Wine Dupes

I simply cannot resist makeup tutorial videos, and can spend hours in a hypnotic trance watching influencers talk about the latest beauty products. Naturally, I want to run out and buy whatever they put their seal of approval on—but I especially love it when they offer suggestions for dupes. A dupe is a beauty‐world colloquialism for duplicate, and refers to a less expensive swap-out for a higher‐end luxury product. For example, instead of a $150 face product from a department store, an influencer might reveal a drugstore brand that can get you a similar result for a fraction of the price. The dupe may not contain the same ingredients as the luxury brand, but it functions in more or less the same way.

I’m often asked to recommend a less expensive alternative to a higher priced wine, and I usually suggest a completely different grape, or a wine from another region: a wine dupe. The swap‐out won’t be exactly the same, but it will be reminiscent of what you’re looking for. By keeping your options open and exploring lesser‐known areas, you can find some really good wines that dupe their higher‐end counterparts.

Here are a few suggestions.

LUXURY: Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon | DUPE: Argentina Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley is world‐renowned for its full‐bodied and velvety Cabernet Sauvignons. A good bottle will set you back at least $75 a bottle. For many, Argentina is synonymous with Malbec, but the generous climate and high‐altitude vineyards provide the ideal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon as well. You get a very similar mouth‐filling style as a Napa, with generous fruit and plush tannins.

LUXURY: Pinot Noir | DUPE: Beaujolais

Yes, you can find Pinot Noir for under $20 a bottle—but it’s hard to find a good one. We love Pinot Noir for its elegant, light‐bodied structure and haunting perfume. Gamay grown in the Beaujolais region of France (just south of Burgundy, the birthplace of Pinot Noir) can give you a similar mouth‐feel and family of fruit flavors. Also, you’re more likely to get a higher quality Beaujolais for $20 than you will a Pinot Noir from pretty much anywhere.

LUXURY: Champagne | DUPE: Cremant

By law, only Champagne from the Champagne region of France can be called Champagne. Any sparkling wine made outside of the demarcated zone is called Cremant. You can find decent quality Cremant from Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Alsace. The secondary fermentation for Cremant, which gives the wine its sparkle, takes place in the bottle—just as it does in Champagne, but for a fraction of the price.

LUXURY: Barolo or Barbaresco | DUPE: Langhe Nebbiolo

The Nebbiolo‐based wines of the Piedmont region of Italy are some of the most highly prized and collected wines in the world. Good vintages of Barolo or Barbaresco are often aged for 20+ years before being opened for worthy occasions. The Langhe DOC was introduced in 1994, allowing producers to bottle Nebbiolo without the Barolo or Barbaresco designation. Langhe Nebbiolo offers the same rose petal and truffle aromatics as Barolo or Barbaresco, but with less intensity in structure, making them suitable for immediate drinking and no waiting.