Few things are more important to wine drinkers than value, but value can mean different things to different people.  In March I wrote a profile of Eli Zabar, the New York food merchant whose restaurant is offering great values on hard-to-find wines. I cited some examples like a 2004 Muscadet and a 2007 Touraine red, each for $60, as well as a 1995 Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico Riserva for $250 and a 1995 Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens for $295.  The social media firestorm began almost immediately.  “The wine prices are completely ridiculous,” one reader wrote. “$60 for a Muscadet? That’s a $10 bottle in France, as is any Touraine red. $250 for a Chianti? Please tell me it’s a misprint. No Italian would ever believe it.”  Some people are wed to a utilitarian notion of wine. It’s liquid, it has alcohol and the rest is marketing and gullibility.  Others may see a vast chasm between a mass-produced bottle of Muscadet from the latest vintage (not even $10!) and a great 12-year-old bottle from a master craftsman. The opportunity to appreciate its complexities and nuances might intrigue them enough to consider $60 well spent.  But few places offer such an opportunity for value. A wine lover willing to spend $300 to savor a well-aged Burgundy from a great producer will have to search long and hard, though any number of restaurants would willingly sell him the chance for $700.  Value is not simply a synonym for inexpensive. It ought to mean that the amount of pleasure is beyond the norm for the price you paid. Great value can be had at $5 or at $500, though either is rare.  By far, the greatest opportunity to find wine values is in the range of $15 to $25. Here, the qualities of conscientious agriculture, cultural tradition, craftsmanship, distinctiveness and deliciousness converge at prices that make these bottles worth seeking out. If you love them, they are well worth it. If you don’t, the exploration will have come at not too high a cost.  Here, then, are 20 bottles I bought in New York for $20 or less. They are not the only examples by far. I could have bought many different bottles. Nobody will be able to find all of these, but if you have access to a good wine shop, you will discover your own treasures.  CreditTony Cenicola/The New York Times  I chose these with a mind to the season. They are generally light- to medium-weight wines with an eye to freshness. Wine’s first duty is to refresh. In the added dimensions lies the value.  Monastero Suore Cistercensi Lazio Bianco Coenobium 2014, $19.99  This is a rare Lazio white with great character, a blend of trebbiano, malvasia and verdicchio. The grapes are grown by Cistercian nuns just north of Rome and made into wine under the supervision of Giampiero Bea of the great Umbrian producer Paolo Bea. It’s redolent of apples, herbs, citrus and volcanic soils, and has just the slightest pleasant tannic rasp, courtesy of longer-than-usual maceration with the grape skins. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York)  Ronchi di Cialla Colli Orientali del Friuli Ribolla Gialla 2014, $19.99  Ribolla gialla is one of the indigenous grapes of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy. This is a straightforward version compared with some of the vanguard wines made in the region, but it’s delicious, with flavors of nuts, flowers and tropical citrus fruits along with mineral undertones. (Soilair Selection, New York)  Ravines Finger Lakes Dry Riesling 2014, $17.99  Riesling has been a great success story in the Finger Lakes, and though it’s not the only winner in the region, it’s been by far the dominant grape there. Year in and year out, Ravines’s riesling has been one of my favorites. It’s absolutely refreshing, with earthy, citrus and wet stone flavors. If you like this, try the Ravines Argetsinger Vineyard riesling, a firmer, deeper single-vineyard version.  Domaine Michel Brégeon par Frédéric Lailler Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 2014, $17.99  Muscadet is perennially a great value, especially from Brégeon, an under-the-radar producer that always makes some of the more interesting wines in the region. This is characteristically fresh and tangy, with flavors of citrus, herbs and chamomile and a grainy, minerally depth that comes from aging on the lees, the remnants of yeast after fermentation. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif.)  Guímaro Ribeira Sacra Blanco 2014, $19.99  Ribeira Sacra in the eastern Galicia region of Spain, where the vineyards rise at harrowing angles from the rivers, is best known for its reds made from the mencía grape. But the whites, like this one from Guímaro, made with godello, can be superb. This is refreshing, harmonious and a touch exotic, with flavors of citrus, flowers, herbs and stone fruits. (José Pastor Selections/Vinos & Gourmet, Richmond, Calif.)  Jean-Jacques Litaud Domaine des Vieilles Pierres St.-Véran Les Pommards 2014, $19.99  Must one always have chardonnay? Absolutely, if it is as good as this St.-Véran, often a source of exceptional values. Though it was aged in steel tanks, it has the rich texture that usually comes from barrel-aging, with great depth and presence, and lingering flavors of citrus, yeast, flowers and minerals. (Jeanne-Marie de Champs/Fruit of the Vines, Long Island City, N.Y.)  Ponce Manchuela Reto 2014, $19.99  I’ve written before about the 2012 Ponce Reto, which was richer and juicier than the 2014, which is a bit subtler. Nonetheless, it is a distinctive wine, made entirely from the albillo grape, which I’ve never seen outside the Manchuela region of east-central Spain. It’s fresh, floral and herbal, another option in the array of dry, crisp whites. (T. Edward Wines, New York)  Edmunds St. John El Dorado County Witters Vineyard Bone-Jolly Rosé Gamay Noir 2015, $19.99  The wine stores tell us it’s rosé season (though in my opinion, it’s never not rosé season). Here is an old favorite, which year after year offers the vivacity characteristic of a good young rosé. It’s made entirely of gamay noir, the grape of Beaujolais (hence the somewhat awkward name Bone-Jolly), and it’s exactly what you want on those first few days out on the deck, the balcony or wherever you can grab space in the open air.
You can find great values at any price, but your hunt will be less anxious at the lower end of the scale.