The 30 Best Red Wines for 2026

Table of Contents

Why You Should Trust VinePair
How We Taste
How We Compiled This List
Best Red Wines Under $30
Best Red Wines Under $50
Best Red Wines Under $100
Best Red Wines Over $100
FAQs

Why You Should Trust VinePair

Throughout the year, VinePair conducts dozens of tastings for our Buy This Booze product roundups, highlighting the best bottles across the world’s most popular wine and spirits categories.

As part of this work, VinePair’s tasting and editorial staff samples thousands of bottles every year. This helps us keep a finger on the pulse of what’s new and exciting. It also provides us with the crucial context needed to distinguish the simply good from the truly great — whether from a quality or value-for-money perspective, or both.

VinePair’s mission is to offer a clear, reliable source of information for drinkers, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking. Learn more about VinePair’s tastings and reviews department here.

How We Taste

We believe in tasting all products as our readers typically would: with full knowledge of the producer and — importantly — price. Our tastings are therefore not conducted blind.

VinePair’s tasting panel evaluates every wine on its aromas, flavors, structure, balance, and quality. We also consider whether or not the wine showed typicity for its specific grape or region.

How We Compiled This List

For the best red wines roundup, our tastings department reviewed the wines that were featured across VinePair’s buying guides throughout the year and compiled a list of the bottles that showcase the best of what red wine has to offer this year. We also considered what each wine brought to the table based on quality, value, regional diversity, and availability in the U.S. to ensure a comprehensive selection.

Best Red Wines Under $30

Forge Cellars Willow Cabernet Franc 2023

Here’s some evidence that it’s not just Rielsing doing well in the Finger Lakes region. The skilled team at Forge Cellars is also showing the potential for terroir-driven Cabernet Franc here. This bottling comes from the Willow Vineyard on Seneca Lake, one of the northernmost sites that Forge works with. The nose welcomes you with a waft of artisan cheese rind, earth, and cranberries. The palate is precise and focused, with razor-sharp acidity, calm fruit notes, and a savory edge.

Average price: $26
Rating: 95

Dr. Konstantin Frank Cabernet Franc 2022

Dr. Konstantin Frank came to the Finger Lakes from Ukraine in the early 20th century and proved that Vitis vinifera wines were not only possible in New York’s cold climate, but delicious. This Cab Franc offers a complex bouquet of pepper, wild berries, and a hint of aged balsamic. The wine is impeccably balanced on the palate, showing impressive harmony between ripe fruit, bright acidity, and subtle tannins.

Average price: $28
Rating: 93

Les Tètes Pineau d’Aunis 2024

Pineau d’Aunis is an underrated red grape variety from the Loire Valley that should be on your radar if you love light-bodied, chillable reds loaded with bright fruit flavors. This expression pops with zippy, tart notes of ripe raspberries, cranberries, and blood orange with hints of fall spices. The concentration of flavor is wildly impressive for a wine that comes in at just 10.5 percent ABV.

Average price: $28
Rating: 92

Best Red Wines Under $50

Fjord Vineyards Estate Cabernet Franc 2022

The Empire State is showing the U.S. a new style of Cabernet Franc. A style that absolutely embraces the variety’s inherent bright, red-fruited, and savory characteristics. Fjord has been doing this in the Hudson Valley, flanked by two mountains, since 2013. This wine is such a great example of the New York style. It has a rich nose of wild berries and spice. The palate is balanced and textured, offering a medium weight and supple tannins that linger on the finish.

Average price: $30
Rating: 93

Ignaz Niedrist Kalterersee Classico Superiore 2023

Hey, chillable red wine crew. Here’s one you may not know yet: Schiava. It is bright and fruit-forward with a nice dry edge and great acidity to hold up to a chill. The palate pops with flavors like cherry Jolly Ranchers and cotton candy, along with more subtle, savory hints of wild strawberry tops, white pepper, and minerals.

Average price: $30
Rating: 95

Âmevive Gamay 2024

This light and fun Gamay comes in at 11 percent alcohol, making it wonderfully sessionable. It would definitely benefit from a chill but is also great at room temp. It’s punchy on the palate with notes of tart cherries, wild berries, and fresh herbs.

Average price: $32
Rating: 92

Las Pedreras Los Arroyuelos Garnacha 2023

Spain’s Sierra de Gredos region is known for its stunningly elegant expressions of Garnacha, and this bottle from Las Predreras is one of our favorites. The nose is subtle but the palate brings notes of rich red cherries, wild strawberries, and black raspberries. It showcases a lighter side of Garnacha, with bright acidity and an intense chalky minerality.

Average price: $32
Rating: 93

Pollak Vineyards Merlot 2023

Pollak Vineyards Merlot

This is a delicious expression of Merlot from Virginia. Aged for 14 months in a mix of new and neutral French oak barrels, it strikes the perfect balance of oak influence, fruit, and structure. It offers ripe red berry notes accented by coffee beans, mushrooms, and crisp autumn leaves.

Average price: $34
Rating: 94

Kiona Vineyards Estate Bottled Merlot 2022

This wine comes from the Red Mountain district of Washington’s Columbia Valley, which is known for producing elegant, layered expressions of Merlot. It’s a blend of four vineyard sites, including the region’s founding vines that were planted in 1975. It’s a great example of the Red Mountain style, offering a savory nose of coffee, pepper, and balsamic. The palate offers plush fruit with hints of vanilla and spice.

Average price: $36
Rating: 95

Wölffer Estate ‘Caya’ Cabernet Franc 2021

Can you tell we’re a bit obsessed with New York Cabernet Franc right now? Roman Roth, winemaker at Long Island’s iconic Wölffer Estate since 1992, has long believed in Cab Franc’s potential here, and this bottling showcases his skill and dedication. It opens with a peppery nose of wild berries and earth, followed by a soft, focused palate. With its balanced acidity and medium-weighted savory fruit, this is a sophisticated expression of the region’s potential.

Average price: $37
Rating: 95

Outward Wines Presqu’ile Vineyard Gamay 2023

This Gamay from the Presqu’ile Vineyard in Santa Barbara delivers intensely savory aromas of black peppercorns and herbs along with bright cherry notes on the nose. The palate brings more red fruit like ripe red berries and watermelon. It’s wonderfully easy-drinking, but not without complexity.

Average price: $38
Rating: 94

Division Winemaking Company Trousseau 2023

Trousseau is stepping on Pinot Noir’s territory. This little-known grape from the Jura — a small, alpine region in France — is rarely seen outside of its home, but Division Wine Company is giving it life in Oregon. It’s full of crunchy red fruit like pomegranate seeds and raspberries. The juicy fruit is backed by a ripping acidity and a slate-like mineral character.

Average price: $40
Rating: 93

Saracina Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2022

This Pinot Noir comes from the cool vineyards of Anderson Valley, with vines less than 15 miles from the ocean offering sunny days and brisk nights. Saracina has taken all of this and put it in a bottle. The nose opens with vibrant red fruits like cherries and raspberries with hints of earth and rhubarb. The palate expertly balances this juicy fruit character with high acidity and grippy tannins.

Average price: $40
Rating: 95

Evening Land ‘Seven Springs’ Gamay Noir 2024

Unlike some ultra-light expressions of Gamay, this bottle from Oregon is all about concentration of fruit. The dense nature of the wine makes it a delicious entry into the growing category of American Gamay. It’s packed with juicy notes of ripe raspberries, strawberries, and freshly squeezed blood oranges. The fruit-forward palate is wrapped in a layer of cedar, black pepper, and spice.

Average price: $45
Rating: 94

Sky Vineyards Mt. Veeder Zinfandel 2016

This grape deserves so much more attention than it gets. It ages well, tastes delicious, and has nuance — like in this decade-old example from Napa’s Sky Vineyards. Coming from Mt. Veeder’s high-elevation vines, this is a medium-bodied expression of Zin, delivering complex notes of worn leather, cured tobacco, wild berries, and autumnal baking spices.

Average price: $46
Rating: 95

Seghesio Family Vineyards Cortina Zinfandel 2023

The Seghesio Family has a deep history with Zinfandel, and the winery currently produces a wide range of site-specific Zin expressions. They are all wonderful wines that truly express the variety’s best characteristics, and the Cortina bottling from the Dry Creek Valley is one of our favorites. It is so focused and balanced that you’ll be a Zin fan immediately. The nose is savory with aromas of black olives, pepper, and tart wild berries. The palate is expertly balanced with deep fruit, spices, and silky tannins.

Average price: $50
Rating: 95

Chateau Montelena Estate Zinfandel 2022

This is a find! When one of the most celebrated producers in American wine history makes a wine from one of the country’s most historic grape varieties, you pay attention. This is a wonderfully elegant version of Zinfandel. It’s full of bright fruit notes, from cranberry and blueberry to aromatic citrus peels. The palate is welcoming with soft fruit notes, bright acidity, framing tannins, and slight hints of pepper.

Average price: $50
Rating: 97

Best Red Wines Under $100

Matthiasson Wines Napa Valley Schioppettino 2023

Inspired by an interest in the wines of Italy’s unique Friuli region, Steve and Jill Matthiasson grafted the region’s obscure local grapes like Ribolla Gialla and Schioppettino onto vines in their home vineyard in Napa. The result is a distinctly savory wine with intense aromas of freshly cracked black peppercorn. Brambly blackberries, raspberries, earth, and minerals drive the medium-bodied palate.

Average price: $59
Rating: 94

Ankida Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir 2022

Though widely popular across the U.S., Pinot Noir is still rarely seen in Virginia. But one stand-out version is this bottling from the high-elevation vineyards of Ankida Ridge winery. Its location tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains brings great balance to the wine with supple fruit and bright acidity. Floral aromas emerge on the nose, backed by juicy cherry notes and hints of fresh potting soil.

Average price: $59
Rating: 94

Marine Layer ‘Marine Layer Vineyard’ Pinot Noir 2022

Coming from Marine Layer’s eponymous vineyard site on the Sonoma Coast, this is a great example of a cool, coastal California Pinot Noir. It has a harmonious blend of fruit and earth aromas, with alternating layers of ripe cherries, white mushrooms, rhubarb, and herbs across the palate. The ocean influence comes through in the wine’s refreshing acidity.

Average price: $70
Rating: 96

Big Table Farm Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir 2022

A wonderful example of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, this bottle from the Yamhill-Carlton subregion offers both earth and fruit. It opens with a distinct umami character of soil-covered mushrooms and minerals, working its way to notes of orange blossoms and ripe, juicy cherries.

Average price: $72
Rating: 96

Illahe Vineyards 1899 Estate Pinot Noir 2022

The “1899” on the label here doesn’t refer to the wine’s vintage, but rather the time period its meant to evoke. This Oregon Pinot Noir was made (and distributed) using techniques used in the 19th century — Illahe even brought the wine from the hills of the Willamette Valley to the city of Portland via horse and carriage. In addition to having a fun story, the wine is delicious. It offers rich notes of chocolate-covered cherries and blackberry jam, balanced by a lithe tannic frame and active acidity.

Average price: $85
Rating: 96

Component Wine Co. Napa Valley Merlot 2023

This is a quintessential example of Napa Valley Merlot. It shows what the grape can achieve when winemakers give it the care and attention it deserves. The nose is inviting with blackberry and plum notes, complemented by hints of vanilla and spice. The palate is ripe and giving, while showing the restraint needed to allow a fruit-forward grape like Merlot to shine.

Average price: $98
Rating: 96

Best Red Wines Over $100

Violet’s Paradise Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel 2023

Although Cabernet Sauvignon is our fine-wine standard, Zinfandel is our historical legacy as a winemaking culture. Some of oldest vines in America are Zinfandel. And this wine comes from a small group of octogenarians from Napa’s legendary Monte Rosso Vineyard. Complex aromas of citrus peel, ripe berries, and spiced meat greet the nose. The palate is soft, with the structure playing a secondary role to the bountiful fruit.

Average price: $100
Rating: 98

Tenuta San Leonardo Vigneti Delle Dolomiti 2019

This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carménère comes from the Dolomites of northern Italy, injecting some alpine freshness into a typically dense blend. It offers notes of wild berries, leather, and minerals. Bright acidity and grippy tannins lift the fruit on the palate, making it a stunningly age-worthy wine.

Average price: $115
Rating: 96

Emeritus Vineyards Hallberg Ranch Elite 2021

Emeritus Vineyards Hallberg Ranch Elite 2021

There’s just something about a big, juicy Russian River Pinot Noir. When they are balanced and allow both their power and subtleness to shine simultaneously, it’s jaw-on-the-floor material. This delicious example from Emeritus Vineyards brings ripe cherry notes with hints of forest floor, aged balsamic, and cinnamon. The bright acidity helps to lift the dense fruit and slightly heftier body.

Average price: $120
Rating: 96

Long Meadow Ranch E.J. Church Merlot 2022

Here’s another example of how Merlot can change your life. This Napa Valley wine opens with aromas of spiced meat, blueberries, and hints of pepper. Deep fruit notes on the palate are wonderfully balanced by savory flecks of cinnamon, clove, and autumn leaves.

Average price: $135
Rating: 98

Gagnon-Kennedy Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

Often in the wine world we point out someone to watch. Well keep an eye on Marc Gagnon. He is making some of the best wine in Northern California — and he’s just getting started. This wine is made from 19th- century Cabernet Sauvignon vines and is one of the most wonderful experiences you can give to your palate. It’s brimming with blackberry, black currant, and plum notes complemented by fresh herbs, licorice, and leather. It’s a true American classic in the making.

Average price: $175
Rating: 96

Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

As the history of American wine is being written, and while we’re just getting started, there should be an entire chapter dedicated to Mayacamas. This winery makes Cabernet Sauvignon that is timeless. As Napa leaned into more powerful expressions of Cab, Mayacamas stuck to its restrained, lifted mountain fruit character. The palate is focused with notes of cedar, pine, blackberry, and red plum shining through the firm structure.

Average price: $185
Rating: 99

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Warren Winiarski was born in Chicago, fell in love with the idea of wine and came to California to make history. To say this wine is a classic is an understatement. It’s a wine that showed the world the U.S. was the winemaking region to reckon with. It’s full of blackberry, cassis, and black olive tapenade flavors. The palate has great texture and depth with a seamless yet present tannic structure.

Average price: $250
Rating: 95

FAQs

What is the smoothest red wine?

The smoothest red wines are red blends, an unofficial category of wine that delivers bold fruit flavors and smooth tannin structures.

What is the most popular red wine?

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red wine grape in the world.

What’s the best red wine for beginners?

The best red wines for beginners include bright, fruit-forward options like Pinot Noir or Gamay, as well as sparkling red wines like Lambrusco.