(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Liberté Paso Robles Pinot Noir 2023 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine, though it seems to be available for around $16 in places Trader Joe’s does not service. The Story Liberté Wines have been sold at Trader Joe’s, by my reckoning, since 2011. They offer a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir, both sourced…
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The Kirkland Signature Côtes Du Rhône Villages 2025 is $7.49 Costco exclusive that has been offered since the 2015 vintage. The Story The 2025 vintage shows a change in the winemaker from Patrick Lesac to Romain Leroy, the winemaker at Grandes Serres, a winery located in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cru region of the Southern Rhône Valley….
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The Moon X Red Blend 2024 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a line of wines that Trader Joe’s has offered since at least 2015. The Story The Moon series of wines, here is their webpage, they show a Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and this Red blend, but have had White wines in…
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The Aldi Bear Bros Reserve North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $12.99 Aldi exclusive. The California Wine COLA registry says that Sutter Home had a hand in producing this wine, The Story Sutter Home has been in Napa Valley for about 140 years. Today, they produce mainly value-priced wine, but they do have some…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 is an $11.99 Aldi exclusive, produced for them by an entity of Precept Wine & Spirit. The Story About a year ago, in September 2025, Aldi released a Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 with a different label; it was $12.99 (a dollar more and…
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The Dearly Beloved Lodi Red Blend 2024 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine. This is a wine that Trader Joe’s has offered since at least 2010. The Story This wine looks to have had several producers over the years; Precept appears to be responsible lately. The grapes have been sourced from Mendocino, the Central Coast,…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced and bottled by (that means they made it) Bozzano and Company. The Story Bozzano & Company is a wine company based in the Central Coast AVA of California. They have made many wines for Trader Joe’s. Check out their…
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The TraderJoe’s Platinum Reserve Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $17.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Story The back label mentions that this wine was cellared and bottled by Isolated Cellars, Napa. They are the Negociant (according to Google Ai)arm of Navigator Wine, formerly Precept. A negociant is a wine company that purchases surplus wine…
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The Kirkland Signature Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 is a wine currently available at Costco, selling for $19.99. Costco has offered this wine (different vintages in the past), and this is the lowest price in several years. The Story The back label says this Cabernet Sauvignon was cellared and bottled by D C Fynt…
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The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 is selling for $7.99 at Costco and in the $ 15-plus range elsewhere. The Story Amador County wine country is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and this is where the Gold Rush occurred. It is east of Napa and north and east of Lodi….
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The Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Brut Cuvée is a wine I found on sale for $8, while the going internet price is closer to $20. The Story Kendall-Jackson is a family-owned wine company in business since 1982, and it has a truly impressive brand portfolio. Click on the link; they have a wine for every price…
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The Bread & Butter California Pinot Noir 2024 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s selling for $11.99, though it is available elsewhere in the $12 to $16 range. The Story Bread and Butter is a brand from WX Brands whose portfolio includes Chronic Cellars and Trapiche (Argentina). It is a full line of…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Uco Valley Malbec 2025 is a $6.99 Aldi wine, sourced from a single estate vineyard in the high foothills of the Uco Valley in Argentina. The Story The Aldi Specially Selected Uco Valley Malbec 2025 is a single-vineyard wine produced by the Belhara Estate, selling for $6.99. Trader Joe’s also offers…
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The Method California Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $9.99 wine at Costco, and according to the web is $14 to $20+ elsewhere. The Story The Method brand is a collaboration with Navigator Wine Company (formerly Precept Wine) and Master Sommelier Ian Cauble. The line has two wines: the Method Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and this…
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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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Table Santa Barbara Red 2024 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by Field Recordings, a well respected winery. The Story Field Recording is an eclectic winery from Paso Robles. They started off scouring the coastal countryside looking for neglected, but promising vineyards. They we make a deal with the owners where…
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