The 2008 Red Diamond Merlot is 91.6% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.4% Cabernet Franc sourced from several AVA’s in Washington State. Red Diamond Winery is owned by Chateau Ste Michelle and Wine And Spirits Magazine named the Red Diamond Merlot one of the Top Ten Merlot’s In America, you should be able to find…
Read MoreThe Domaine Sainte-Eugenie Le Clos (translates to “enclosed field or vineyard”) is a blend of 45% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carignan and 20% Grenache grown in Estate vineyards in the Corbieres AOC in the Languedoc, near the Mediterranean Sea in France. For some reason the Le Clos does not conform with the rules and…
Read MoreThe Villa Cerrina Montepulciano D’Abruzzo is another of Trader Joe’s $4.99 specials. Montepulciano is the grape, it is indigenous to Italy and is the second most widely planted indigenous grape, Sangiovese is #1. It is grown in the D’Abruzzo DOC of central Italy and according to regulations a minimum of 85% of the wine must…
Read MoreThe 2010 Don Miguel Gascon Malbec is sourced from grapes grown in the Uco Valley and the Lujan de Cuyo regions of Mendoza, Argentina. The winery has been producing wine sine the 1880s and first made single varietal Malbec in 1940. The wine is distributed in the US by E & J Gallo so the…
Read MoreTurn Me Red 2009 is a blend of 70% Zweigelt and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the Burgenland growing region of Austria. The Zweigelt grape is a cross of Blaufrankish (known as Lemberger in Germany) and St. Laurent, a grape that is in the same family as Pinot Noir. The winemakers figured that a you…
Read MoreThe Spanish White Guerrilla Verdejo is 100% Verdejo grown in a single vineyard located in the Valles de Sadacia growing area, which is a white wine only DO (Denominacion de Origen) located inside the Rioja district, in Spain. The Verdejo grape has been grown mainly in the Rueda region for 1,000 years and is a very hearty,…
Read MoreA Trader Joe’s exclusive, a $4.49, Sparkling Wine imported from somewhere in France. The term Blanc de Blancs normally indicates that the Bubbly was made from Chardonnay grapes, but the back label only mentions “white grapes,” which in France could also mean Chenin Blanc (Cremant de Loire) or Mauzac (Blanquette de Limoux) grapes. A Brut…
Read MoreThe 2009 Georges Duboeuf Chateau des Capitans Julienas 100% Gamay sourced from the Cru Beaujolais Julienas AOC. Where a usual Cru Beaujolais can be sourced from an area that is 3,000 to 4,000 acres, the Chateau des Capitans Julienas is sourced from a single old vine Estate vineyard that is 17 acres in size. This Gamay…
Read MoreThe 2009 Georges Duboeuf Cru Beaujolais Brouilly is 100% Gamay sourced from vineyards near the village of Brouilly in the Beaujolais AOC of Burgundy, France. Cru Beaujolais wines are sourced from one the 10 best designated villages in the Beaujolais district. The Cru Beaujolais is a young fruit forward wine and is not aged in…
Read MoreThe 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages is 100% Gamay sourced from the Beaujolais AOC of Burgundy, France. The 2009 vintage is said to be the best vintage for Beaujolais in the last 50 years. There are different classifications of Beaujolais, the first is labeled Beaujolais and is sourced from all over the AOC. The second classification is Beaujolais-Villages…
Read MoreThe 2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo is imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $7.99. The Bastardo is the Italian equivalent of the French negotiant wines. The wine makers in the Italian DOCG’s are allowed to produce only a certain amount of their top wines and the wines that don’t make the cut cannot be labeled…
Read MoreThe 2007 Route 45 Shiraz is an “end of the bin” find, all bottles $4.99 and when they are gone, they are gone for good. There is not much information available, Wine Spectator and Enthusiast both reviewed the wine in the past year, the Winery seems to have gone under and the Importer does not…
Read MoreThe 2009 Domaine de Gournier is 100% Estate grown Chardonnay located in the hills overlooking the town of Nimes in the Rhone Valley, but outside the borders of the Costieres de Nimes AOC. Since this was not grown inside a AOC designated growing area, the wine is referred to as a Vin de Pays des Cevennes (translates…
Read MoreRene Barbier Mediterranean Red is a non-vintage blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Tempranillo sourced from the Catalunya D.O. located in Northeastern Spain (near Barcelona). It is available at World Market and several other retailer and sells at Trader Joe’s for $4.99. The alcohol content is 12.5%. The color is clear, shiny cherry red. The…
Read MoreFirst thing you need to know about Trader Joe’s Pancake Cellars Big Day White is that there is no Pancake Cellars. Pancake Cellars is one of the many labels produced by Central Coast Wine Warehouse a contract wine producer, they make 50+ labels, many of which are first class wines. We reviewed the 2009 Pancake…
Read MoreThe 2009 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is 99% Chardonnay and 1% Roussanne sourced from several vineyards with long term grape contracts in Carneros and other Sonoma growing areas. 52% of the wine (mostly from vineyards in the coolest growing areas) was aged in mainly Hungarian oak barrels (Hungarian oak barrels are $300 cheaper than French oak…
Read MoreWhat does heat do to wine? 1) Wine can be exposed to very cold temperatures with very few ill effects. The cold can cause the cork to move, thus breaking the seal, this means you need to drink the wine by the next day, not exactly the worst thing in the world. 2) Exposure to…
Read MoreThe 2009 Armand Roux Verdillac Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc– Trader Joe’s $7.99. In Bordeaux, the blanc or white wine is primarily Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon, in past vintages the Verdillac Sauvignon Blanc was a mostly Sauvignon Blanc with a smaller percentage of Semillon. This is a negociant wine, which Bordeaux Estate grew the grapes or produced…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cote-du-Rhone Rose’ is a blend of 60% Cinsault, 20% Grenache, 15% Counoise (a Rhone red grape used in blends) and 5% Mourvedre sourced from Estate bio-dynamic vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley in France. A Rose’ is red wine grapes made in a white wine style, the grape skins are…
Read MoreThe 2009 Penelope Sanchez Tinto Joven (means Young Red wine) is 85% Garnacha and 15% Syrah sourced from vineyards in the Campo de Borja region of Spain. Tinto Joven indicates this a “drink it now” wine and does not go thru much aging, no oak barrels only a short time in large open vats. This…
Read MoreVouvray is the name for Chenin Blanc grown in the Vouvray growing region near the town of Tours in the Loire Valley, France. The Lacheteau Vouvray is exclusively imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $6.99. Lacheteau is one of the largest negociant’s in the Loire Valley, which means they do not grow the grapes,…
Read MoreThe 2008 Scott Harvey Amador County Mountain Selection Zinfandel is 99% Zinfandel and 1% Mixed Ports (the grapes that go into Port) sourced from several vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, California. The list of the vineyards used is interesting, 64% Bowman Vineyards, 13% Manby Vineyards, 9% Norton Vineyard (84 year old vines),…
Read MoreThe Santa Julia [+] Torrontes is 100% Torrontes sourced from the sustainably grown grapes from the Mendoza growing region in Argentina. The grapes are hand picked and the wine is aged in stainless steel vats. This is the classic white wine from Argentina, the perfect summer wine. The alcohol content is a relatively stout 13.8%. The color…
Read MoreThe 2009 Bonterra Organic Chardonnay is 92% Chardonnay, 4% Muscat and 4% Viognier sourced from several vineyards along side the Russian River in Mendocino, California. Bonterra is under the same ownership group as Fetzer wines, so the majority of the grapes come from Fetzer’s certified organic vineyards (Fetzer started growing organic grapes back in 1984)….
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