Most Popular Supermarket Brands

• According to ACNielsen scan data, red wine accounts for 40.1 percent of supermarket wine sales, with the top brands sold through U.S. supermarkets including Yellow Tail, Sutter Home, Franzia, Woodbridge, Beringer California Collection, Livingston Cellars, Twin Valley, Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve, Carlo Rossi and Almaden. Within the past few years, supermarket sales of red wine have grown at a far faster rate than those of white wine, mainly due to media reports of a link between red wine and the reduced risk of heart disease.

GroceryWine.net

• The website GroceryWine.net offers suggestions on its top red wines at value prices that can be found at most American supermarkets. Among the recommendations as of October 2009 were the Dancing Bull Cabernet Sauvignon, which retailed for approximately $9 and has a flavor described "black cherry with maybe a hint of chocolate." Another top choice was the Washington State-produced Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon, $12, in which "blackberry and black cherry flavors combine with a silky texture."

Costco Wine Blog

• The Costco Wine Blog highlights some of the top wines available at U.S. Costco stores, rated according to price and quality. The site's top two picks as of March 2011 are the 2004 Vina Mayor Ribera Del Duero Reserva, a $19 Spanish wine with cherry flavors and an earthy finish of tobacco and spice, and the 2003 Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino which, at $60, is not inexpensive, but was highly rated for its "spicy nose" and "nice red fruit (cherry, strawberry) and plum flavors [that hit] your taste buds from every direction."

Supermarket Wine-Buying Tips

• An article in the "Wall Street Journal" offers 10 tips on how to find the best red-wine values at your local supermarket. Among these tips: Stay away from larger bottles and boxed wines; move beyond California wines and explore some the of excellent wines from other locales, such as Australia or Washington State; and examine a wine's vintage, since most wines for sale at a supermarket are meant to be consumed immediately and are best when they're young and fresh.