If you want to buy the cheapest bottle of wine without sacrificing quality, look no further than Portugal.
The European country is the cheapest place to buy a bottle of quality wine. On average, a standard 750ml bottle of wine costs around £3.49, or about $4.17, in Portugal, according to Compare My Jet’s “World’s Wine Habit Index.”
By comparison, the average price of a bottle of wine in the US is more than triple what you would pay in Portugal. Regardless of size or origin, the average price in the United States is about $13.36 as of January 2023, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
Compare My Jet compiled the average prices of wine in 38 countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). CNBC Make It converted all prices from pounds to the equivalent US dollars on February 23, 2023.
Here are the 10 cheapest countries to buy a bottle of wine.
How to find affordable wine without sacrificing quality
Whether high or low, “price doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the quality or taste of a wine,” Jon Thorsen, author of “Reverse Wine Snob”, told CNBC does during 2019.
However, some experts recommend staying away from the cheapest options. Wine priced under $20 tends to be mass-produced and grown with synthetic pesticides and fungicides, Mark Osborn, lead sommelier at SommSelecttold CNBC Make It Earlier this month.
Osborn has tasted more than 15,000 bottles of wine and says a good bottle usually costs between $30 and $60.
To find a good deal, look for wine from a place off the beaten track. Because name recognition can drive up the price, regions that aren’t as well-known tend to cost less than the more popular regions, Osborn says.
Instead of reaching for an expensive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, try getting one from somewhere nearby, like Paso Robles, Calif. Ray Isle, executive wine editor of “Food & Wine,” told CNBC is doing it in 2019.
“I always suggest looking to lesser-known regions and lesser-known grapes—that’s where some of the big finds are,” says Isle.
Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter
Do not miss: Sommelier who has tasted 15,000 wines: If you want quality, don’t spend under $30 on a bottle
