5 Wines you can buy in Mexico for under $10

Mexico is not really know as a wine drinking country but the good news is that wine has gotten more popular in the past few years. Actually the oldest winery in North America is in Mexico. It is called Casa Madero and dates back to 1597 when Spanish soldiers and priest discovered the grapes growing in this area. Today Mexico wine production is mainly done in Baja California, Sonora, Zacatecas, Querétaro, and Coahuila. It may not seem logical but when you think about California in the United States being a large wine producer, just going a little south, you are in Mexico and the climate is good for production as well.

This article is not all about Mexican wines since we get so many imports as well from good wine producing areas. We did a lot of drinking research for this article so we hope you appreciate all the hard work we have done for you. For where to purchase wine, check out our guide for where to buy wine in Playa Del Carmen.

Casa Madera produces some fine wines but they did not make out under $10 list since their price pint is higher. We do however have two Mexican wines on the list though. One is L. A. Cetto Riesling Castillo del Rhin from Ensenada, Mexico. This wine is actually the cheapest wine on our list at $57-60 pesos a bottle. Walmart usually has the cheapest price followed by Mega grocery store. We do find this wine sold out a lot of times because it is cheaper and if people know, good value too.

This wine is a Riesling with 11.5% alcohol content. Pale yellow in color and very light taste. Best served chilled. We don’t recommend other wines from this maker because they taste watered down and cheap but this one escaped those traits.

Our other white wine in our selection is Mission 12 Santo Tomas. This white wine is a 14% semi sweet wine. It is middle of the road for quality but considering the price of around 80 pesos, it is a good value. This can be found in most supermarkets or specialty stores.

Here are our three red wine reccomendations for good value wines under $10. Our absolute top pick is Palo Alto Reserva 2008 from Chile. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Camenere and Syrah grapes. It is a 13.7% red wine. This wine comes from the Maule Valley in Chile which is the southernmost section of the central valley wine producing area. The taste of this wine is fresh and full character aromas. Black fruit notes and elegant presence of wood stand out. In mouth it is smooth, balanced and full-bodied. This wine sells for about 130 pesos, so it is right at $10. Sometimes you can buy three Palo Alto wines in a pack for 200 pesos, that makes it even more of a value.

Our second best Finca Las Moras Malbec 2013. This wine is 13% and from Mendoza Argentina. It has a lot of awards on the label but it still not spectacular but good wine for everyday drinking. It is best if chilled for about 15 minutes before serving. It sells for about 80-100 pesos a bottle and can be found in most stores except AKI supermarket.

The last red wine on the list is Rey de los Andes Merlot 2012. This wine comes from Chiles Central Valley and is 12.6 %. This wine is a little cheaper at around 85 pesos but not as preferable as the malbec unless you like more oaky overtones. This wine should also be chilled for about 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving. Most likely to find this wine in Mega grocery store.

This list is not meant to cover every wine there is to buy here but it does give you a general guide. When you move to a new country or are visiting you might find the selection totally different then what you know and it is hard narrow down what you might like or a good value.

In Playa Del Carmen spending 150 pesos on a bottle of wine will get you a pretty good wine. For now we wanted to being you a more budget list of wines for you to enjoy.

Tip: The typical wines like Castillo Del Diablo and Frontera wines which are typically a decent inexpensive wine are sold here as well. They can be a little more expensive and do not offer the same good value as the wines mentioned above.

Tip: We do get some inexpensive Spanish wines here, but these should be avoided because they are cheap in price and tasting. In general, the wines from Chile and Argentina offer better value as well as taste.

Happy drinking everyone!

What are some of your favorite wines in Mexico? Let us know in the comments below.