Admit it folks, the economy has got you down. Here we are, moving into
a new year, and all they can talk about on the news is war and
depression. It's enough to send you into a bottle – but those bottles
are expensive! Oh what to do?

Fear not, Wine-Girl is coming to the rescue. At
the beginning of 2009, we'll be launching a new occasional series called Recession Wines.

Every so often, we'll review a low-cost wine – preferably under $10, but definitely under $15. Remember my $10 and Under
post from October? You had some great suggestions for us in those
comments. I would love it if you'd add even more to this post. (Or
email me. I know, you all are tentative about comments but you love the
email.)

In the meantime, I want to offer out two different tips for drinking wine when the money is tight:

• Enjoy those wine tastings. As I often say, wine tastings in
  Kentucky are free. In Ohio, they are generally less than $5, usually
  around $1. Heck, Bigg's Skytop offers a gourmet meal of samples as well
  as full pours of 5-6 wines each week for only $10. And you can split a
  tasting with someone else. Tastings are a great way to get to know what
  wines you like. In many cases, they will be low-cost wines anyway. In
  other cases, you'll be getting to try wines you might never afford in
  other circumstances. So go out there and enjoy the tastings!  Don't
  forget to take notes so that you can buy those wines later, when a
  paycheck is just burning a hole in your purse.
• Closeouts. Oh, what a spectacular deal are closeouts! At
  Liquor Direct, they have an entire wall of closeouts – 2 for $10, 3 for
  $20. At Party Source, just ask someone. They will show you excitedly
  what is on closeout. You see, closeouts aren't necessarily bad wine or
  old wine. In many cases, closeouts are when a winery is redesigning a
  label or when a distributor is dropping a wine. Jump on these. Don't be
  afraid to ask at your local wine shop. In my experience, the retailers
  are just as excited about the closeouts as you are, and eager to share.

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