How to pick a cheap wine that actually tastes good, according to sommeliers

(NEXSTAR) – Good wine isn't known to be cheap, and cheap wine doesn't have a reputation for being very good. But some sommeliers are trying to change the idea that you can't enjoy wine on a tight budget.

She acknowledged browsing the wine aisle at any store is overwhelming, but believes there are real gems you can find for under $10.

Her No. 1 favorite white wine is Pine Ridges Chenin Blanc Viognier, which she buys at Trader Joe's. Another favorite she called a "porch pounder" is La Vielle Ferme's rosé, an $8 to $10 bottle you'll recognize by the rooster on the label.

When it comes to red wine, she recommends the Ruggero Di Bardo Susumaniello, which you can find in a shorter, stubby bottle, also at Trader Joe's.

Sommelier Lucia Palm, who also posts videos of her wine picks, also finds herself in the Trader Joe's wine aisle often. She has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants, but found her niche in recommending affordable wines to regular people.

"I talked to my friends about it, and they would say, 'To have a really good wine, I've got to spend a lot of money, don't I?' And that's when the lightbulb went off," she said.

Palm recommends the Floriana Grüner Veltliner, an Austrian white wine that you can find at Trader Joe's for around $6. Even cheaper than that, she recommends the Espiral Vinho Verde and the Emma Reichart Riesling, both of which the grocery store sells for $5.

For those who don't have a Trader Joe's nearby – or who live in a state where grocery stores can't sell alcohol – Palm recommended some easy-to-find, widely available wines. For reds, she suggests a Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone, a Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone, a Catena Malbec, or a Louis Jadot Beaujolais. For white wine lovers, Palm recommends Nobilo's sauvignon blanc.

Costco is also a great place to turn for affordable, high-quality wines, Palm said. She especially likes their Chianti Classico, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Prosecco (with the purple label) and Gigondas wines. (In many states, you also don't need a Costco membership to shop the big box store's wine section.)

If you can't remember any of these exact labels or producers, both experts said to look to other parts of the world for fun picks. Great wines from South America and Europe can be cheaper than their U.S.-grown competitors, Capaldi said. Chilean blends can be found for under $15 and please people who'd usually like a cabernet sauvignon.

"It's a little bit trickier navigating which producers in the U.S. are going to be better than other ones, and I feel like other regions outside the U.S. stay a little bit more consistent," Capaldi said.

Wines from Croatia, Lebanon, Hungary and Mexico are all great, Palm added, even if they're less famous for their winemaking.

One thing to avoid is an overly generic wine label, Palm said. If the wine label just says it's from "California," and not the city where the vineyard is located, that's a red flag.

Food pairings can also really elevate a cheaper wine. Capaldi said she tried a $5.99 Grifone 1967 Toscana that she bought at Trader Joe's and didn't think it was anything special at first. But when paired with frozen pizza, the flavor totally changed. (She posts more pairing suggestions on Instagram and TikTok, as does Palm.)

Capaldi said she thinks the wine world is slowly shifting toward a more open mindset on wine. She said she has seen blind taste tests surprise even the snobbiest of sommeliers. "We've all on multiple occasions done a blind tasting and rated a cheaper wine higher than the expensive wine. So I've proved it in real time."

"I'll never feel bad if I still like my $10 Trader Joe's wine more than that $100 Napa cab that I tried," Capaldi said.