Seems like there’s a thread like this every now and then and the answer is always Germany 
Number one for me is Jura.
Other mentions:
Baden (Spatburgunder)
Loire (Mostly Chenin for me. But so many gems here)
Northern Rhone (Maybe not Hermitage. But so many top top Syrah’s can still be found at amazing QPR)
Sounds very contrarian, since there are so many regions in the world where the most expensive wines don’t come even close to $40. At least IMO $40-60 doesn’t sound like a great value.
And I must agree that above point that Germany isn’t a region, it’s a country.
I think you might be mixing up the Dão and Bairrada, as it is the latter which has had experience with Bordeaux varietals before Baga went through its current renaissance. It sounds like the aged wines you’re talking about are from Caves São João and that would explain the mixup, as they have labels in both regions.
I think it’s easy to summarize this thread by stating that there has never been so much keenly priced good wine from so many different places, and all you have to do is stay away from the ‘classical’ banners and labels of yesteryear.
Burgenland
Of course the answer is Germany. Even $100 wines are relative values.
However I would also agree that Bordeaux is actually a great place for value especially if you prefer earlier drinking old school styles or less ripe vintages.
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When I have people asking me for wine recommendations, and they come at me with a price limit of $15 (it happens all the time), I always send them to the little tucked away corner of the wine shop labeled ‘Portugal.’ Still red wines from Portugal consistently impress and many are under $10.
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I think Washington has some of the best Quality/$ around. Some excellent wines in the under $60 including Syrahs from the Rocks and some very good wines in the $15-$30 range, particularly red blends. Sleight of Hand, Rasa, Va Piano, Gorman, many more. SoH and Rasa will have specials on their Conjuror and Occam’s Razor for < $20 which is just a steal.
Agree with the Rocks. Not every Syrah is $100 like Cayuse and Horsepower (which I like a lot). Have you tried Saviah Stones Speak? One of the best Syrah’s for the money I have ever tasted.
Languedoc/Roussillon in my opinion. My sweet spot (like Eric Asimov) is the 15-25$ range. Fantastic buys ,even with the tariffs.
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I think you might be mixing up the Dão and Bairrada, as it is the latter which has had experience with Bordeaux varietals before Baga went through its current renaissance. It sounds like the aged wines you’re talking about are from Caves São João and that would explain the mixup, as they have labels in both regions.
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Yes! I am indeed mixing up the two. However, I would say that both regions are great values; Dao for Baga, Bairrada for aged Bordeaux varietals.
Agree with everyone that there are some fantastic wines in Germany for reasonable prices. Do people have specific regions to recommend over any other, or just Germany in general?
Not so sure I agree with the N Rhone or Loire, at least in my experience. Undoubtedly, there are great N Rhone wines that are pricey, but I’ve found lower priced ones to be very hit or miss. When it comes to the Loire, Muscadet is a treasure trove of delicious inexpensive stuff, but again I’ve found Chinon to be pretty iffy, and I’m not a huge Chenin fan. Some of the Sauv Blancs are nice.
+1 for Chablis. Also agree that Bordeaux can be fantastic value, even if climbing into the $30-40 range; one of my favorite wines of last year was a $30-something bottle of 2010 Château Maison Blanche Montagne-St. Émilion. It bested some bottles that were over $100. That’s value to me!
Um that sounds weird. After all, Baga is THE Bairrada variety. Dão is mainly about the other Portuguese red varieties. Bairrada used to be about the Bdx varieties and now it is the Baga hotspot again.
Ribera del Duero (Spain)
I feel this has become more difficult because of the trend for rising alcohol levels, fruitiness and sweetness in a effort to make wines that are “crowd pleasers”.
I do enjoy that type of wine now and then but not as a norm.
Having said that:
Spain - specifically Rioja and Garnacha.
France - Mostly Rhone, but this has been spotty for me, I have more learning to do.
Nobody has said it so I am going to say California, specifically Syrah.
I think CA does Syrah perhaps the best in the world and at reasonable prices.
Mourvedre is also strong in CA.
Haven’t gotten this far in Duolingo yet.
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Wines that can challenge those $25-30 Saint Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage and Cornas wines in both value and quality?
It’s an interesting questions. My gut says no way but I supposed I could be convinced. There really is a lot of superb Syrah in a WIDE variety of styles and because Americans generally don’t want to buy it ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
, it can usually be had for a good price.
Rioja, Chianti, Washington, Germany, South Africa all come to mind for me. Reading the thread, I’ll throw in another vote for Cali Syrah.
Rioja Reserva wines deliver big time in terms of value and they age very well.
In particular:
La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Alberdi Reserva (good every vintage I have tasted)
Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva Finca Ygay
R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Bosconia (is there a wine under $40 that will age as long as Bosconia?)
Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva (Under $20 on sale in Minneapolis)
In my head, there is a distinction between regions that produce many very good, very delicious wines for a very reasonable price, and regions where truly great, world class, can-compete-with-the-very best, wines can still priced amazingly well.
That’s why I stand behind Germany (and yes, I realize it’s a country, not a region - for whatever reason it tends to get treated as one region when questions like this come up), though there are a couple of others for which a case can be made. While regions like WA state, Etna and CA syrah do produce some high quality and delicious wines at good prices, I don’t personally believe they are making wines I can consider truly great.
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Another vote here for the Rhône or Languedoc.