wine12 great wines under $20 a bottleDaryna TobeyThey are wines that have a place in every home, though there’s no formal name for their kind: They’re sip-with-pizza-on-a-Tuesday-night quaffs, yet they’re nice enough to bring to a friend’s house for a casual dinner. They are enjoyable right out of the bottle, and it wouldn’t be a travesty if you cooked with them. These wines are, as 90+ Cellars’ vice president and co-founder Brett Vankoski calls them, “soldiers” that protect your cellar’s more treasured bottlings from premature death. I just call these all-purpose, buy-by-the-case bottles our “house” wines.I’ve spent the last month or so evaluating dozens of under-$20 wines for Fortune. Many were “classical, seasonal, versatile and affordable,” all qualities that Colleen Holden, wine director at Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks in Boston, looks for in house wines. I also found that the wines I wanted to reach for again did not have too much acid, oak, tannins, or alcohol.

So how much should you spend on these wines by the case, and what should you buy? Here are our experts’ top tips on how to shop for them, along with a dozen of Fortune’s recommendations for easy-to-find, please-everyone bottles. Stick with newer vintages. Wines meant for casual drinking don’t age particularly well. “If a wine is meant to be drunk fresh,” as are most whites and rosés, says Holden, “it’s important that you’re buying the most recent vintage, or just one year prior.” A $12 2005 rosé, in other words, is no bargain.Be mindful of the alcohol content. If you’re enjoying a glass or two during the week, says Vankoski, “a 15% alcohol wine is not what you want.” Stick to wines in the 12%-to-14% range, which Vankoski likens to “session” ales, if you don’t want to be hurting at work the next day. Get it while the getting is good. Word about a great bottle at a giveaway price can spread like wildfire. Jeff Wooddy, general manager of Rochambeau Wines in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., says that shortly after turning his customers on to a $13 Médoc cru bourgeois, “it was suddenly a wine that only sold by the case …

We had a customer who would drive here from Greenwich and put six cases in the back of his Bentley, and off he went. We must have sold over 200 cases of that wine.” The moral: Buy up a few cases of a favorite now—or cry later. old red wine the who youtubeDon’t go too cheap. red wine good for hair lossHow much should you spend on a good weeknight wine? buy dry white wineOur experts all give retail price ranges between $10 and $18, and they say $15 seems to be the “sweet spot” at which you’ll taste a noticeable step up in quality. wine gift set australiaFortune’s tastings bear this out. red wine tasting glasses

And don’t forget: With a 20% case discount, a $15 wine will only cost you $12.Here are our dozen picks for Fortune’s favorite affordable house wines:Mulderbosch 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Coastal Region ($14) Dry, with mouthwatering acidity. best dry red wine for giftA fuller-bodied rosé from South Africa, with raspberry and orange/grapefruit flavors.Aia Vecchia 2014 Vermentino Toscana IGT ($12) Plump, round, and minerally, with pear and melon flavors. A drink-anywhere white that's not overly dry or acidic. RelatedwinesThese 5 Can’t Miss Wines Are All Under $50winesThese 5 Can’t Miss Wines Are All Under $50Arnaldo Caprai 2013 Grechetto Colli Martani DOC ($20) Has a clean feel and a sturdy backbone plus pear, mineral, and olive oil flavors. Versatile enough to be a fine apéritif or a good accompaniment to seafood or poultry.Columbia Crest 2014 H3 Sauvignon Blanc Horse Heaven Hills ($15) The bottle should say “springtime fresh” on the label;

shows citrus and stone fruit couched in a clean, pleasing mouthfeel. Will have wide appeal.Dourthe 2013 La Grande Cuvée Bordeaux AOC ($13) A crisp white with herb, mineral, and citrus flavors. Just the thing for the raw bar—or enjoy it on its own.Hanna 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley ($19) A taste of summer: This California white wine has sunny peach and pear flavors, a smooth, river-rock feel, and good length on the finish.Santa Cristina 2014 Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie ($12) Has bright green apple and grapefruit flavors; pretty straightforward but delivers a good, everyday wine at an affordable price.Château Saint-Sulpice 2012 Bordeaux AOC ($15) Approachable but not simple; red fruit has nutty, earthy nuances and a nice mocha note on the finish. One to drink with dinner. 70% Merlot.Enrique Mendoza 2012 La Tremenda Monastrell Alicante ($12) Has pleasing spice and herbal accents to the cherry/blackberry fruit; it’s the easy kind of Spanish wine you’d order by the glass at your favorite tapas bar.

La Follette 2013 Pinot Noir North Coast ($20) A forward California style with a soft feel, it’s rife with berry and cherry flavors. More nuanced than a basic Pinot, but still affordable.Masseria Li Veli 2013 Passamante Negroamaro Salice Salentino DOC ($13) Well balanced and easy to drink, with forward but tangy berry-basket flavors. Delivers nice quality at a bargain price. You totally want this with red-sauced Italian fare.Qupé 2012 Syrah Central Coast ($20) California Syrah with an Old World soul: big, juicy, black and purple fruit with earth, clay, smoke/mocha, and fresh herbal nuances. Barton & Guestier, French Tom Réserve, Bordeaux, AOC, dry, red, 0.75L (gift box) From Barton & GuestierHeinemann SE & Co. KGPicture yourself snuggled on the sofa by the fire at the end of a long busy day or imagine yourself sitting down to delicious home-cooked dinner with friends and family. All that’s missing is a nice glass of red. Here's our pick of the best offerings of the season, from high street bargains to luxury buys for the festive season and beyond.

1. Domaine de Montval Syrah 2013 IGP Pays du Gard: £9.99, majestic.co.uk This easy-drinking and softly textured red wine, which Majestic has bought 30,000 bottles of, is outstanding value. It’s made from Syrah grown around Nîme and is full of blackcurrant and cherry fruit, bolstered by hints of dark cocoa and pepper. A great one for the festive season, this delicious and extremely classy Bordeaux is a fine accompaniment to any festive meat, from game to turkey to beef. A long-standing favourite among Society members, it’s fragrant and ripe with great balance and a long, velvety finish. 3. Casillero del Diablo Carmenère 2012: £5.99, co-operativefood.co.uk A bargain for a great carmenère that works particularly well with casseroles and spicy meat dishes like Chilli con Carne at festive dinner parties, this wine is bursting with berry flavours and mocha notes and rounded off with subtle spiciness.This smooth and silky wine from vineyards in Oregon, has aromas of raspberry and red cherry, which unfold on the palate.

Tesco bought a batch as a one-off special package, hence the very reasonable price tag. 5. Rust en Vrede Stellenbosch Ridge 2010: £24.13, amazon.co.uk This intense ruby coloured wine hails from Stellenbosch, one of the premier wine regions in South Africa, but as the estate was established in the 17th century, it’s often considered more “classic” than “New World.” Boasting aromas of ripe plum and fresh cherry, it has damson and redcurrant on the  palate and a long, velvety finish. 6. The Exquisite Collection Minarete Ribera del Duero 2013: £5.99, aldi.co.uk This full-bodied, fruity wine comes from Ribera del Duero region, home to some of Spain’s grandest producers of bold reds. But unlike many wines from this region, Aldi is offering this one with a bargain price tag. 7. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône Villages 2013: £7, sainsburys.co.uk Vines are planted on a soil composed of shingle, chalk and clay, the grapes are hand-harvested and the wine is vinified in cement vats for two to three weeks after fermentation.

The result is a classic Rhône red blend that goes a treat with roast beef. This textbook Australian Shiraz is exceptionally well balanced. It has a nose full of ripe blackberry, plum and a hint of spice, whilst the palate has a rich blackberry character, underlying chocolate notes and a sweet-oak spiciness, with a fresh acidity. This rich, full-bodied wine has great depth of flavour and a fabulous finish. It’s crafted by a boutique winery in the Alentejo region and good news for the entertaining season is that it goes well with everything from beef to cheese to chocolate. Expect notes of dark chocolate, violet flowers and an edge of spice. The Celler de Capçanes cooperative was formed by five families in the 1930s in the village of Capçanes in northeast Spain. This Merlot-based blend is ripe yet elegant, with aromas of ripe dark fruit, wild herbs and berries. On the palate, it’s spicy and intense, with vanilla and dark exotic fruit flavours. 11. Chateau Brassac Bordeaux Superieur 2012: £6.99, co-operativefood.co.uk

This is a real crowd-pleaser of a Bordeaux that particularly complements red meat dishes. It has aromas of blackcurrant and blackberry and spicy notes, while being fresh, concentrated and well balanced on the palate. Snap up a few if you can – this is great value. This is a winner for Christmas Day as it goes a treat with turkey. This soft, silky, purple-hued Pinot Noir was produced by Romaric Chavy, the seventh generation of his family to tend the vines of Chavy-Chouet, Burgundy. It has cherry, berry and spice flavours. If you’re able to splash out, we think the Château Beaumont Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux 2010 is exceptional. For something cheaper, Aldi’s The Exquisite Collection Minarete Ribera del Duero 2013 is astonishingly good value. IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing