Cheap Wine – Red

(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)

J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

The Story The J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Sirah, 5% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 1% Syrah sourced mainly from J. Lohr’s 7 Oaks vineyard as well as other estate vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA of the Central Coast AVA in California. J. Lohr is a family-owned…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
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Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve GSM 2018

The Story The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve GSM 2018 is a Trader Joe’s $6.99 exclusive. A GSM is Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend in this case sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside the Monterey AVA which in turn is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. This is a wine made exclusively for Trader…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
Trader Joe's Petit Reserve GSM 2018
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Source and Sink Red Field Blend 2018

The Story The Source and Sink Red Field Blend 2018 is a blend of 65% Petite Sirah, 25% Alicante Bouschet, and 10% Carignan sourced from the Dunbar Ranch vineyard located near Glen Ellen in the Sonoma Valley region of California. Source and Sink is a new wine company, I think this is their first vintage. The…

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90+ Cellars Pinot Noir Lot 179 2018

The Story The 90+ Cellars Pinot Noir Lot 179 2018 is sourced from vineyards in more than one California Coastal grape growing AVA. And that is about all I know about where the grapes were grown and who made the wine since 90+ Cellars are Negociants. A Negociant is a French term and it refers to…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
90+ Cellars Pinot Noir Lot 179 2018
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Chateau Le Grand Moulin 2016 Costco

The Story The Chateau Le Grand Moulin Bordeaux 2016 is a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Malbec from the Estate vineyard in the Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux AOP. This is wine available at Costco for $7.99, I don’t think this is a Costco exclusive, on-line retailers seem to sell the same wine…

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Kirkland Champagne Brut version 2019

The Story The Kirkland Champagne Brut is a $19.99 Costco exclusive produced for them by Champagne Janisson of Verzenany in the Champagne district of France. There was a time when a sub 20 buck real-deal Champagne was unheard of, but ALDI, Trader Joe’s (I think TJ’s French Bubbles has gone up in price) and Costco have…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Kirkland Champagne Brut version 2019
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Technique Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

The Story The Technique Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a wine that sells for $6.99 at Trader Joe’s. Is it a Trader Joe’s exclusive? I don’t know since this wine does not conform to the typical Trader Joe’s exclusive wine brands. The Technique label is owned by the Precision Wine Company which has 9 different…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Technique Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
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Federalist Honest Red Blend 2016

The Story The Federalist Honest Red Blend 2016 is 46.4% Merlot, 24% Zinfandel, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7.6% Malbec from grapes sourced in 76% Mendocino, 16.4% Napa, and 7.6% Sonoma. If my math is correct, the Malbec came from Sonoma, and part of the Merlot came from Napa and the rest came from Mendocino. A…

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Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2018

The Story The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2018 Lot #23 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Carneros AVA which is half inside the Sonoma AVA and half inside the Napa AVA. This is the 10th vintage of TJ’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir, we last reviewed the 2017…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2018
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Roederer Estate Brut 2018 version

The Story The Roederer Estate Brut is a non-vintage Sparkling wine with a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. Roederer Estate (founded 1982) is the Mendocino County, Anderson Valley in particular, branch of the nearly 200-year-old (founded 1833) Louis Roederer Champagne House in France. Roederer Estate has 600 acres of vineyards and grows…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
Roederer Estate Brut 2018 version
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ALDI Monsigny Brut Champagne #3

The Story The ALDI Monsigny Brut Champagne #3 is a non-vintage $19.99 ALDI exclusive, a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 10% Chardonnay sourced from multiple vineyards in Champagne, France. It seems this is a brand name that ALDI owns and in the past several different Champagne Houses supply the Bubbly for ALDI….

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
ALDI Monsigny Brut Champagne #3
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Légende Pauillac Bordeaux 2015

The Story The Légende Pauillac Bordeaux 2015 is a 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30%Merlot blend sourced from Domaines Barons de Rothschild estate Lafite vineyards near the village Pauillac in the Medoc region of Bordeaux. That is about the fanciest sentence CheapWineFinder ever had to write. While these vineyards are very, very upscale vineyards, the grapes were…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
Légende Pauillac Bordeaux 2015
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Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Noir 2017

The Story The Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Noir 2017 is the #1 wine on Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Best Buy Wines of 2019. And that is somewhat remarkable. Beringer is the oldest (since 1876) continuously operating winery in the US and they produce a lot of wine, from $400 bottles to $4 bottles, they run the…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Noir 2017
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Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel 2016

The Story The Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel 2016 is sourced from 16 “old vine” vineyards in the Mokelumne delta region of Lodi, California. Klinker Brick is family-owned and they are 5th generation fruit growers and have produced Klinker Brick wines since 2000. You hear about old vines when talking about Zinfandel on a regular basis,…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel 2016
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Gruet Blanc de Noirs

The Story of New Mexico Bubbly The Gruet Blanc de Noirs is a non-vintage blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards in New Mexico along with grapes from, I believe, California and Washington. The term “Blanc de Noirs” translates to White from Black, yes, I know, White wine grapes are usually green…

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Field Recordings FRANC Cabernet Franc 2017

In this podcast episode, Quake talks about: Repeal Day International Cabernet Franc Day   and sips the Field Recordings FRANC 2017 Cabernet Franc from Paso Robles.   Want to know more about these important booze holidays? How about cabernet franc? Listen in now (podcast episode below) …

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Field Recordings FRANC Cabernet Franc 2017
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Pure Bred Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2017

The Story The Pure Bred Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2017 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s (maybe exclusive). The reason I say maybe is this wine seems to be a close-out wine of some sort. The listed winery on the back of the label, West Coast Wine Group, Lodi, California, no longer has a website. Their URL,…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Pure Bred Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2017
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Raisins Gaulois Beaujolais 2018

The Story The Raisins Gaulois Beaujolais 2018 is a Gamay wine from Marcel Lapierre sourced from vineyards in the Morgon area of Beaujolais in France. The name “Raisins Gaulois” simply translates to French Grapes and from there we will begin our story. Marcel Lapierre is one of the icons of Beaujolais, pioneered a return to the…

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Castle Rock Mendocino Pinot Noir 2017

The Story The Castle Rock Mendocino Pinot Noir 2017 is an inexpensive Pinot Noir, I found it for $7.99 at Costco that should provide a solid value. Castle Rock is an interesting wine company, they have been around for 25 years and have a unique business model. They own no vineyards, all their grapes come from…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Castle Rock Mendocino Pinot Noir 2017
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Saint-Hilaire Brut 2017

The Story The Saint-Hilaire Brut 2017 is a blend of 90% Mauzac, 5% Chardonnay, and 5% Chenin Blanc sourced from grapes farmed in the Limoux area of the Languedoc in Southwest France. The Sparkling wine of Limoux is 100 years older than the Bubbly of Champagne. Saint-Hilaire is the Abbey were history first records monks producing…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Saint-Hilaire Brut 2017
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Stick Figure Red Blend 2016

The Story The Stick Figure Red Blend 2016 is a Trader Joe’s $8.99 exclusive sourced from a selection of cool climate and warm weather vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. As per usual, Trader Joe’s does not offer technical information for the Stick Figure Red, so let’s see what we can figure out on…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Stick Figure Red Blend 2016
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Mumm Napa Brut Rose’

The Story The Mumm Napa Brut Rose’ is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay sourced from as many as 50 different vineyards (depending on the vintage) in the Napa Valley AVA. Mumm Napa started in the early 1970s is the California project of GH Mumm founded 150 years earlier in Champagne, France. Mumm…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Mumm Napa Brut Rose'
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Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Russian River Pinot Noir 2018

The Story The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Russian River Pinot Noir 2018 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. There have been other Trader Joe’s Reserve Pinot Noirs over the years, the regular Reserve and Grand Reserve wines tend to have Lot #’s to differentiate them, I believe the Petit designation indicates that there is a limited…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Russian River Pinot Noir 2018
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If You See Kay Paso Robles Red 2016

The Story The If You See Kay Paso Robles Red 2016 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Petit Verdot grown in vineyards in the hills and valleys of San Juan Creek and Estrella District of inland Paso Robles AVA of the Central Coast AVA of California. There seems to be or has…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
If You See Kay Paso Robles Red 2016
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Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2016

The Story The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2016 is a kitchen sink blend, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. Trader Joe’s sells this blend for $7.99 and the Dearly Beloved website shows they produce 2 Red blends and a Chardonnay…

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CheapWineFinder Podcast
CheapWineFinder Podcast
Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2016
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