If you’re trying to shop local and save money, here’s your go-to list of the best Ontario wines under $20 — including three under $15. These widely available wine bargains tick so many boxes: they’re balanced, clean-fruited, food friendly and easy to enjoy. In short, they’re bottles you’ll come back to again and again. One $30 splurge caps the list.
Four wines in this column are not vintage dated, meaning no years appear on the labels. Non-vintage wines tend to be blends of more than one year. This approach creates consistency and quality at lower price points. But it’s important to drink these wines young and fresh—within a year or so of bottling. Here’s how to make that happen: Look for the bottling date on each wine. These are numeric codes stamped on most NV still wines. They’re hard to read because they tend to be small white digits printed the glass rather than the labels—usually near the bottom of the bottle. But search them out them. They matter.
NV Saintly The Good Sauvignon Blanc VQA Ontario
(LCBO 32183, $16.95 till April 27 reg. $19.95)
If you like crisp, fruit-driven Sauvignon Blanc that’s not as full-throttle or grassy as that from New Zealand, this is your wine. It’s a lot like Californian Sauvignon Blanc, actually. Each glassful shines star bright with yellow-gold inflections. The aromas call to mind white peach and green mango. And it streams in with a sun-kissed centre, stone-fruited and citrusy appeal and unbridled energy. This bone-dry white with its salted-lime-zest finish is a gem — very versatile at the table, especially with salads. (12.5% alc., 3g/L sugar, bottled Feb. 11, 2025)
NV Jackson-Triggs Estate Wines Reserve Meritage VQA Ontario
This wine tastes like a slimmer, more fit version of Cab-Merlots from warmer climes. It’s a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon that starts with wispy mixed berry, coffee and chocolate on the nose. Then, it sweeps in tasting lifted and bright, dry and elegant. While there’s not a whack of midpalate concentration and the texture is more silk than velvet, this easy-drinking red tastes classic with lots of cherry fruit laced with blackcurrant, cocoa and espresso. The long, strong mocha finish is a welcome surprise. (12.5% alc. 5g/L sugar, bottled Mar. 27, 2025)
2023 Popcorn Chardonnay VQA Niagara Peninsula
This latest vintage now on shelf is showing beautifully. The wine smells like lemon tart and hot buttered popcorn — very fresh and toasty. Then, it slips in tasting rich and saturated with a certain satisfying fattiness offset by citrusy zeal and threaded with caramelized, nutty notes that leave the palate nicely seasoned. Not long but keeps you sipping. Good alternative to wooded Chardonnay from California or Washington. And just the wine to have on hand for movie nights in or to pour with a big bowl of fettuccine Alfredo. (12.5% alc., 5g/L sugar)
NV Megalomaniac Homegrown Riesling VQA Ontario
(LCBO 183061, $12.95 till Apr. 27, reg. $14.95)
For a bright lick of sweet-tart refreshment, this is your bottle. It tastes like a porch swing moment on a hot summer’s day. It bolts in with lemon-lime-and-pineapple immediacy tasting sunlit and breezy — a bit like a tall glass of lemonade. Serve it at 6 p.m. when you’re transitioning from work to play. Splash it in your glass with spicy fare. Or serve with a nibble of cheese after a meal — in lieu of dessert. Consider it your summer secret weapon. (11.5% alc., 24 g/L sugar, bottled Nov. 01, 2024)
NV Open Riesling-Gewürztraminer VQA Ontario
Here’s a bottle that’s inexpensive and intriguingly complex. The fragrance opens with sliced grapefruit, fresh lychee and bright lemon with a touch of wet stoniness somewhere. Then, it washes in like a lightning flash of flavour that quickly cascades with the everything found on the nose, along with a subtle note of ginger. Each sip enters, amplifies then quickly retreats. This juicy-sweet, lip-smacking drink is one to keep in the door of the fridge. And it’s hands down fabulous with green Thai curry. (11% alc., 21g/L sugar, bottled Oct. 23, 2024)
2022 Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Baco Noir, VQA Ontario
(Vintages Essential 461699, $27.95)
For something more premium, there’s this red. The fragrance calls to mind muddled blackberries and black cherry with a touch of balsamic. The entry is round, ripe and full of fruit, yet cool and light-tasting, too. Juicy acidity keeps each sip quenching and gluggable. And the flavours flit from wild blueberry to crushed blackberry to cherry jam, while soft brush strokes of violet, vanilla and toasted almond emerge on the long finish. Perfect with roasted chicken thighs, mushroom ravioli or aged Ontario cheddar. (13% alc., 9g/L sugar)
