“I’m planning a wedding and want to serve wine and cheese prior to the reception itself.  I don’t want to spend more than $10 per bottle of wine, if this is possible.  But I want the wine to be decent, not exceptionally cheap tasting.  What would you recommend?”

This person can rest their mind.  It is very easy to buy good tasting wine that costs less than $10 per bottle.  In fact, you can spend a lot less than $10 a bottle and still treat your wedding guests quite well.

For starters, you should look at buying boxed wine.  The first boxed wines had less than a superb reputation, but that is not the case today.  Some excellent wine comes in boxes nowadays.  If you are concerned about how a box of wine will looking sitting on your serving table, just transfer the wine to carafes first.

Chardonnay, which seems to be the whole world’s current favorite white wine, or a cool crisp Riesling, would fit the bill in the white category. There are many excellent brands of chardonnay and Riesling in the under-$10 range.  Same thing for reds, where you might go with an inexpensive Cabernet sauvignon or perhaps a Zinfandel.  If you go with the latter, look around and see if you can find an “old vine” zin for less than 10 bucks. Yes, they do exist!

Currently, Chilean wines offer great value in both taste and cost.  You can find wonderful reds and whites from Chile and they won’t drain your wallet.  For imported value (assuming here that you are located in America), be sure to also check out the many Australian wines that are now available.

There are also, of course, many good and inexpensive California wines on the market.  One caveat about California wines: It seems that the California wineries are making products with higher alcohol content these days.  So be careful when choosing a Californian.  You don’t want your wedding guests to get plastered (do you?).

A final tip: Visit a warehouse store such as Costco or Sam’s Club.  If your local outlet sells wine, it will usually be at bulk prices that will really save you a lot of money.  Similarly, we’ve found you can get incredible deals at Trader Joe’s if you do your research, i.e., taste testing.  Some of their wines taste like what you would expect from a $3 or $4 wine, but some are really pretty good.  Try a few before you settle on a particular one for your big day.