Judging from wine shop shelves, you wouldn’t think good affordable pinot noir is hard to find. Montgomery County Liquor stores, for example, carry more than 50 pinots that cost less than $10 a bottle. The challenge is finding inexpensive wines that offer the flavors and aromas characteristic of the noble pinot noir grape, rather than the generic red wine taste of most sub-$10 bottles.

As we’ve noted in several recent columns, the grape made famous by the iconic and insanely expensive red wines of Burgundy, France is notoriously hard to grow well – typically requiring cooler growing regions like Burgundy’s. And it’s also more finicky once harvested and at the winery. That’s probably why good pinot generally costs noticeably more than most other wine varieties (though there are other wacky reasons related to the laws of supply and demand for the astronomical prices of wines from the prestigious estates of Burgundy). There are plenty of great wines of all types that can be had for $10 a bottle or less, but with a few notable exceptions (like this and this), good bottle of pinot will usually set you back a minimum of $12 to $14.

Two years ago we noted the rise of good, affordable pinot noir from Chile, but the hoped-for surge in pinot imports from South America has yet to materialize. Aside from the relatively ubiquitous Cono Sur “bicycle” label, there are few bottles that have found their way onto wine shop shelves across the Washington area.

One Chilean standout that’s earned repeated accolades from the critics and is available in Maryland, Virginia and the District, sounds more like it comes from Hawaii than Chile. Llai Lai Pinot Noir Bío Bío Valley has generated positive reviews in three straight vintages and is widely available for $12 to $13 a bottle. A rare bargain for Montgomery County wine drinkers, Llai Llai costs just $11.35 at county stores. And that’s not even a sale price.

(As we’ve pointed out repeatedly, pinot noir is a notoriously difficult grape to grow and thus tends to produce pricier wines than other common grape varieties. So while the threshold for “inexpensive” is about $10 a bottle for most wine types, anything less than about $12 to $15 is considered affordable for good pinot.)

We don’t like to plug the same wine shop too often, but there’s some urgency in alerting readers to this sale on a perennial favorite summertime red, which could be the could be the end of the line for this stalwart in our cellar.

If you’re heading down to Calvert Woodley to stock up on this Top 5 Value Chardonnay, you should also consider loading up on Mark West Pinot Noir California, one of the best value pinot noirs around that is sure to make the Top 5 that we plan to publish later this week. As part of its Most Popular American Wine Sale, Mark West Pinot Noir 2010 is on sale for $7.88 a bottle, just about the lowest price in the country.

Our list of Top 5 value chardonnays published last month was so indecisive that it turned into a Top 10. A big part of that inadvertent inflation was the multiple great values perennially produced at southern Burgundy’s largest cooperative, Cave de Lugny.

No fewer than three different labels from the cooperative of more than 250 wine-growing estates squeezed into the Top 5 (albeit occupying just one spot on the list). The co-op produces about 50 percent of all the wine from the Mâconnais district at the southern end of Burgundy, home to “some of the best white wine value in the world,” according to the renowned British wine critic Janis Robinson.

Chardonnay lovers who appreciate the crisper, Old-World style have enjoyed recommendations like this $12 Macon-Lugny, this $10 Mâcon-Villages and this $10 Macon-Lugny. Good white Burgundy typically isn’t aged in oak barrels like its California cousin. And the energetic fruit and subtle minerality of the French style can be much more refreshing – particularly in the sticky triple-digit heat we’ve been suffering lately.

Washington-area value wine shoppers are blessed. Not only do we live in one of the country’s most competitive wine markets with among the lowest prices – thanks largely to the District’s anything-goes liquor laws – but we’re also home to several of the best value-oriented wine importers in the land.

When you’re choosing wines from overseas – and the best values often come from Spain, South America, southern France and elsewhere – the name on the back of the label is often as important the one on the front. And this evening at Paul’s of Chevy Chase, you have a rare opportunity to taste through eight different wines – most of them mid-priced, for special occasions rather than everyday drinking for most of us – from one of the very best importers of value wines.

Wines from Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd of Winchester, VA, are sprinkled all over our Top 5 Value Wines lists. From the delicious $7 white from Languedoc, Picpoul de Pinet Cave de Pomerols, and $10 Domaine de Coussergues among our Top 5 French white wine values to both the Castelmaure Col des Vents Corbières and the Château de Ségriès Cotes du Rhône on our Top 5 French red wine values list to the wonderfully consistent Montebuena Rioja featured among our Top 5 Spanish red wine values, Fran Kysela brings us a wide array of consistently good yet inexpensive wines.