(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Rosa Regale 2016 is a Sparkling Red wine made from the Brachetto grape grown in the Banfi Estate La Rossa vineyard near the town of Acqui Terme (the Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG) in Piedmont located in northwest Italy. I think that a wine that has a story behind it tastes better and the Rosa Regale has a story. There…
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The Garnacha de Fuego Old Vines 2014 is 100% Garnacha sourced from vineyards in the Calatayud sub DO of the larger Aragon DO in Northeast Spain. Garnacha (Grenache in France) originated in Aragon centuries ago, it is now one of the main grapes in the Rhone Valley in France and is one of the most widely planted grapes in…
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The Charles Smith Vino Rosso 2015 is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese sourced grapes grown in Washington State (the label says Washington State and not Columbia Valley). The Sangiovese came from 2 vineyards in the Yakima Valley AVA and the Cabernet came from the Frenchman Hills vineyard, which is located near the Wahluke Slope AVA, Frenchman…
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The Poppy Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside California’s Central Coast AVA. Poppy has not updated their production notes for the 2015 vintage, but the 2014 Poppy Cab was sourced from the B & E Vineyard in Paso Robles and I expect that the…
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The Castle Rock Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2014 is sourced from vineyards located in the Willamette Valley AVA of Oregon. The Willamette Valley is my favorite Pinot Noir region, I know I am supposed to think Burgundy in France is numero uno, but for me, it’s the Willamette Valley. Most of the wineries in the Willamette…
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The Porta 6 Red 2015 is a blend of 50% Aragonez (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and in Portugal this grape is also known as Tinto Roriz. Wine can be confusing enough without having 2 names for the same grape), 40% Castelão, and 10% Touriga Nacional (both indigenous local grapes) grown in the Lisboa region (north and west…
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The Crimson Roots Old Vines Zinfandel 2013 is a $9.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County in Northern California ALDI is very good at hiding the actual producer of the wines they sell and rarely provide technical notes, so that I will come up with my own. Why are…
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The By.Ott Rosé 2015 is a blend of 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah and Cinsault sourced from 2 Domaines Ott vineyards, along with some grapes by a couple of long-term contract grower in the Cotes de Provence AOC in the south of France. Domaines Ott has produced Rosé since 1912 and has a long history of making some…
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The Doña Paula Estate Malbec 2014 is sourced from 2 sustainably grown Estate vineyards located high in the Andes foothills of the Uco Valley in the southwest Mendoza region of Argentina. The Uco Valley is considered to be one of the prime Malbec growing areas in Argentina. The vineyards are 3,500 to 4,500 feet above sea level and…
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The La Peña de España Red 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 34% Garnacha, 33% Syrah, and 33% Monastrell sourced from the vineyards of Viveros Cambra in the Valencia DO of eastern Spain. Viveros Cambra has been a vine nursery and vineyard since 1905 and has made their own wines since 2006. In the…
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The 90+ Cellars Big Red Blend Lot 113 2015 is an unusual blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, and Souzoa sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. 90+ Cellars are Negociants, what negociants do is purchase surplus wine from wineries and sell it under their own label. Sometimes they buy fermented juice from a famous winery…
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The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint-Esprit Rouge 2015 is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from vineyards in the Ardèche department near the towns of Saint-Julien and Saint-Alban in the Northern Rhone region of Southern France. Delas Freres is the winery and it was founded 160 years ago and is currently owned by the Champagne House…
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The 18th Man Red Blend 2013, well, actually, this is a first for me, I am not exactly sure of the name of this wine. “State of Origin” is written in large letters on the side and 18 or 18th Man is shown in various places on the label, so take your pick as to the…
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The Moon X Black Pinot Noir 2014 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Moon X and all the other TJ’s Moon wines are produced by Delicato Family Vineyards of Lodi, California, their brands include Gnarly Head, Bota Box (check out the Nighthawk Black, the best box…
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The Les Hauts de Lagarde Rouge 2014 is a certified Organic blend of 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc grown and produced at the Vignobles Raymond (Vineyards of Raymond)Estate near the town of Saint Laurent du Bois, in the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux, France. The Estate is family owned and was founded in 1850….
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The Cab Sauv Columbia Valley 2013 is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot sourced from 8 vineyards in 5 Columbia Valley AVAs and sub-AVAs. This wine is produced by the Magnificent Wine Company (known for the House Wine series) that was originally started by Charles Smith of K Vintners and K Syrah fame. Smith sold the company in…
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The La Burgondie Brut Reserve is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 import exclusive, a non-vintage blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 20% Gamay (this is the grape used in Beaujolais), and 5% Aligote (the #2 White grape grown in Burgundy, Chardonnay is #1 and used primarily in the production of Cremant, which is French for Sparkling…
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The Tarantas Tempranillo 2012 is 100% Tempranillo sourced from certified organic vineyards in the Utiel-Requena DO of Valencia in eastern Spain (not far from the Mediterranean). Tarantas is made by Bodegas Iranzo one of the oldest wine estates in Spain, records show an estate on this site since the 1300s and the current estate dates to…
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The Spartico Organic Cabernet Sauvignon Tempranillo 2015 is a 50/50 blend from certified organic vineyards in the Utiel-Requena region (inside of Valencia Province) of western Spain. Utiel-Requena has a wine history dating back to Roman times. The Spartico has no detectable sulfites. Sulfites are added to wine to help it age and keep it fresh, but the Spartico Organic…
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The Pontificis GSM 2014 is a blend of 40% Grenache, 33% Syrah and 27% Mourvedre, sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of France and is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. The GSM blend is one of the classic Red wine blends from the southern Rhone Valley in France and the Chateauneuf-du-pape region in…
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The Bota Box Nighthawk Black is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA and is available in a 3 liter box (four 750 ml Bottles) or 500 ml Tetra pack. Bota Box is part of Delicato Family Wines (Lodi, Ca.), they produce Gnarly…
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The VINTJS Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown by a large Willamette Valley, Oregon grower and produced for TJ’s by ABJ Wines (probably a shell company) from Geyserville, California. This is a negociant wine (meaning they buy surplus wine from existing wineries and sell under their own…
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The Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage wine sourced from vineyards in Argentina, there is also a little Aspiran Noir blended in. Aspiran Noir is a grape founded mainly in the Languedoc region of France and it adds some color, a perfumed nose and a little flavor. Barefoot is E and J Gallo’s line of…
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The Benedetto Chianti DOCG 2015 is an ALDI $4.99 import exclusive. Benedetto translates to “blessed” in Italian and this Chianti is Sangiovese with maybe a little Canaiolo blended in from grapes grown in the Chianti region of Tuscany in Italy. If you are not familiar with Italian wine a DOC is approximately the same as…
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The Barefoot Merlot is a non-vintage wine sourced from vineyards in various parts of California. Barefoot is one of the value priced brands from E & J Gallo (the largest family owned winery in the US). This is not one of those wines that has a great back story. This is mass-produced, well-priced wine, in…
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