(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Weed Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Weed Cellars website only mentions Paso Robles as the contributing region, but the label says Central Coast (Paso Robles AVA is inside the Central Coast AVA. I would imagine most of the grapes came from Paso, but…
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The Legende Bordeaux Rouge 2017 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot sourced from AOC designated vineyards in the Bordeaux region of France. The Legende brand is Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s (Lafite) line of export wines. Legende line includes wines from the major Bordeaux region and the top-of-the-line wine from Rothschild’s own…
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The Tenebres GSM 2019 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in France’s Languedoc region. The name Tenebres translates to “Darkness.” A GSM Red blend is a wine that originated in the Southern Rhone Valley in France and is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre. The Languedoc is the largest wine region…
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The VINTJS Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2019 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Sonoma Coast AVA runs along the California coast from San Pablo Bay to Mendocino County to the north. The Sonoma Coast AVA is located in mountainous terrain, with most of the vineyards located high up in the foothills, well above the…
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The Troublemaker by Austin Hope 13 is not your ordinary Red blend. For one, the 13 stands for the thirteenth edition; this is a non-vintage wine. It is a blend of grapes from three different vintages. Hope Family Wines has been in Paso Robles inside the Central Coast AVA of California, making wine for more…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Oak Knoll Zinfandel 2019 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes farmed in the Oak Knoll AVA inside Napa Valley. This is a one-off wine; when it sells out, it is gone for good, so if you like it, buy all you need. Oak Knoll is located in the…
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Lakeville Napa Valley Brut Róse 2019 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, a Sparkling wine made from the Pinot Noir grape sourced from vineyards in Napa Valley. There are a couple of odd details concerning the Lakeville Napa Valley Brut Róse. First, if you look at the title, the “o” in Rose has the punctuation,…
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The Tribunal North Coast Red 2018 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. A blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Barbera, and Grenache. The North Coast AVA includes Napa, Sonoma, Lake County, Mendocino, and Marin Counties, and Solano County. The Tribunal North Coast Red 2018 has been a Trader Joe’s wine for at least a…
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The Evanta Malbec 2019 is a $4.49 Aldi exclusive sourced from vineyards in Argentina’s Mendoza region. Considering that Aldi had to pay an importer and ship the wine from Argentina, this Malbec falls well within Charles Shaw/Two Buck Chuck range. The Evanta Malbec 2019 is a store brand (Aldi), and store brands have price advantages…
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The Love Noir Pinot Noir 2018 is one of the new, bolder styles of Pinot Noir sourced from grapes farmed in several regions of California. This Pinot Noir is one of The Wine Group’s families of wines. Love Noir Pinot Noir 2018, as a brand wine, is not tied to a single winery. Brand wines…
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The Peachy Canyon Lodi Zinfandel 2017 can be found at Trader Joe’s for $7.99. This is a mystery wine since it does not show up on Peachy Canyon’s website or have much of a web presence. Peachy Canyon Winery, founded in 1988, is located in the Paso Robles AVA inside California’s Central Coast AVA. It…
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The Aviary Birds of Prey Red Blend 2018 is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec sourced from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties. The Aviary line of wines is one of the Folktale Wine Group brands of wine; here is a link to their website for more…
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The Castor and Pollux Pinot Noir 2019 is a $6.99 Aldi import wine from the Languedoc growing region of Southeastern France. The Languedoc is the largest wine region in France and this is the area that supplies a great deal of the every-day wines that the French drink every-day. I know that many Americans think…
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The Aiolas Red Blend 2019 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a DOC designated wine from the Dão region of Portugal. TJ’s does not offer any information concerning this Red blend. This is somewhat unfortunate since the wines of Portugal tend to be unique. they often use indigenous grapes such as Touriga Franca or Tinta…
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The Légende Pauillac Bordeaux 2016 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot sourced from Rothschild (Lafite) vineyards in the Pauillac AOC inside the Haut-Medoc AOC on the Left Bank or westside of the river in the Bordeaux region of France. The Légende line of Rothschild (Lafite) is their drink-it-now export brand. It…
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The Raventos I Blanc Textures de Pedra 2014 is a vintage, bio-dynamic, Estate grown Sparkling wine from the Penedes district of the Catalonia region of Spain (think Barcelona). While this is a Sparkling wine produced with the traditional method (like Champagne) it is not Cava. Raventos I Blanc is part of a wine family that…
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The Domaine Ste Michelle NV Brut 2020 is a non-vintage Champagne-style Sparkling wine from Chateau Ste Michelle in the Columbia Valley of Washington. This is a value-priced Bubbly, it lists for $13 and I found it for $8.99 on sale. Even though it is a reasonably priced Sparkling wine it is produced in the same…
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The Bread and Butter Pinot Noir 2019 is sourced from vineyards in California. Their motto is” Good. Honest. Simple. Do not overthink it.” In keeping it simple they do not go into a great deal of detail about the production of this Pinot Noir. Bread and Butter are one of the WX Brand’s families of…
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The Veuve Monsigny Champagne Rosé is a $19.99 Aldi exclusive, 65% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier, and 10% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards across the Champagne region in France. I imagine when a lot of folks see a store brand twenty buck Champagne they figure that there is no way it can be very good. Most…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sonoma Brut NV (2020) is a Trader Joe’s $14.99 non-vintage blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier sourced from vineyards in Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. The back label says this Bubbly was “produced and bottled by” Rack and Riddle, Healdsburg, California. They are an independent wine company…
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The Farmhouse California Red 2019 is a blend of Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache sourced from vineyards in California. Farmhouse California is one of Cline Family Cellars’ line of wine. Cline is a family-owned winery founded in 1981 that specializes in sustainably farmed vineyards and wine. One of the things I admire…
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The Gerard Bertrand Crémant de Limoux Thomas Jefferson Rosé 2017 is a blend of 65% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc, and 15% Pinot Noir sourced from the Cremant de Limoux AOC section of the Languedoc in southeast France. Limoux is the birthplace of Bubbly/Sparkling wine the monks from the local Abby started making wine with bubbles…
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The Dueling Pistols Dry Creek Red 2016 is not your usual CheapWineFinder wine. It is not cheap, this is a splurge, special occasion wine for most folks who follow CWF. It is a Red Blend, 50% Zinfandel, and 50% Syrah and the list price is $49.99. A quick check of the web showed online prices…
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The Burlwood Cellars Brut Rose is a $4.99 ALDI exclusive, a Sparkling wine made with the Charmat Method. The Charmat Method is the same process used in the making of Prosecco and is often referred to as the Italian Method though it is used all over the wine world. The back label says this Bubbly…
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The Legende Saint-Emilion Bordeaux 2016 is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from contract vineyards in the Saint-Emilion region of the Right Bank of Bordeaux in western France. The Legende brand is the Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) line of Bordeaux regional wines. The wines (except for one) are not sourcing grapes…
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