Where can I find recommendations for inexpensive wines that are ready to drink now?
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Dear Dr. Vinny,
I love good wine, especially inexpensive good wine. I'm over 70 now, and lots of us old farts appreciate nice wine but aren’t looking for something that needs to age for a decade or more. Where can I find more recommendations for inexpensive wines that are ready to drink now?
—Ken, Gainesville, Fla.
Dear Ken,
Please don’t call yourself an “old fart.” I think the term you are looking for is “vintage fart.”
It’s true that some terrific wines can evolve into extraordinary treasures when aged under proper conditions. But most wines don’t improve with age, and all of them should taste good when they’re released. A wine cellar is not a wine hospital—it can’t save a bad wine. But just because a wine review suggests that a wine might be at its best 10 years from now doesn’t mean that the wine won’t taste great today, especially if you prefer the taste of younger wines.
Wine Spectator’s editors review thousands of wines a year, including hundreds and hundreds of ready-to-drink value wines priced at $15 or less. Wine Spectator website members can access dozens of regularly updated lists of recently reviewed value wines in our online ratings database, or sign up for some of our email newsletters, like Ratings Flash and Advance, which always include our latest value wine reviews. And if you’re not sure if you want to commit to a subscription, check out our free Daily Wine Picks and Wine of the Week!
—Dr. Vinny
