30 wines under $30 (and 17 of them are rated 94 points or higher)

Best wines under $30

It’s often assumed that a higher price point equates to a higher quality product, especially when it comes to wine. After all, it costs money to make good wine – how the grapes are farmed, picked and processed, fermented, matured and eventually packaged all influence the amount it’s sold for. Factors like taxes, distribution costs and even demand play a part, too.

Still, there are plenty of delicious, well-made, well-farmed wines that go gently on the hip pocket.

The key is to hunt out varieties that are easier to grow and simpler (and therefore cheaper) to produce, such as riesling, pinot gris/grigio and sauvignon blanc. Alternative varieties like fiano and lagrein also generally represent great value (or will until they become mainstream!).

Duncan Lloyd, winemaker at Dune and Coriole.

Because it's tough to grow, prone to disease, and requires gentle handling in the winery, it's harder (but not impossible – there's one on the list below) to find great pinot noir at a low price point. Anything that requires a lengthy rest in new oak barrels will also tend to be more expensive, due to the cost of the oak and the time the wine spends maturing and not in market. 

If you'd rather not spend your time analysing wine labels or technical notes, here's a list of 30 of the best wines under $30, all scored between 90 and 95 points by our Tasting Team.

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