Wine column: Budget bottles for January belt tightening

Frugal, thrifty, prudent, sparing, economical, canny, stingy, scrimping, penny-wise, chintzy, spartan, cheap, tight, sensible and unwasteful.

These words are all synonyms for being budget-conscious -- something all of us tend to be doing this time of year after the Christmas and New Year's Eve spending, eating and drinking blitz.

Saving a buck and choosing affordable -- and even lower-alcohol -- wines during January belt tightening doesn't mean you have to sacrifice taste and style.

Our definition of a value bottle of wine is one that comes in at very drinkable $20 or less.

The following 10 wines prove being frugal can be fun and delicious.

- Blasted Church Hatfield's Fuse 2022 ($20) from Okanagan Falls

- Esprit du Rhone 2022 Reserve Maison Sinnae ($20) from France

- Kim Crawford Illuminate Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($19) from New Zealand

The 7% alcohol-by-volume version of the wildly popular regular Sauv Blanc from Down Under.

- Meiomi Bright Pinot Noir 2022 (this one slipped in over budget at $24) from California

The 8% alcohol-by-volume take on the regular well-known Cali Pinot.

- El Petit Bonhomme Organic 2002 ($20) from Spain

A juicy red blend of a varietal you've heard of -- Syrah -- and two you likely haven't -- Monastrell and Garnacha.

- Sidney Rose Sparkling ($17) from Canadian wine giant Arterra, which also owns the aforementioned Kim Crawford, BASK, featured below, Okanagan wineries Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, See Ya Later Ranch, Nk'Mip and Steller's Jay and international brands Ruffino of Italy and Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi from California

Sidney is touted as a wine re-imagined, moderation-first brand for its lower alcohol (7% by volume) and only 1 gram of sugar per serving.

The bottles are also pragmatically sealed with a pry-off crown cap rather than the elaborate mushroom-shaped cork, wire cage and foil of a traditional sparkling wine.

- Sidney Pinot Grigio Sparkling ($17)

- Sidney Cabernet Sauvignon Sparkling ($17)

- BASK Pinot Noir ($11)

BASK wines come in at a more typical 12.5% alcohol, but have zero sugar per serving.

'Bask' is defined as 'to take pleasure and enjoyment.'

- BASK Chardonnay ($13)

Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.