I’ll be totally honest- our budget doesn’t allow for me to buy expensive wines, so almost everything I buy is $8/bottle or less. Are there some incredible wines for $35 a bottle? Definitely! But there are also some really great wines for a lot less than that! Maybe one day when I own my own personal château and have a wine cellar to hold 300+ bottle of vintage cab sauv, things will change, but I’m totally satisfied with the wines I’ve been finding lately. There are a couple of particular wines I’ll splurge on a couple of times a year, but for the most part, the wines I’m buying run between $4-8.

My absolute favorite place to shop for wine is Trader Joe’s! They have an AWESOME selection of wines from all over the world, and their staff are incredibly knowledgable and helpful. If you have no idea where to start, they love offering suggestions for which wines to try and what they pair well with, and I never feel dumb for asking questions. Trader Joe’s is also home to the famous “Two Buck Chuck,” Charles Shaw’s line of wines that cost $3.29 a bottle. Yep, you read that right. $3.29. And it’s decent wine, too! We had a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc a couple of days ago and I really enjoyed it. I have no idea how they manage to price it so low, but it’s awesome.

Wine Wednesday

One of the things I love about Trader Joe’s is that they include little descriptions of each wine, sometimes offering pairing advice (I LOVE helpful hints on pairing!).

Wine WednesdayWine Wednesday

If I’m on short-notice and can’t make it out to Trader Joe’s (the closest one is 25 minutes from us), I’ll hit up Wegmans. Wegman’s has overtaken Harris Teeter as my favorite grocery store and their wine selection has a lot to do with it. There is a LOT to choose from! It can be kind of overwhelming if you’re not sure what you’re looking for which is why I slightly prefer Trader Joe’s, but Wegmans’ wine staff is also super helpful. The last time I was there, I chatted with one of their wine people for 15 minutes about decanters and whether or not they actually make a difference (they do!).

Wine Wednesday

Seeing signs like the one below makes me feel better about walking straight past the $40 bottles of Pinot.

Wine Wednesday

See? Wegmans cares about wine education!

Wine Wednesday

I also love going to local, independently-owned wine shops because a) you’re supporting a small business, and 2) because the people who own and work in those shops LOVE WINE. The selection you’ll find in independent shops will be a bit more expensive that what you may find at places like Trader Joe’s and Wegmans, but independent wine shops don’t sell anything but  GREAT wine. Matt and I will occasionally pop over to the Ashburn Wine Shop if we’re looking for something a little more special and they always take good care of us. Plus, most local wine shops that I’ve encountered offer free wine tastings on the weekends, so you can have a chance to try a selection of wines before making any purchasing selections.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments! Happy Winesday!

Wine Wednesday- Where to buy?

December 12, 2012

  1. heather says:

    Trader Joe’s rocks! I love finding new wines there that are under $7 🙂

  2. Melissa says:

    We LOVE TJ’s wine selection. So much that we drive to Old town to buy a few cases every few months. One of our favorites is the Blue fin Pinot Noir – and we also love the La Finca Malbec!

  3. world market is also a great place for wine! when i worked in chevy chase i hit up the one there all.the.time!

  4. Kerith says:

    Umm… Wegmans is my grocery store LOVE. I am OBSESSED with them.

    Also- I like cheap wine too, but if you have $35 dollars to spend and can get to Wegmans I HIGHLY recommend South African Red- Chocolate Block. SO. Good. It’s my favorite wine ever.

  5. Megan says:

    I also love Trader Joe’s, especially for their wine selection! I always get Francis Coppola’s red blend there and it is sooo good.

    Another new product Trader Joes just came out with is their 75% dark chocolate nonpareils. The best chocolate I’ve ever had! I am afraid it’s just a seasonal item that they will take away!

  6. Becky says:

    Ok so I’m SUPER ignorant about wine (loving these posts!) and I was wondering if you could talk about the main types of wine, what they’re like and what they pair well with. Right now I’m basically choosing between red and white and I have no idea what the differences are between Sauvignon blanc and Pinot grigio, etc.

  7. Megan Lesley says:

    YES! A decanter totally makes a difference. We recently received one as a housewarming gift and it. is. fabulous. xx

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