(cheap wine articles & info)
The Ferrari-Carano North Coast Fume Blanc 2023 is a wine I found for $10.99, and it received 92 points from a major wine critic. The Story Ferrari-Carano was founded in 1981 by Don and Rhonda Carano. It is a beautiful estate in Northern Sonoma, and they produced consistently excellent wines. After Don Carano passed away…
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The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label says it was “Produced and Bottled by” Northwest Collective from Dundee, Oregon. The Story The Northwest Collective is a part of Precept Brands, a large wine and spirits business in the Northwest part of the US. They have a…
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The J L Quinson Le Rosé French Fizz sells for $7.99 at Trader Joe’s. The brand is J.L. Quinson, a wine company located in the south of France since 1904. The Story J L Quinson produces a wide range of wines, from Chablis to Provence Rosé and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but it appears they no longer have…
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The Kirkland Signature Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $6.99 Costco exclusive wine. It is produced by a division of Precept Wine & Spirits, the largest privately owned wine company in the Northwest. The Story Precept has its line of wine brands, and they have also produced wine for Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Costco. They…
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The Mount Fishtail Sur Lie Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is a wine I found for $12.69 at Costco. A price with a decimal point of 0.69 indicates that the manufacturer is offering this product at a special price. A quick check of the web found this wine selling in a range of $13 to $15….
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Walla Walla Syrah 2023 is an exclusive Trader Joe’s offering at $9.99. It is produced for Trader Joe’s by DNA Vineyards, which has provided Trader Joe’s with quality wines for years. The Story DNA Vineyards is Dennis Patton and Andrea Silverstein, who together have over 65 years of experience in the…
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The Bear Bros. The California Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is an Aldi exclusive, priced at $7.99. I checked the California Wine Club Registry and found that an entity of Sutter Home was involved in the production. The Story Sutter Home wines are part of the Trinchero Family of Wine and Spirits. Sutter Home typically sells non-vintage…
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The Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 7 is a wine I found for $11.98; it usually sells for between $17 and $25. Bonanza is a brand from the Wagner Family of wines, of Caymus fame, along with many other popular brands. The Story The Wagner family has roots in the wine world going back to the…
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The Stoller Estate Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found at a local shop selling for $14.99; the list price is $25. The Stoller Family Estate started as a turkey farm and transitioned to wine production in the late 1980s—the current winery and vineyards were established in 2001. The Story The Stoller Winery…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 wine available exclusively at Trader Joe’s. The Dundee Hills AVA is a sub-AVA within the Willamette Valley AVA. The Story The back label indicates that this wine was “vinted and bottled by Cultavin Cellars.” Vinted and bottled by means that they bottled…
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The Markham Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a wine I found on sale, priced at $13.99; it is typically priced above $20. Markham Vineyards is a historic wine property dating back to the 1800s. The Story Bruce Markham founded the current winery in 1977, and it quickly became known as a premier producer of…
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The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage 2022 is an exclusive, $19.99 offering available only at Trader Joe’s. This wine was produced and bottled by (that means they made it) 1542 ACE, which is a label from Miura Vineyards, a project from a Master Sommelier, Emmanuel Kemiji. The Story Miura and 1542 ACE typically deal…
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The Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is a $5.99 exclusive to Trader Joe’s. This certified organic wine is produced by ASV Vines on the Central Coast of California. The Story There is a wine truism: nobody goes through the time, effort, and expense to certify a less-than-top vineyard to organic specification. Young…
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The Bacchus Ginger’s Cuvee Pinot Noir 2023 is a wine I found at a local wine retailer selling for $12.99. It is a wine label from David Gordon, the Sommelier at Tribeca Grill (owned by Robert De Niro) since 1990. The Story David Gordon has had an outstanding career, he is one of 3 Americans…
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The Super Happy Sauvignon Blanc 2023 appears to be a Trader Joe’s exclusive, priced at $9.99. This wine is made from grapes grown in the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara. The Story The Super Happy Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is produced by Field Recordings, a well-regarded winery from Paso Robles. Field Recordings is Andrew Jones, who…
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The Bouchard Ainé & Fils Chardonnay 2024 is a wine I discovered at Costco, priced at $9.99. It is available elsewhere in the $12 range. The Story Bouchard Ainé & Fils is a renowned winery with roots dating back to the early 1800s. They specialize in the wines of Burgundy, France, which are mainly Chardonnay…
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The Raorao Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is available exclusively at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. It is sourced from vineyards in the Marlborough district in the northern part of New Zealand’s South Island, which accounts for 2/3rds of New Zealand’s wine output. The Story The story is that there isn’t much of a story. The Raorao…
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The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $19.99 TJ’s exclusive. This edition is Lot #09; they have previously used this brand name for a completely different wine. The Story This is a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon; the label only says Napa Valley, but this wine comes from one vineyard in a…
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The Cune Cava Brut is a non-vintage traditional-method sparkling wine from the Penedès region of northeastern Spain. Cune is a label from the CVNE winery, which was founded in 1879. The Story CVNE is an acronym for Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, which translates to Wine Company of Northern Spain. A mixup caused their…
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The Devil’s Corner Tasmania Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found selling for $16.99 at a local wine shop. The grapes were farmed in vineyards in the Tamar Valley of Tasmania. The Story Tasmania is an Australian state located south of Melbourne, an island in its own right. The Tamar Valley is a river valley…
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The Copilot Carneros Napa Pinot Noir 2023 is available exclusively at Trader Joe’s for $7.99. Trader Joe’s also offers a $7.99 Copilot Carneros Chardonnay with the same origin story. For information on the folks who are involved with that wine, check out that review. The Story The Carneros AVA is located in both Sonoma and…
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The Tarongino Frizzante with Valencia Oranges is priced at $12.99 at Trader Joe’s. This is a wine produced in Spain, and a quick internet search reveals that Trader Joe’s may hold the US distribution rights. The Story The Tarongino Frizzante with Valencia Oranges is a Bubbly infused with 100% Valencia orange juice from an orchard…
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The Copilot Carneros Chardonnay 2023 is available exclusively at Trader Joe’s for $7.99. A little internet sleuthing found that this wine was produced by some component of Fior di Sole, a family-owned and operated wine company headquartered in Napa. The Story Trader Joe’s has recently offered bargain wines from Carneros vineyards. Last month, they featured…
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The Kirkland Signature Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a $9.99 Costco wine exclusive. The Alexander Valley AVA is in the northern section of the Russian River Valley. The Story The Alexander Valley is in northern Sonoma County, one of the warmer locations in Sonoma, but it has cool nights. That temperature difference allows grapes’…
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The Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva 2022 is a $8.99 Costco exclusive. This wine recurs each vintage. In the past, the back label mentioned the Cafaggio estate as the producer. The 2022 vintage makes no mention of Cafaggio and seems to have a different producer who does not wish to be identified. If this is…
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