If you are like me and enjoy a glass of wine from time-to-time you know that a bottle of crushed grapes can be kind of expensive… but it doesn’t have to be. The average price for a bottle of wine is about $10 and some bottles may cost hundreds of dollars. If you are a regular wine drinker, the price of each bottle adds up over time. There are a few way that you can cut the cost of your nightly glass though. Here are a few things I’ve tried in my quest to cut down the cost of one of my favorite vices:
Become a member of a wine club
Wine clubs can help you save money on quality wine. The wine provided by most wine clubs comes from around the world. For instance, I became a member of the Naked Wines wine club for a period of time. They have $100 off a case for members and you end up getting a full case (12 bottles) for about $80, which is a steal.
Another benefit of joining a wine club is being able to try different wines that you would otherwise not have had the opportunity to try. For instance, when I was a member of Naked Wines wine club I tried wines from South Africa and Portugal for less than $8 a bottle. Naked Wines is not the only wine club available either. If you think you may enjoy a wine club membership, there are thousands to choose from. Other great wine clubs include the Wall Street Journal Wine Club, Cellars Wine Club, The California Wine Club and Wine Tasting Wine Club. You can also see a list of the best wine clubs and read reviews here.
Coupons when you purchase online
I only found out about Naked Wines Wine Club when I received a coupon when I purchased something else online. When I made my purchase, I got to choose a free gift. One of the “gifts” was $100 off a case of Naked Wines wine. Me, being the wine drinker that I am, decided to take advantage of the offer. Many websites offer coupons like this to people ordering items online. When I got my wine coupon I was simply buying new clothes and the company I was purchasing them through offered the wine voucher as a free gift. If you are a regular online shopper, keep an eye out for these deals.
Buy wine in bulk
As you may have noted, wine clubs offer their wine selections by the case. However, you do not have to become a member of a wine club to buy wine in bulk and save. Most grocery stores offer a buy-in-bulk discount for wine. Harris Teeter, for instance, offers 20 percent off to customers who purchase wine by the case. You can mix-and-match all of your favorite wines that you normally buy anyway and get a significant amount of money off by doing so.
Buy cheaper brands of wine
Sometimes you have to lower your high wine standards. Of course the $20 bottle of wine looks nice and it taste like Napa Valley but there are some cheaper brands of wine that aren’t awful and you could save yourself a bit of money. Some Aldi locations sell beer and wine. Some of the wine selections at Aldi are prices as low as $3 per bottle. Most people would see that price and be questionable but, in all honesty, the wine isn’t that bad. If you use it like I do (to wind down at the end of the day) buying a cheap bottle isn’t the worst thing in the world. The cheaper brands aren’t all that terrible either.
Try new wine brands
If you aren’t willing to go $3 cheap, there are various other brands that don’t cost all that much money and still taste great. Take a break from your $20 bottle and go for the $6, $8 or $10 bottle. Good “cheap” brands to try include Barefoot, Yellow Tail and Apothic. Each of these is $10 or less.
If you are looking for decent wine at a low price you may also want to join a wine community like Vivino. Vivino allows users to take a photo of their bottle of wine and rate it. In addition to sharing their opinions about the wine, users can also upload cost information. You can follow other wine drinkers that share a similar taste profile to yourself and see which cheap wines you may actually like.
Do you have any good cheap wines?
Photo: Flickr: Denise Mattox
I think I would start drinking a glass of wine a day to ready my mood for my after-work side hustle as I am a little bit tired and have less focus after work. Probably I’d still have the wine brand I always get as it’s cheaper, but I’d try to look for a coupon or discounted price online.