A Chardonnay. A Cabernet. Whatever you like, you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good bottle of wine.

Eric Renaud is the senior wine expert, or sommelier, at Bern's Steak House in Tampa, which has an internationally acclaimed wine cellar

"You should be able to find an excellent bottle of everyday, drinking wine for about the $15 to $20-25 range," Renaud said.

What to Look For

Don't be intimidated. You can find a wine of any grape, from any region, for a reasonable price.

Start at a wine shop. Ask questions. And don't be afraid to experiment.

"Ask them. Say, ‘This is what I normally drink. I want to try something else. This is my price point.’ Maybe ask for three different wines in that area, in that range," Renaud suggested.

Tasting Techniques

When it comes to tasting wine, there are a few techniques to enhance the process.

After pouring wine into your glass, swirl it around to increase the aroma and smell it.

"You really do have to get an aeration going," Renaud said. "Then smell it. Don't be afraid to put your nose in there."
Then, it’s time to taste.

"When you taste wine, (swish it) all around your gums, swish it all around your mouth," Renaud explained, saying that’s how you get the most flavor to really determine if you like it.

Cheap vs. Expensive

The average price spent on a bottle of wine in the U.S. in 2015 was about $7.40.

The difference between cheap wine and expensive comes down to how they are produced.

“Some of these $7-$8 bottles of wine, it’s because they are a mass produced wine,” Renaud said.

Wineries that mass produce wines use machines to harvest the crops, which is cheaper than using people.

“So you don’t have manpower involved; you have one guy on a special tractor who can do the work that it might take 100 people a couple of days to do.”

In addition, how selective a vineyard is in growing and choosing the grapes also makes the wine more expensive.

“You can get more grapes per each vine if you’re allowed to water. To make a more intense wine, you want more intense stronger grapes, so they actually drop fruit to create a better grape,” Renaud explained.

And there are various ways to create the different flavors associated with a wine.

“They say, ‘They’re ‘oaked.’ Well, what’s that mean? There are oak chips; there are oak stoves versus very small oak barrels that are very expensive.”

Taste Test

So, can you tell the difference between cheap and expensive? We compared an $8 bottle of Bordeaux to a $50 bottle of Bordeaux.

The expensive wine did taste a bit better. The cheap one was sweeter and not quite as smooth. But even though you might be able to tell the difference with extreme price points, there is no right or wrong.

“There are people who like the fruity stuff. Drink what you like. It’s all about personal preference,” Renaud said.

Even as a sommelier, Renaud doesn’t break the bank for everyday drinking wine.

"Retail that I buy is about $21. If you come to our house, that's what we're serving," he said. “We kind of did extremes for a reason; $8 and $50. When you’re looking somewhere in between, you should find something that will make you happy.”

So for special occasions, maybe splurge. But for every day, look in that $15-25 range and enjoy a toast to being Consumer Wise.