The Locations “E” (Spain) Red Blend is a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, and Carinena, grown from vineyards in Priorat, Jumilla, Toro, Rioja, and Ribero del Duero. If you noticed, grapes from Priorat go into Priorat wines, grapes from Jumilla go into Jumilla wines, etc., etc., etc. That is – until Dave Phinney decided to do Spanish…
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The Tarantas Sparkling Rose’ is 100% Bobal grape grown in certified organic vineyards near the town of Valencia in the Utiel-Requena DO near the Mediterranean Ocean in western Spain. Bobal is the 2nd most planted Red grape in Spain (behind Tempranillo) and until recently was used for producing inexpensive, everyday jug wine. Tarantas is the oldest all…
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The Locations “F” (France) Red Blend is an outlaw wine. If you’re used to California wines, it’s nothing new, but if you’re used to wines from France, it will set your hair on fire! This is a blend of Bordeaux grapes, Rhone grapes, and Roussillon grapes – and if you don’t think that’s strange, go…
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The Big Churn Chardonnay 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in more than one California AVA. TJ’s wines rarely have a great deal of technical information attached to them and the Big Churn is no different. But the main thing to know about the Big Churn is the producers “goal was the oakiest,…
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The Tarantas Organic Rose’ 2016 is made from the Bobal grape grown in Estate vineyards in the Utiel-Requena DO inside the Valencia Provence of eastern Spain. The Tarantas brand is produced by Bodegas Iranzo who have made exclusively organic wines since 1994 and there have been vineyards on this site since at least 1335. Bobal is the 3rd most…
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The Psâgot Rosé 2016 is a blend of Red wine grapes, Psâgot does not indicate which grapes are used, but they grow Bordeaux and Rhone varietals in their estate vineyards located 3,000 feet up in the northern Jerusalem Mountains. Israel has produced wine for thousands of years, but Psâgot is a very modern (and beautiful) winery founded…
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The Ménage à Trois Midnight Red 2014 is a blend of 49% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Sirah, and 7% Petit Verdot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The Ménage à Trois brand was founded about 20 years ago as a left-over wine after the original winery bottled their main line…
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The Rosa Regale 2016 is a Sparkling Red wine made from the Brachetto grape grown in the Banfi Estate La Rossa vineyard near the town of Acqui Terme (the Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG) in Piedmont located in northwest Italy. I think that a wine that has a story behind it tastes better and the Rosa Regale has a story. There…
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The Garnacha de Fuego Old Vines 2014 is 100% Garnacha sourced from vineyards in the Calatayud sub DO of the larger Aragon DO in Northeast Spain. Garnacha (Grenache in France) originated in Aragon centuries ago, it is now one of the main grapes in the Rhone Valley in France and is one of the most widely planted grapes in…
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The Charles Smith Vino Rosso 2015 is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese sourced grapes grown in Washington State (the label says Washington State and not Columbia Valley). The Sangiovese came from 2 vineyards in the Yakima Valley AVA and the Cabernet came from the Frenchman Hills vineyard, which is located near the Wahluke Slope AVA, Frenchman…
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The Mbali Chenin Blanc Viognier 2016 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 79% Chenin Blanc and 21% Viognier sourced from the Western Cape growing district of South Africa. Mbali is the Zulu word for flower. The flower on the label is a Protea, the national flower of South Africa. The Western Cape is by far the…
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The Poppy Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside California’s Central Coast AVA. Poppy has not updated their production notes for the 2015 vintage, but the 2014 Poppy Cab was sourced from the B & E Vineyard in Paso Robles and I expect that the…
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The Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay 2016 is sourced from grapes grown in South Eastern Australia. The South East Australian wine region covers 1/3 of Australia, though the majority of the land is desert or mountains and most of the grapes are grown in the cooler coastal areas. Lindeman’s was founded in 1843 and Bin 65 Chardonnay was…
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The Pontificis VRM 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, White wine blend, 45% Viognier, 45% Roussanne, and 10% Marsanne sourced from the Hérault and Aude Valleys in the Languedoc wine region of southern France. TJ’s also sold the Pontificis GSM Red Blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) which is one of the wine worlds great blends that…
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The Castle Rock Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2014 is sourced from vineyards located in the Willamette Valley AVA of Oregon. The Willamette Valley is my favorite Pinot Noir region, I know I am supposed to think Burgundy in France is numero uno, but for me, it’s the Willamette Valley. Most of the wineries in the Willamette…
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The Stone Fly Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 is sourced from more than one AVA in California. Stone Fly Vineyards had been a boutique winery based in Napa, California, but they sold off their business and the name now seems to be used for a House Brand line of wines for Binny’s Beverage Depot, a chain of 35 huge liquor stores…
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The Porta 6 Red 2015 is a blend of 50% Aragonez (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and in Portugal this grape is also known as Tinto Roriz. Wine can be confusing enough without having 2 names for the same grape), 40% Castelão, and 10% Touriga Nacional (both indigenous local grapes) grown in the Lisboa region (north and west…
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The Crimson Roots Old Vines Zinfandel 2013 is a $9.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County in Northern California ALDI is very good at hiding the actual producer of the wines they sell and rarely provide technical notes, so that I will come up with my own. Why are…
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The By.Ott Rosé 2015 is a blend of 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah and Cinsault sourced from 2 Domaines Ott vineyards, along with some grapes by a couple of long-term contract grower in the Cotes de Provence AOC in the south of France. Domaines Ott has produced Rosé since 1912 and has a long history of making some…
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The Doña Paula Estate Malbec 2014 is sourced from 2 sustainably grown Estate vineyards located high in the Andes foothills of the Uco Valley in the southwest Mendoza region of Argentina. The Uco Valley is considered to be one of the prime Malbec growing areas in Argentina. The vineyards are 3,500 to 4,500 feet above sea level and…
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The Cotillion Chardonnay 2014 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive (Cotillion also make a Pinot Noir) sourced from grapes grown in 63% Sonoma County, 20% Napa County, and 17% Monterey County, all 3 are terrific places to grow Chardonnay grapes. As a Trader Joe’s private brand wine there is little information about how the wine was…
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The La Peña de España Red 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 34% Garnacha, 33% Syrah, and 33% Monastrell sourced from the vineyards of Viveros Cambra in the Valencia DO of eastern Spain. Viveros Cambra has been a vine nursery and vineyard since 1905 and has made their own wines since 2006. In the…
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The Santa Barbara Landing Chardonnay 2014 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in Santa Barbara County, California. Santa Barbara is about a 1 1/2 hour drive (north) from Los Angeles and would be too warm a place to grow grapes for fine wine, except for a bit of luck of geography. The…
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The 90+ Cellars Big Red Blend Lot 113 2015 is an unusual blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, and Souzoa sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. 90+ Cellars are Negociants, what negociants do is purchase surplus wine from wineries and sell it under their own label. Sometimes they buy fermented juice from a famous winery…
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The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint-Esprit Rouge 2015 is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from vineyards in the Ardèche department near the towns of Saint-Julien and Saint-Alban in the Northern Rhone region of Southern France. Delas Freres is the winery and it was founded 160 years ago and is currently owned by the Champagne House…
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