My friend Beverly, over at One Week Closer, took my comment about not having much luck with the under $5 wines as a challenge, and gave me a bottle of Rene Barbier Mediterranean White to try. At a price point of $4.99, I was a **bit** skeptical, but she was spot on! It’s a nice crisp white, not too sweet, not too dry, and seems pretty versatile. I ate it with delivery pizza, but I could definitely pair it with cheese and fruit as a summer party starter. I think Bev pegged it when she described it as a Houswives Wine (she shares my guilty pleasure for the Bravo RH series).

Beverly got this at a local liquor store and I think I’ve seen it at Trader Joe’s, so it should be readily available at mass retailers.

Standard caveat: This is a personal recommendation. These folks don’t know I exist and have provided neither product nor compensation for this endorsement. In fact, they’ll probably sue me if this ever gets in a search engine.