There are  many sites  focused on this very subject (GoodCheapWine, Good Cheap wines, GoodCheapWine Guide, Cheap Wine Ratings, etc.).

Part of the problem is that the definition itself is somewhat subjective at best. What is a good bottle of wine and what do you consider cheap?

The only thing for certain today is that the definition of cheap may have gone down due to the recent global recession, while the price of  “cheap” wine  in many cases has gone up!

So .. let’s tackle the “good” part first.

When someone describes a good bottle of wine I would think they would be taking into account its appearance (clarity, color), its aroma or smell (strong, faint, off, pleasing), and its taste (full bodied, fruity, earthy, etc.) – certainly its taste at the very least. In addition, one might judge whether it complements or fights with a particular  food.

The problem is that what is good for one is not necessarily good for another. Some thrive on a full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and others on  an off dry Riesling - both can be relatively inexpensive and well made wines or both could be expensive and poorly made.

Many wine drinkers prefer old world styles while others new world, others might prefer sweet to dry or fruity versus earthy.  Since wine is so subjective, it is hard to build the definition of good or bad based on  characteristics alone unless perhaps you  build a definition for each varietal and each style, and even then it will still be a matter of taste.

One could simply say if I like it … its good, and if I don’t it isn’t. This is likely going a bit too far in the other direction since  just because it is wine and drinkable doesn’t make it good wine.

Hamburger..Good or not?

I think there is a correlation here to good cheap food. You can make a hamburger atvarious price points based on the cut of meat, the fat content, cooking method, and the beef itself.  Good for one may be a cut of Angus with a very small percentage of fat cooked medium rare on a grill, or it might be a cheaper cut of meat with a much higher content of fat that is well done cooked in a frying pan. Either might be considered good …. really a preference and a matter of taste.

So, what is good wine? Trying to step back from subjective tastes, it first needs to be without flaws – cork taint (TCA), brettanomyces, or oxidation for instance, and it should also be clear (although if unfiltered there may be some slight cloudiness or sediment which is not considered a flaw). Beyond that, subjectivity rules.

Personal opinion?  YES – you can buy good cheap wine, but you cannot buy cheap REALLY GOOD or GREAT wine. You can buy wine that is very drinkable and worthy of being an every day quaffer. There are many, many examples from around the world (visit the sites above for tons of suggestions).

With that said, there is a truism in wine: You can make bad wine from good grapes, but you cannot make great wine from bad grapes.

This again has a strong correlation to food: the better the quality of the ingredients and talent in preparation, the greater the potential for something special. There are no guarantees. However, you can’t start with substandard ingredients and poor preparation, and create a masterpiece.

Good Cheap Wine Part II … a deeper look at  cost and process ….coming shortly!