Wish to impress your mates? Deliver a bottle of high-quality vino to a cocktail party, then blow them away with the worth. Bonus factors for having the ability to identify why it prices what it does. (The nerdier you may get about it the higher.) Within the everlasting quest to get extra bang on your buck, wine is a heavy hitter. So with Friendsgivings and Thanksgiving proper across the nook, we tapped Erica Skurnik of New York’s Skurnik Wines & Spirits to find one of the best wines for Thanksgiving underneath $20
“A standard false impression about wine is {that a} larger worth signifies larger high quality,” notes Skurnik. “There are some unimaginable wines coming from lesser-known areas or made with lesser-known grapes falling into the underneath $20 class—it simply would possibly take some further effort and time to search out them.”
Erica Skurnik
Erica Skurnik is a part of the second era of wine professionals at Skurnik Wines & Spirits. She sits on the New York Metropolis Gross sales Administration workforce and has expertise throughout the corporate, together with the American wine portfolio. Earlier than becoming a member of the household enterprise, Skurnik labored in Human Sources at main monetary providers firms. A New York native and Brooklyn resident, she enjoys exploring town’s restaurant scene, attending concert events and Broadway reveals, and exhibiting off images of her French Bulldog.
An Professional Recommends the Greatest Wines for Thanksgiving Underneath $20
Although she by no means imagined becoming a member of the household enterprise rising up, Skurnik finally felt a tug after graduating from Vanderbilt and pursuing a profitable profession in Human Sources. “As a child, you by no means assume what your dad does for work is ‘cool,’ however we at all times had wine on the dinner desk, and I ended up understanding extra in regards to the stuff by osmosis than I noticed,” Skurnik says.
On condition that the wine trade is without doubt one of the few dominated by family-owned companies, Skurnik believes the corporate’s generational ingredient has been important. “Having household on either side of the coin is a part of the key sauce that contributes to our success,” she notes.
Are there sure varietals which might be recognized for sustaining high quality at cheaper price factors?
Wine costs will not be dictated by grape selection alone. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to rack up a excessive invoice when it comes from sure areas of the world—like Napa Valley, Bordeaux—however not in others—Chile, Australia, Washington. Pinot Noir from Burgundy will price you a reasonably penny, however Pinot Noir from Oregon or California could be extra moderately priced. There are many high-quality choices at each worth level within the wine world, so my recommendation could be to search for a robust importer, distributor, or wine store that you simply belief to search out nice values at cheaper price factors.
Are there sure areas which might be recognized for producing high-quality wines at decrease costs?
Similar to grape varietals, sure wine areas include a luxurious model price ticket. Whereas there are some wine areas of the world that mechanically include the next price ticket (like Burgundy or Napa Valley), there are many areas which might be producing tremendous high-quality juice with out the worth barrier to entry.
A few of my favourite areas that fall into this class embrace Chile, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Washington, and Oregon.
How are you going to spot high-quality, inexpensive wine labels?
One smart way to do this is to familiarize your self with importers—akin to Skurnik—in search of our label on the again of a bottle is an effective way to hunt out high quality. As a basic rule, it’s greatest to guage wines primarily based on whether or not you want how they style, and never how they’re priced.
What are one of the best wines for Thanksgiving dinner?
The massive number of Thanksgiving meals means you possibly can provide wines of many kinds, and have one thing for everybody to take pleasure in. Thanksgiving is sophisticated, so your wine selections don’t should be. The primary focus is on the meals, after all, so I’ve supplied some wine options—all underneath $20—that won’t break the financial institution or overpower your meal.
White and Glowing
To maintain issues mild, bubbly, and dry in one of the simplest ways.
Rosé and Reds
Full-bodied beauties for Thanksgiving’s heartier fare.
