Great wine doesn’t need to cost a bundle. These 39 brands prove it. Each one of them boasts multiple recommendations for wines that cost $18 or less, all standouts among the 14,000-plus wines we’ve tasted over the last 12 months. We’ve presented them by country, along with stats from three years of our blind tastings. Here are the brands and regions to check out for great buys.
When you’re looking for bargain-priced wine, Israel is not an obvious source.
Heat and humidity along the coast pose challenges, as do the desert conditions that have inspired Israel to become a world leader in irrigation technology. Recanati, however, takes advantage of the cooler northern reaches of the country, and leaves o the oak for its Yasmin line, a red and a white that stand out for their bright, crisp freshness. The white, a blend of sauvignon blanc with emerald riesling and colombard, is lightly floral and herbal, a terrific aperitif; the red, a blend of cabernet and merlot, is sunny and bright—even though it’s also flash pasteurized to make it mevushal for those keeping kosher. Both make good on Lenny Recanati’s original intention to produce a ordable wines when he launched the winery in 2000—now the sixth-largest winery in the country.
Recanati (Palm Bay Int’l., Boca Raton, FL)
2013 Galilee Yasmin (red) (90 pts., $12, 8/14)
2013 Galilee Yasmin (white) (88 pts., $12, 8/14)
This story was featured in W&S June 2015.
illustrations by Megan Piontkowski
is W&S’s editor at large and covers the wines of the Mediterranean and Central and Eastern Europe for the magazine.
This story appears in the print issue of June 2015.
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