12 wines under $25 to enjoy all winter long

When you’re grabbing a bottle of wine at the last minute, you go wherever is convenient, chucking something in the grocery cart or stopping along the way at a shop where the selection may be so-so. Even if the wine is cheap, you know you could do better for the money.

Having a little stash of wine at home is about being prepared; it’s like having a well-stocked closet. You don’t wait until the day it’s really cold to buy just any sweater. Make the trip to a good wine shop worthwhile by planning a few wines ahead: Choose a bottle or two for an upcoming dinner party, and one for the night your neighbors have invited you over, and a few options for opening on Friday, so there’s something that’ll go well with whatever you end up cooking. Many stores offer a discount if you buy a case of 12 bottles, and some even give you a deal for purchasing six.

Most wine shops will deliver a case to you if you live close enough — but an in-person conversation with staff at a well-curated store can help you zero in on the right selections based on what you’ve enjoyed before. (Get in the habit of taking photos when you love something.)

Or share this list as a starting point.

Here you’ll find 12 exceptionally tasty wines — all but one in 750-milliliter bottles — to get you through the rest of winter. While exact prices, as well as availability, vary from store to store and state to state, each of these bottles offers tremendous value under $25. Stock up now, and you’ll have a luscious white wine that’ll make seared scallops taste even better, a glass of bubbles to pour on a special occasion, and a new favorite earthy red to serve with a mountain of creamy mushroom pasta (or a juicy lamb chop) after another long winter week.

Mongarda Glera IGT Colli Trevigiani Col Fondo 2023

Veneto, Italy, $21

If you’ve only had prosecco that’s sweet and fruity, get ready for an entirely different experience. This crisp fizz — which is slightly cloudy because it undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle rather than in a tank — is a fresh accompaniment for crudo, vegetable tempura, crab cakes or clam linguine. The flavors are clean and bright; it’s more of a palate cleanser than a decadence-multiplier.

Yves Cuilleron Syrah Vignes d’à Côté IGP Collines Rhodaniennes 2023

Rhone, France, $20

If you cracked black pepper into a fragrant blackberry-blueberry pie, you’d get a sense of this juicy syrah from the northern Rhone. The brambly fruit and five-spice flavors make it a nice match for pretty much any preparation of lamb — or the roasted delights hanging in the window at your favorite local Cantonese spot.

Bernard Baudry Chinon “Les Granges” 2023

Loire, France, $24

This young-vine Loire wine from a celebrated producer is an old standby that you can count on to delight. It’s at once peppery and silky, tasting of crushed blackberry and leather, with plenty of brightness. The wine’s herbal character wants olives, cheese and charcuterie, and then any meat you can get a good seared crust on. If it goes with rosemary, it goes with this chinon. While early-picked cabernet franc can display strong green bell pepper flavors, here it’s minimal and beautifully integrated, a subtle benefit rather than a bug.

Skull Wines Skull Red Wine 2021

California, $21

This red from sommelier-turned-winemaker Patrick Cappiello of Monte Rio Cellars and celebrated California Syrah producer Pax Mahle is, quite honestly, a steal. Made with organically farmed zinfandel and syrah, along with a few other grapes (including mission, the first European vinifera variety planted in what is now the U.S. and once California’s most-planted wine grape), it’s juicy and earthy, but not jammy or overblown. The fresh flavors make it ideal for drinking with burgers or cheesesteaks — or with grilled or roast chicken.

Viñátigo Listán Negro 2023

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, $24

Wine geeks seek out extreme growing sites, like the volcanic soils of the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. Steep vineyards here never suffered from phylloxera, the root louse that devastated the wine industry in the late 19th century. So this wine is sourced from remarkable organically farmed vines that are over 100 years old — and ungrafted, growing on their own roots. Each sip is awash with tar and leather, supple red fruit and the tang of tamarind. It’s elegant but also feels elemental. This wine calls out for wild mushrooms: on pepper-crusted duck or lamb or in a lasagna.

Carlos Raposo Impecável Dão Tinto 2022

Dão, Portugal, $20

Touriga nacional is known for its use in port, but it makes beautifully fragrant red wines as well, especially here in the Dão, one of Portugal’s more temperate regions. Farmed with organic and biodynamic methods, and fermented and aged in stainless steel, this wine marries flavors of cranberry and black tea with subtle floral aromatics. There’s significant acidity here, ready to cut through a strip steak — or partner with homemade pizza with mushrooms and a scattering of smoked mozzarella.

Anne Collard VdF Rouge “Rock, Paper, Scissors” NV

Rhone, France, $17

There may be no better winter wine experience than gathering with friends around a firepit, chilling bottles in a snowdrift. And this is the wine I’d bring if you invited me to join you. Made with mostly grenache and a splash of syrah (plus a tiny bit of mourvèdre), this fresh-tasting red wine is best with a full chill. It’s equal parts juicy and mineral, like a charred cherry.

Mary Taylor / Sophie Siadou Valencay 2022

Loire, France, $20

There was a time when you could get an entry-level red burgundy at this price level, and then a time when the best of beaujolais was still under-the-radar enough to feel like you were getting away with something. But those prices for pinot noir and gamay have climbed. This is a great alternative, pairing those two grapes with côt — called malbec outside of France — in a food-friendly wine from a region that’s better known for its cheese. (That may be why it’s such a good price.) Nothing shouts here; there’s chalky minerality and tomato leaf framing dusty plums, and it gets more savory as it sits open. Pop it in the fridge for a few minutes before serving alongside a cheese plate, or splash some in your glass when you’re eating a pork chop, spaghetti Bolognese or eggplant parmesan.

Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos Bierzo 2022

Bierzo, Spain, $21

Alvaro Palacios has championed the cause of old-vine mencía from Bierzo in Northwestern Spain; this entry-level bottling, which mixes in 10 percent white wine grapes, gives you a taste of how serious (and delicious) mencía can be. This wine is earthy and deep, as if crumbled rocks and fresh thyme leaves are hidden among the dark fruit. Pop one open when you’re making a pork roast with root vegetables, or a duck ragu.

Le Rocher des Violettes Chenin Blanc 2023

Loire, France, $24

In winter, I'm often looking for white wines with a bit of richness, like this chenin blanc made by Xavier Weisskopf. It has all the creamy texture of ripe pears, offset by acidity as bright as a squeeze of lime. This is your wine for lobster, seared scallops or a bubbling pot of fondue — but it also fits right into a quick weeknight dinner of shrimp scampi.

Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2023

Tuscany, Italy, $22

Each sip of this white wine gives an intense blast of flavor: tart apple and tangy, not-quite-ripe apricot, crisp fennel and white blossoms. While you may have had commonly planted (and sometimes bland) trebbiano toscano before, this rarer variety is something special — all the more so when the vines, like these, average 69 years old. It’ll wake up a plate of pasta primavera and taste incredible with buttery, panko-crusted halibut.

Famille du Vin / Château de Béru Chablis

Burgundy, France, $10

When you’re on your own for a sushi dinner, or you want to sip a little white wine with a salad before switching to red, it can be nice to have options that are smaller than a 750-milliliter bottle. Famille du Vins is a new sustainability-focused collaboration between Paloma Brey and natural wine importer Zev Rovine featuring a few different naturally minded winemakers in 200-milliliter cans. This zingy, lean, unoaked chardonnay gets your mouth watering. Think limestone and lime zest, with a green note that brings to mind those tiny snowdrops that dare to blossom before winter’s really over. It’s tightly wound and needs a minute or two to relax in the glass; get it out of the fridge and pour it a few minutes before you sit down. One sip will get you scheming about how you’ll take the next can on a hike or picnic as soon as the weather warms.

• Maggie Hoffman is the host of The Dinner Plan podcast, and writes two free newsletters on Substack: The Dinner Plan and What to Drink. She’s covered wine, beer and cocktails since 2010, and is the author of Batch Cocktails and The One-Bottle Cocktail (Ten Speed Press).

Prices are approximate. For availability, check Wine.com, Wine-searcher.com and the websites and social media feeds of the wineries, importers, distributors, and your favorite local wine store. You can also ask your local retailer to order wines from the distributors listed.