Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019-$25 for $9.99? My cousin's next-door neighbor's uncle has a friend who read on the internet that this is a restaurant wine of note that because of Covid in 2020 and 2021 didn't sell and, with a new vintage coming, had to be sold…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, Cabernet Sauvignon blended with smaller amounts of Petit Verdot and Syrah sourced from vineyards (or vineyard?) in Sonoma County in Northern California. I was going to do my usual “what is this wine” thing and deduce what this wine is…
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Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Sonoma Brut-Worth The Extra Five Bucks? CWF reviewed the Trader Joe's Reserve North Coast Brut Bubbly at $9.99, and we wondered if the Sonoma County version could be worth $5 more. That extra five bucks put it in competition with the California version of elite French Champagne…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sonoma Brut 2021 Edition is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. We reviewed this Sparkling wine about one year ago, and I wanted to revisit this Bubbly since we recently enjoyed Trader Joe’s North Coast Brut, which sold for five dollars less at $9.99. Is the Sonoma Brut worth 33% more?…
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The Ronan By Clinet Bordeaux Merlot 2016 is 100% Merlot sourced from estates near Chateau Clinet, located in the premier section of Pomerol in the Bordeaux region of France. Chateau Clinet Bordeaux wines sell in the $150 to $350 range, and I found this wine for $8.99. While the grapes used did not come from…
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Send us Fan Mail Ronan By Clinet Bordeaux Merlot 2016-Expensive Merlot for $10 Chateau Clinet is THE Pomerol estate. Ronan is the name of their managing director. Pomerol does Merlot. This is 100% Merlot, not from vineyards in Pomerol, but made by the same team that makes the $150 to $350 wines. And I found…
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The Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019 is a reasonably priced Pinot Noir from New Zealand. Central Otago is located in the southern part of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlborough, where most of the Sauvignon Blanc is produced, is on the northern tip of South Island. This Pinot Noir is sourced from a single…
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Send us Fan Mail Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir 2019-NZ Isn't Just Sauvignon Blanc Excellent Affordable Pinot Noir is a joy, and that is precisely what New Zealand Pinot Noir offers. I found this single-vineyard Central Otago Pinot for $15, and it is a real bargain. Central Otago is on the southern half of…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Cheapwinefinder Drinks The Aldi 7 Days of New Years Import Bubbly Collection 2021 Chateau Quake and Domaine Dave sample 7 Aldi imported Bubbly. We liked some better than others but enjoyed giving them all a try. It turns out that cheap Aldi imported Bubbly can be very good. Check out the…
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We came across this imported Bubbly Advent Calendar-style Sparkling wine collection from ALDI. We decided it was perfect for a Cheapwinefinder Drinks The Aldi 7 Days of New Years Import Bubbly Collection 2021 podcast. The box included seven 1/4 size bottles of Aldi’s imported Sparkling wines. It was a bit too expensive, $29.99 for 7…
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Send us Fan Mail Lovely You Chardonnay NV 2021-Low Calorie and Low Alcohol There was a time when inexpensive wine was probably horrible. But not anymore; cheap wine typically rocks. And “diet” healthy wine was a wine to be endured, not enjoyed. Again, not anymore! Check out http://www.cheapwinefinder.com and listen to the podcast for all…
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The Lovely You Chardonnay NV 2021 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive non-vintage produced for them by Winepress Vintners. This Chardonnay is one of the trendy fitness wines, low calorie, reduced sugar, and alcohol, with no carbs or fat. This summer, Trader Joe’s also had the Slim Vine Light wines, also “diet” wines. A family-owned…
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Send us Fan Mail Ernest Rapeneau Champagne-Trader Joe's Real Deal Excellent Bubbly Cheap Bubbly equals Good Bubbly? Yes! This is a real deal Champagne from a Champagne House that has been in Champagne since 1901. And you can buy a half bottle at TJ's for $11 to check it out for yourself. No need to…
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The Ernest Rapeneau Champagne (Dec. 2021) is exclusive to Trader Joe’s in places where Trader Joe’s sells wine but is otherwise sold all over the world. Ernest Rapeneau has been in the wine business since 1901 and has concentrated on Champagne since 1927. The winery is run by the 4th generation of the family and…
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Send us Fan Mail Ile de Conas Le Rosé 2020-$7.99 TJ's- A taste of Summer in Winter Ile de Conas is Paul Mas first Estate in the Languedoc region of France. Wine Enthusiast Magazine awarded Paul Mas winery French winery of the year 2021. The packaging for this Rosé is exceptional, the bottle has silk-screened…
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The Ile de Conas Le Rosé 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine. It looks like this Rosé is sold as Paul Mas Le Rosé outside of the US and as Ile de Conas at TJ’s. Ile de Conas is the name of the Paul Mas Estate near the village of Conas, which is located…
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Send us Fan Mail Ugly Sweater Red Blend 2021 Edition- But My Favorite Aunt Knitted It! I am no fan of Holiday Bottle wine. It sells for only one month but lasts for years. Who would put a decent wine in a bottle that only sells in December? Usually, they put sweet German Red wine…
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The Ugly Sweater Red Blend 2021 Edition is $8.49 at Trader Joe’s. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. It is a non-vintage wine; Christmas 2022 may have a different grape blend. The information on the bottle is confusing; the back label says…
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Send us Fan Mail Louis Pommery Brut NV-$20-Thinking French-Drinking California I was about to buy a $14.99 Trader Joe's Reserve Sonoma Sparkling wine when I remembered there are Napa/Sonoma outposts of celebrated Champagne Houses. The Louis Pommery sells for $20, and it's Champagne big brother is CHampagne Pommery, the creator of Brut Champagne. I do…
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The Louis Pommery Brut NV is a blend of 95% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards in California. This Sparkling wine is the California version of Champagne Pommery (founded in 1858), with Madame Pommery creating Brut (dry, not sweet) Champagne in 1874. Pommery has had a winery in Napa since 2004. The same…
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Send us Fan Mail Bortolomiol 70th Anniversary DOCG Brut Nature Prosecco 2017-Try Vintage Prosecco Prosecco is the number 1 selling Sparkling wine in the world! Champagne makes more money. Is non-vintage supermarket Prosecco the best they can do? Nope, check out the vintage-dated Prosecco's; they can be single-vineyard, extremely high-end wines that do not sell…
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The Bortolomiol 70th Anniversary DOCG Brut Nature Prosecco 2017 is a limited edition wine sourced from a single estate DOCG vineyard in the Valdobbiadene area of the Prosecco growing region the Veneto district of northern Italy. This Bubbly commentates the 70th year of Bortolomiol, though the winery goes back more than 200 years in one…
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Send us Fan Mail Buttery Barrel Chardonnay 2020-$7 Aldi-Buttery But Not Too Buttery Ok, I said I was going to go into why I bought this wine and then got distracted (look a squirrel). But no problem, the things I did talk about did describe this Chardonnay, and I didn't forget to explain my purchase…
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The Buttery Barrel Chardonnay 2020 is a $6.99 Aldi sourced from vineyards in California. The back label says, Cattlemen Ridge Wines produced this Chardonnay, and they are owned by Scheid Family Vineyards of Monterey, California. Scheid makes many wines for both Aldi and Trader Joe’s; they produce their own high-end wines and have many value-priced…
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Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine Will a Champagne by another name taste just as sweet? Tell Willie the Shake that modern Bubbly rocks. Making good Bubbly was difficult back in the day, and the folks in Champagne figured out the key to the puzzle. Today the technology…
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