Best Aldi Wine: Critic Scores and How to Shop the Aisle

The best Aldi wine for your money is usually one of its exclusive labels with a real critic score behind it. Right now only one bottle meets all our rules: Scarlet Path Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 from Lodi, with 90 points from Wine Enthusiast for about $7. Two well-scored Aldi whites, the Exquisite Collection Chardonnay 2022 (92 points) and the Specially Selected Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (88 points), have only older prices, and newer vintages have likely replaced them, so we list them as worth knowing rather than as picks. This guide is for Aldi shoppers who want to know which bottles critics rate and how to judge the rest of the aisle.

How we picked

We don’t taste the wines ourselves. Each pick has a published professional score for the exact vintage named, here from Wine Enthusiast, which scores wines on a 100-point scale. Aldi doesn’t publish fixed wine prices we can check online, so, as our Blue Book Value method allows for store guides, we use a dated Aldi price published by a named source, and say whose figure it is and when. We then applied our thresholds: 90 to 92 points is a Great Value at $20 or less, and 88 or 89 points is a Great Value at $15 or less. We also need the price to be recent enough that the scored vintage is likely still on the shelf. Only one wine passed every test, so this list is short on purpose.

Note: Aldi’s range, vintages and prices change often and differ by store and state. VinePair reported in 2017 that Aldi sold wine only in states that allow wine sales in grocery stores, so not every Aldi has a wine aisle. A score applies to one vintage only, so check the year on the bottle.

The pick that meets our method

Scarlet Path Old Vine Zinfandel 2023

• Score: 90 points, Wine Enthusiast, as reported by The Daily Meal (September 2026). It is the only professional score we found.
• Price: about $7: $6.99 according to The Daily Meal in September 2026, and $7.79 according to Southern Living in October 2025.
• Verdict: Great Value.

Lodi is in California’s Central Valley, and a 90-point score at about $7 is rare anywhere. Our pick: it is the only Aldi wine we found with both a critic score and a recent dated price, and it is an Aldi exclusive. As a style, Zinfandel tends to be ripe and fruity, which makes it a good match for barbecue, burgers and pizza.

Worth knowing, but not picks

These Aldi wines come up often. Each fails at least one of our rules, so we don’t give them a verdict:

• Exquisite Collection Chardonnay 2022 (California): 92 points from Wine Enthusiast, the highest score for any Aldi wine we found, and $9 at Aldi according to Southern Living in April 2025. We could not find a newer dated price, and Aldi exclusives change vintage often, so the 2022 has likely sold through. If you still find the 2022 at about that price, it is a bargain; if the year on the label has changed, the 92 no longer applies. As a style, California Chardonnay is often rich, which suits roast chicken, salmon or creamy pasta; see our guide to wine with chicken.
• Specially Selected Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (New Zealand): 88 points from Wine Enthusiast and $9.95 in Southern Living’s October 2025 list. By February 2026, Cheap Wine Finder was reporting the newer 2025 vintage at $8.69, from Lismore Wines, a family-owned estate in New Zealand, at 13% alcohol. We found no professional score for the 2025, so the 88 no longer matches the bottle most stores are likely to sell.
• Specially Selected Fleurs d’Eau Brut Rosé: Wine Enthusiast scored it 86, Southern Living reported in April 2025, at $10.99. Neither source states a vintage or says it is non-vintage, so we can’t match the score to the bottle on the shelf. Chowhound listed it at $12.25 in November 2025.
• 3 Rein Never Tame Red Blend 2022 (Columbia Valley): 87 points from Tastings.com (reviewed September 2025) at a listed $7, made by Precept Wine. The review doesn’t name a retailer, and we found no dated Aldi price for this vintage.
• Belletti Prosecco and Elliot Cooper Chardonnay: both have Product of the Year awards, and Chowhound listed Belletti at $11 in November 2025. These awards come from consumer surveys, not critics, so they don’t count as scores here.

How to shop wine at Aldi

1. Know the labels. Most Aldi wines are exclusive brands you won’t find elsewhere, such as Specially Selected, Exquisite Collection, Scarlet Path and Winking Owl. In the lists we used, Exquisite Collection produced the highest-scoring bottle, and Winking Owl was among the cheapest (its sangria was $4.39 in Southern Living’s October 2025 list).
2. Read awards for what they are. Product of the Year USA is based on a survey of about 40,000 shoppers, Mashed reported. It is a popularity contest, which is useful, but it isn’t a critic’s score.
3. Check the vintage. Aldi exclusives change vintage often. A score printed in an article from last year may be for a different year from the bottle in front of you.
4. Look for the publication on shelf tags. “90 points” with no source or year tells you very little. Our guide to wine ratings explains what the numbers mean.
5. Start with regions that over-deliver. Lodi Zinfandel, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and California Chardonnay all gave strong scores at Aldi prices.

How to find more good-value wine

For more bottles under $10 with verified scores and prices from regular retailers, see our list of the best wine under $10. If you shop at other big chains, our guides to the best Costco wine and Trader Joe’s wine use the same method.

We recheck these prices at least every three months and will add Aldi picks when critics score the current vintages or new dated prices appear.