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. Don’t go too cheap. How much should you spend on a good weeknight wine? Our 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. Fortune’s tastings bear this out. 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. A 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. wine on tap equipmentVersatile enough to be a fine apéritif or a good accompaniment to seafood or poultry.best wine country vineyardsColumbia Crest 2014 H3 Sauvignon Blanc Horse Heaven Hills ($15) The bottle should say “springtime fresh” on the label; beer and wine ukshows citrus and stone fruit couched in a clean, pleasing mouthfeel. buy peter michael wineWill have wide appeal.wine bars dc metro area

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.lowest price built in wine coolerSanta 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.What are the best places to buy wine online? We selected 9 top online wine retailers in the US and compared them based on selection, pricing, quality, features and site experience. last updated February 23, 2015 Selection: over 10,000 wines Focus: California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône and Oregon Pricing: 66% of wines are over $30 Shipping: $13 for 2, $25 for 6 (cross-country Fedex Ground).

Location: Redwood City, CA Summary: At first look, K&L Wine Merchants has a circa 2001 look, but once you get browsing you begin to realize that it offers more wine than any other online retailer. The selection is clearly curated, even on the low sub-$10 end where it looks like they are very careful to avoid fake relabeled bulk juice wines. One neat search feature is the ‘Direct Buy’ sort which shows wines that K&L Wines import. The site is quick to load and a pleasure to gawk at. Selection: over 8,500 wines Pricing: most wines under $30 Shipping: ~$10 per shipment (1–6 bottles) and fulfilled by wineries, importers and distributors around the US. Because the site welcomes independent wineries that may have little to no distribution otherwise, you’ll see many wines on here that you won’t see on other wine shops. On the one hand, this is really cool because you can be exposed to independent producers. On the other hand, if you’re new to wine and don’t know how to look for quality, it’s hard to be sure that you’re getting the product you want.

Be sure to select your state before you start browsing. Selection: over 7,500 wines Focus: fine, rare and collectible wines Pricing: 82% are over $30 Summary: WineBid is like the ebay of online wine buying. The site is populated with wines from collector’s cellars and importers/distributors wanting to sell directly to customers. The user experience isn’t flashy but it is fast and easy to navigate. One exciting feature is the ‘Buy it Now’ wines which offer sub-$20 options that are screaming deals. is designed for experts and no-doubt feels immense and daunting for the novice. Before you dive in, keep in mind that sales are final. Focus: Cheap bold red wine Pricing: 72% are under $30 Value: Average to Good Shipping: $15 for 2 or 6 bottles (cross-country UPS ground). Summary: This site is geared toward value-seeking, bold red wine drinkers offering a large selection from California, Washington and Bordeaux. Since the selection is designed for low prices, it does have a large number of average-to-low quality wines which require savvy shopping.

Total Wine is the only online wine store that ships to all 50 states. The site user experience does feel a bit clunky with slow page loads but checkout is easy. Selection: over 7,000 wines Focus: California and New World wines Pricing: 45% are under $30 Shipping: $15 for 2 bottles, $22 for 6 (cross-country UPS ground). Summary: This site is fun to explore because of all the different ways to sort, search and explore wines. The selection is geared toward the bolder fruit-loving palate with tons of California, US and New World wines from Australia, Argentina and Chile. Below $15, the US wine selection should generally be avoided. After texting several people who offer guidance on the ‘Chat with an Expert’ pop-up, we confirmed that they are indeed knowledgeable and work on-site in San Francisco. The checkout is easy and tells you when the order will ship (e.g. ‘will ship today if you order in the next 1 hour’). was that the prices seemed high for what you get, particularly in the sub-$20 realm.

Selection: over 3,000 wines Focus: Napa and Burgundy Pricing: 50% are under $30 Tasting notes on most wines Sort by Reviewer, Free-Shipping wines, 90+ wines Fun wine sales-geared blog – 1000 episodes (2006–2011) Summary: Overall, site has a great selection of still wines priced over $15. There are also many high end wines over $30 that were very low priced for what they were. We did, however, spot several sub-$15 gems from other regions like Portugal, Greece, Germany, Argentina, South Africa and Australia. The shopping and browsing experience is easy and logical with many ways to sort. At the shipping screen, the site even had a ‘poor weather warning’ indicating that they would hold shipments for free until it was safe to ship. Selection: over 1,500 wines Focus: Affordable French and Italian wines Pricing: over 50% are under $30 Shipping: ~$20 for cross-country UPS ground shipping. Free for first time orders over $100.

Summary: A fun selection of unique and affordable European wines along with a few New World wine choices. The user experience is a little overwhelming with several drop down menus requiring that you really know what region/varietal you want. Of course, if you know what you want, you might enjoy this. However, if your search returns more than 100 results they are truncated to just 100 wines, which is annoying if you like to browse. Checkout experience is good and offers a shipping calculator but only ground as a shipping option. Selection: over 1,200 wines Focus: Old world wines Pricing: most wines are over $30 Value: Average to Low Shipping Cost: Free UPS ground shipping for our $70 wine order Summary: The wine selection on this site is very unique and clearly on the trending side of what people like in New York City. Wines tend to be expensive but the expense affords exceptional wines that have clearly been vetted by the staff. The online user experience is somewhat frustrating because the Advanced Search feature has limited options that don’t seem geared for regular wine consumers (e.g. you could search by distributor).