(cheap wine articles & info)
The VulTour Napa Valley Red Blend 2023 is found at Costco for $11.99 and elsewhere for several dollars more. The Story VulTour Wines is a boutique Napa Valley winery specializing in grapes from elite microclimate parcels of Napa vineyards. The winemaker spent time at Opus One. These wines sell for over $100 and routinely receive…
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The M. Chevallier Carte Noire Brut Cava is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. Back in 2019, CWF reviewed this Cava, and it sold for $5.99 then. The Story The M. Chevallier Carte Noire Brut Cava might seem like some thrown-together bulk wine cava, but it’s not. The back label shows it was made at…
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The Corvelia Paso Robles Sauvignon Blanc 2025 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is sourced from multiple vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA of the Central Coast AVA in California. The Story This is a rare Trader Joe’s wine that actually has a webpage, though it offers little information. Corvelia brand has 3 wines,…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Eola Springs Vineyards Pinot Noir 2024 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Google has limits on the length of titles, so I had to leave important parts out. This is a single-vineyard wine from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of Willamette Valley, a short distance SW of Portland. The Story This…
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The Neleman All Day Long Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is a $7.99 Costco wine. The Neleman winery website does not show this wine as one of its core wines, so this may be a Costco exclusive. The Story Neleman Winery is located in the Valencia DO of eastern Spain. It is certified sustainably farmed and…
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The Kirkland Signature Carneros Pinot Noir 2024 is an $8.99 Costco perennial wine. Here is a link to our review of the 2021 vintage. The Story The Carneros AVA is at the southern end of the Napa Valley and just north of the San Pablo Bay. Carneros is situated in both Sonoma and Napa. The…
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The Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2024 is a wine sourced from Washington State and should be found for around $12.00. The Story The Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2024 was a brand that originated with Charles Smith; his name is still on the bottle, but the brand is now owned by Ackley Brands. Charles Smith has…
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The Foggy Veil Paso Robles Grenache 2023 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. A Check of the California Wine Cola Registry shows Miller Family Wines as the Producer. The Story The Miller Family have been farming in California since the 1940s and have had vineyards since the 1970s. They own some of the most highly…
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The Sea Dream Mediterranée White 2025 is a sub-$10 Costco import exclusive. It is a wine from the 20 something daughter of Gérard Bertrand. The Story Gérard Bertrand is who has owned a large wine company centered in the South of France, since 1975. They own 17 Estates and are leaders in bio-dynamic wine. Emma…
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The Kirkland Signature Chablis 2023 is a wine I fond at Costco selling for $14.99. The winemaker is Pierre Brissy of Maison Brocard. The Story The back label only mentions Pierre Brissy and not Maison Brocard, Brissy is the winemaker for Brocard. Domaine Brocard is a leader in Burgundy in organic and biodynamic farming and…
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The 90+ Cellars Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a wine I found for 13.99 at a supermarket, the list price is 17.99. The Story 90+ Cellars started with an interesting concept. They went to wineries that had a wine that had recently earned 90 points or more and asked if they had any wine…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Sonoma County Brut is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Made for them, like most of Trader Joe’s Sparkling wines by Rack and Riddle. The Story Rack and Riddle is a huge custom Sparkling wine facility. They have several locations in California, this one is located in Healdsburg, Sonoma. There are…
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The Hess Select California Chardonnay 2024 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s, selling for $10.99. A quick check of the web shows it at a $12 nationwide average. The Story The Hess Select California Chardonnay 2024 is an entry-level wine from Hess Perrson Estates. Donald Hess started the winery in the late 1970s…
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The André Brunel Cuvée Bécassonne Cotes-Du-Rhone 2025 is a White wine I found selling for $12.99, it is sourced from a vineyard just outside the Chateaunuef-du-Pape region of the Southern Rhone Valley in France. The Story The Brunel family have been a fixture in the Chareaunuef-du-Pape region since the 1700s. The blend is 40% Roussanne,…
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The Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Blanc 2024 is priced at Costco at $6.99 and it received 91 points from America’s leading wine critic. The Story The Kirkland Signature Bordeaux Blanc 2024 is produced for Costco by Chåteau Petit-Freylon. They are located in the Entre-deux-Mers region of Bordeaux. It is an area known for White wines. This wine…
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The Gruet Blanc de Noirs is an American Sparkling wine I found selling for about $16. The reason it is an American wine is the grapes are sourced from Washington, California and New Mexico. The Story Gilbert Gruet who owned a winery in Champagne, France started a Sparkling wine winery in New Mexico in 1984….
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The Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir 2024 Is selling for $11.99 at Trader Joe’s, while it typically sells for $15 and up on the internet. The Story The Firesteed brand has been in existence since 1992 and has been sold to several different wine groups over the years. It went from a winery wine to a…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Sonoma County Brut Rosé is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, produced for them by Rack and Riddle, a huge Sparkling wine producer with several location in California. The Story Trader Joe’s Reserve line of Sparkling wines, have multiple veriations of Northern California Bubbly. There is Diamond Reserve, Platinum Reserve, and…
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The Aldi’s William Walker Monterey Chardonnay 2024 is a $9.49 Aldi exclusive. It is produced for Aldi by Plata Wine Group, a large private label and bulk wine company. The Story Aldi typically owns the trademark for the wine brand name so the can, if necessary, change producers and keep their brand. Before Willam Walker…
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The Vignobles Lacheteau Loire Valley Vouvray 2024 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Vignobles Lacheteau is a brand from the GCF Group a large French wine company that has multiple facilities in the Loire Valley of France. The Story Vignobles Lacheteau is Trader Joe’s brand that features wines from premier growing regions in the…
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The Villa Cerrina Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2024 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, sourced from vineyards in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy. The Story The Villa Cerrina Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2024 has been a Trader Joe’s Italian wine staple for 10 years, though I only discovered it days ago. The Abruzzo region is on the…
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The Le Beau Sud Sauvignon Blanc-Vermentino 2025 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, a 50/50% blend from the Pays D’OC region of southeast France. The Story Le Beau Sud translates to the Beautiful South. The vineyards are in the IGP Pays D’OC region of the Languedoc growing region of France. The Languedoc is France:s largest…
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The Loudenotte Pays D’Oc Pinot Noir 2024 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, though it seems it is available for a few dollars more in states with no Trader Joe’s store. The Story Pays D’Oc is a growing region inside the Languedoc-Roussillon growing region of southwest France. This region has had IGP status for…
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The Andre Goichot Saint-Véran Chardonnay 2024 is $12.99 at Costco, though the internet shows prices elsewhere from $18 to $30. The Story Andre Goichot is a family owned negotiant wine business founded in 1947. A Negociant îs a French wine business with strong ties to the local wineries that purchases wine from the wineries and…
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The Daccordo di Dacci Rosé Extra Dry Prosecco 2025 is $16.99 at Trader Joe’s and typically sells for $20 to $25 elsewhere. The Story This is a vintage dated (2025) Rosé Prosecco from 47 AD (named after the Roman road that ran near-by, they are a 3rd generation run winery that is certified both organic…
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