12 Wines To Gift This Valentine's Day Under $20

When Valentine's Day rolls around, the romance is on ... and so is the pressure to make sure everything is perfect. But when February brings its sub-zero windchill and all the trendy romantic restaurants start to fill up, celebrating at home can feel like the most attractive scene of all. Luckily, with our roundup of 12 budget-friendly wines that are perfect for celebrating in style, it can be. Plus, there's nothing like a good wine to grease the wheels as you bust out your most impressive Valentine's Day recipes. Here's lookin' at you, heart-eyed homecooks! But even if you end up throwing on "Pride & Prejudice" or "Sleepless in Seattle" and calling out for pizza, a special bottle of wine makes it an event — and for under $20, you're not going to break the bank.

Or, if cupid's arrow has emboldened you with enough rosy-hued willpower to brave the wintry cold, and you've read our tips on getting the reservation you want, these 12 wines under $20 will also make for an ideal one-stop romantic gift. Save your holiday budget for splurging on that nice meal out, and maybe even dessert.

Rosés may get a bad rap, but nonetheless it's with this dogged-upon wine class that we're kicking off our V-Day vino lineup. No other wine says Valentine's Day quite like a fruity rosé, and this syrah-heavy blend from California's Central Coast gets the job done maturely. No sickeningly-sweet fruit juice here, officer.

Justin Rosé features top notes of soft pink cotton candy, rosehips, chamomile, blood orange, and wet clay. Piquant acidity steers this friendly rosé away from one-note territory. It pairs exceptionally well with strawberry shortcake, but can also be matched with savory entrees like Mediterranean stuffed grape leaves, buttery lobster roll, veal with oregano, or a fresh green salad with feta.

Purchase Justin Rosé from Wine.com for $17.99.

There's more than meets the eye with this rosé from Côtes de Provence, France. This dry wine is a prime example of what wine-lovers talk about when they defend the rosé category as a whole. Like any good rosé, this rosy sipper opens with a silky mouthfeel and a pearlescent, pale pink hue. White florals, yellow fruit, and raspberry hit the palate first, followed by an impressively smoky nose and peppery bite to bring a little welcome darkness. Pair this one with raw oysters on the half shell and a few glowing pillar candles for an unforgettably romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

Purchase 2021 Château La Gordonne Vérité du Terroir Rosé from Vivino for $13.99.

L'un des Sens Orange is a great wine, but we'd be lying if we said the packaging wasn't part of what landed this funky beauty on our Valentine's Day roundup. The bottle comes labelled with a crazy-sexy-cool illustration of a bitten lip ("comment dit-on, 'let's get it on?'"). This French table wine from the Loire Valley is exactly how we hope your Valentine's Day is: Elegant yet funky. L'un des Sens Orange is fermented with pomace for five months, creating a complex palate that's creamy, salty, and orange-pith-forward with notes of almond and dried fruit.

Orange wines have a firmer tannic structure than whites, but less intensity than reds. As such, this middleman makes a perfect complement to equally multi-layered dishes like aromatic tofu pad Thai or Chinese hot pot – the latter of which makes a really fun at-home dinner for celebrating V-Day.

Purchase L'un des Sens Orange Wine from Total Wine for $19.99.

If you want to give your Valentine a bottle of wine, but don't know what type of wine they like, a dry white is almost always a safe bet. Ponzi Pinot Gris performs well on its own as a well-rounded late-evening sipper, but it can also be an award-winning supporting actor at dinner. This dry white from Oregon's Willamette Valley is smooth and mild with tasting notes of yellow plum, honeycomb, lemongrass, white lavender, and green tea. 

Pinot gris is a mutation of the pinot noir grape originating in Burgundy, and its white counterpart boasts an equally bold, zesty profile. To accentuate its crispness and slight chalky finish, pair this dry white with grilled barramundi fish (or another grilled white fish) or soft, herbaceous pesto-stuffed burrata and crostini.

Purchase Ponzi Pinot Gris for $17.99 from Total Wine.

Prefer your white wines a little sweet rather than dry? Then look no further than Long Shadows Vintners Poet's Leap from Columbia Valley, Washington. The poet's leap name alone sounds like a perfect match for Valentine's day.

This sweet white is an off-dry riesling, which clocks fairly sweet but not enough to be a dessert wine. It's still open to myriad food pairings from vegan vanilla frosted cupcakes to shrimp Alfredo. At a lower 12.2% ABV, this accessible riesling is a tame team-player for serving multiple glasses throughout the night as tapas and desserts flow. Tasting notes of white peach, honeysuckle, green apple, and melon herald firm flinty minerality on the back end.

Purchase 2023 Long Shadows Vintners Poet's Leap Riesling from Wine.com for $19.99.

Luscious, sensual cabernet sauvignon is the quintessential wine for a Valentine's Day dinner to impress. To craft this full-bodied red, cabernet sauvignon grapes are sourced from California's North Coast including Napa, Sonoma, and Paso Robles. Like foodies could expect from any Napa Valley cab, Mon Frère brings dominant dark-fruit tasting notes of redcurrant and red plums. That elegant structure and juicy mouthfeel is further complexified by hints of orange marmalade, pomegranate, savory chicory, and sage.

The hallmarks of cabernet sauvignon are firm tannic structure and high acidity. Pair it with equally intense dishes like baked eggplant parmesan or prime rib, which, for the record, you can totally make in an Instant Pot.

Purchase 2022 Mon Frère Cabernet Sauvignon from Wine.com for $11.97.

Lambruscos are a solidly accessible mid-point between friendly white wines and robust, bitter reds. It's a desirable sweet spot as is, but this sparkling red from Emilia-Romagna does justice to the entire Lambrusco category with its dynamic velvety body. On the palate, anticipate brushwood and strawberry supported by blackberry jam, dried cherries, and warming spice. Although, keep in mind that Lambrusco should be served chilled, so if you plan to give it as a gift, it'll hold up better in the fridge at home than left in a paper bag at room temperature.

Pair this sparkling red Lambrusco with a classic Italian-style lasagna, any pasta with a tomato-based sauce, or a salumi spread of cured meats. We've linked to the 2023 vintage here, but if you can get your hands on any age of Cleto Chiarli's Lambrusco, you're in for a treat.

Purchase 2023 Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco di Sorbara Vecchia Modena from Wine.com for $17.99.

If you aren't familiar with it, grenache blanc is a medium-bodied Spanish wine that still technically falls within the white category, but presents a golden, straw-colored hue. Grenache blanc is characterized by an uncommon interplay of low to medium acidity with a rich plushness. The bar is set pretty high as a baseline for any wine bearing the Grenache Blanc label — and the 2023 Les Indigenes Cultiver Grenache Blanc is certainly befitting of such a complex category, all at less than $20.

Hailing from France's Languedoc wine region, this vegetal, smokey, citrus-froward grenache blanc is produced with 24 hours of skin-on maceration in steel casks. Fresh pear, white peach, bright mandarin orange, and sweet almond hit mid-palate and leave with a mouthwatering long finish. Pair this one with classic French bouillabaisse to accentuate the wine's natural char, or pair it with Vietnamese-inspired lemongrass chicken thighs to emphasize the wine's grassiness.

Purchase 2023 Les Indigenes Cultiver Grenache Blanc from Total Wine for $17.99.

Resting amiably between sparkling lambrusco and full-bodied cab is this fruity, dark red blend from Costières-de-Nîmes in France's Southern Rhône Valley. Domaine Gassier Nostre Païs Rouge includes shiraz, grenache, and carignan grapes — an artful formula that yields tasting notes of dark plum, cherry, and violet, supported by stony graphite. 

Domaine Gassier Nostre Païs Rouge presents a delicate tannic structure for such a deep red. As such, it pairs best alongside medium-heft red meats like a roast leg of lamb or duck confit, and for dessert, dark chocolate squares and Costco's praline pecans.

Purchase Domaine Gassier Nostre Païs Rouge from Vivino for $19.98.

This dimensional orange from Alsace, France is the ideal bottle for celebrating Galentine's Day with your most fabulous friends. Not to be confused with the white pinot gris we mentioned earlier in our roundup, this skin contact variety of the same grape packs an earthy flavor profile brightened by zippy acidity. Joseph Cattin Orange Pinot Gris stars an unexpected combination of grass, apricot, peach, and white button mushroom flavors. Your most worldly, discerning-palated friends will know what's up.

For elevated hors d'oeuvres, pair it with these stuffed portobello mushrooms. Or, for a sit-down meal, this standout orange would also complement Greek lemon chicken and orzo with oregano and sundried tomatoes. The dish comes together in a crock pot, freeing you up to chat with your girls (or guys) while dinner comes together in the other room.

Purchase Joseph Cattin Orange Pinot Gris from The Raleigh Wine Shop for $15.

Any respectable wine lineup cannot be complete without an albariño. This well-balanced, affordable offering comes from the Galicia region of Northwest Spain. The 2023 Val Do Sosego Albariño Rias Baixas presents stately notes of lemon curd, fresh lime juice, sour apple, and oceanic salinity. Indeed, Galicia is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, cultivating a cool, damp climate for the area's renowned viticulture industry.

Pair this timeless, medium-bodied albariño with a savory carrot and goat cheese tart or warm, crispy crab cakes (which are easier to batch for a crowd than you might expect).

Purchase 2023 Val Do Sosego Albariño Rias Baixas from Total Wine for $19.99.

It would be impossible to explore Valentine's Day wines without including a budget-friendly bottle of bubbly. Our top pick for the job is none other than old reliable (but no less fashionable) Cupcake Prosecco.

This Italian sparkling wine is the glittering jewel that can keep you and your guests' flutes filled all night long without breaking the bank or losing its appeal. That effervescent finish keeps prosecco fresh on the palate even after a second glass, and Cupcake's ballet-dance along the line between dry and sweet means you're free to serve this bubbly with food, dessert, or totally on its own after a hearty meal. We especially like it paired with these red velvet Valentine's Day cheesecake bars.

Purchase Cupcake Prosecco from Total Wine for $11.97.