Top Rated Wines Under $20 for Your Christmas Dinner

When we owned our Wine Cellar next door to our convenience store, we stocked over 500 different wines and champagnes. Our store was open on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day for our neighborhood customers who always forgot that last minute cooking item or bottle of wine to take as a Christmas gift. Many of our customers were not wine drinkers and the most popular question I got for holiday wine shopping was, "What is the best wine to serve with ham?" or "What is the best wine to serve with Turkey?"

The answer to that question if you are not a wine connoisseur, largely depends on how much you want to spend for a bottle of wine to accompany your holiday dinner. If you are on a budget in this tight economy, there are several outstanding top rated wines in price ranges from around $6 a bottle up to around $20 a bottle. Of course, if you are a wine connoisseur, you could spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a good bottle of wine. For example, the 1959 Penfolds Grange 750ml Syrah from South Australia goes for around $1200 per bottle!

It might surprise you to know that the USA has the most wines and spirits in The Power 100 - The World's Most Powerful Spirits and Wine Brands according to Intangible Business that evaluated over 10,000 brands of wines and spirits from around the world in 2008. Gallo is the most powerful brand in the world according to The Power 100 evaluation.

Here is our recommended list of the more affordable ($6-$20 per bottle) top rated wines for your Christmas dinner or Christmas wine gift that we shared with our customers. There are many different flavors and characteristics of these top rated wines under $20 that may or may not appeal to your own taste. If you would like to read more about the varieties of wines included in this Christmas wine list, click here for a great web site that explains more about the different kinds of wines and their flavors.

Happy Holidays!

Suggested Affordable Wines for Your Christmas Turkey Dinner

(Click here for great Turkey Recipes)

Columbia Winery Cellarmaster's Riesling

Coppola Bianco

Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio (my personal favorite from Gallo)

Turning Leaf Riesling (a Gallo brand)

Carlo Rossi Chablis Blanc

Livingston Cellars Chablis Blanc

Flying Horse Sauvignon Blanc

Black Swan Chardonnay/Semillon

Le Bonheur Sauvignon Blanc

Yellow Tail Chardonnay

Schmitt Soehne Classic Riesling

Beringer Chenin Blanc

Trimbach Pinot Gris

Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir

Fetzer Chardonnay

Suggested Affordable Wines for Your Christmas Ham Dinner

(Click here for a great Honey Glazed Ham Recipe)

Chateau Sainte Michelle Eroica Riesling

Ruffino Chianti (classic wine in a straw decorated bottle)

Straccali Chianti

Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir

Castle Rock Pinot Noir

Sutter Home White Zinfandel

Coppola Rosso

Beringer White Zinfandel

Yellow Tail Syrah

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages

Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Almaden Light White Zinfandel (very stylish looking bottle)

Jacob's Creek Shiraz

Ballentine Vineyards Pocai Vineyard Old Vines Chenin Blanc

Trimbach Gewurztraminer

Suggested Affordable Wines for Your Christmas Prime Rib or Lamb Dinner

(Click here for a really good fat free Lamb Recipe)

St. Genevieve Cabernet Sauvignon

Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir

Smoking Loon Merlot

Beringer Gewurztraminer

Fetzer Merlot

Fat Bastard Shiraz

Almaden Sangria Red

Viticcio Chianti Classico

Clos Du Bois Merlot

Cline Cellars Syrah

Rancho Zabaco Dry Creek Zinfandel (a Gallo brand)

Photo Credit:

Wikimedia Commons

Public Domain

Painting: PS Krøyer - Hip hip hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen 1888

Original painting owned by Göteborgs Konstmuseum

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:PS_Kr%C3%B8yer_-_Hip_hip_hurra!_Kunstnerfest_p%C3%A5_Skagen_1888.jpg