(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Fort Cellars North Coast Merlot 2012 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, produced by DNA Vineyards who also make Babble and Benefactor wines for TJ’s. The North Coast AVA consists of Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Mendocino County, Lake County, Marin County and Solano County, this AVA runs for 100 miles up the Pacific Coast and…
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The Into Zin Zinfandel 2012 is a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah (remember for a wine to be labeled as a single varietal, that grape must count for at least 75% of the blend) grown in Oak Ridge Winery estate vineyards in Lodi, California. Oak Ridge Winery is the oldest operating winery in Lodi…
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The Curator Red 2012 is an unique blend, 61% Shiraz/Syrah, 20% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Tinto Barroca (when grown in Portugal this is one of the grapes used for Port) and 1% Carignan sourced from multiple vineyards owned by 4 contract growers in the Swartland growing region on the west coast…
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The Biokult Rosé Secco 2015 is a sparkling, certified organic 100% rosé of Pinot Noir from Österreich (Austria) that’s a fun yet beautiful cotton candy pink in your glass and smells like fresh strawberry cupcakes. A crisp, effervescent sip reveals a sexy full body and fills your mouth with tart red fruit that has been…
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The Postulate The Second Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive box wine sourced from vineyards in California. The box holds 1 1/2 liters of wine (a regular wine bottle hold 750 ml), so this box is the equivalent of 2 bottles of wine or 4 bucks a bottle. The first thing you need…
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The Yalumba The Y series Shiraz 2014 is sourced from vineyards located in South Australia. Yalumba is the oldest family owned winery in Australia, its founder, Samuel Smith, planted the first vines in 1849. The Y Series of wines features affordable, classic wines that use grapes from the best regions of South Australia. There are…
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The Cherry Blossom Pinot Noir 2013 is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in California. Cherry Blossom Pinot is one of Bronco Wines (2 Buck Chuck) many labels, which isn’t a bad thing since they tend to produce very drinkable wines at very low prices. This Pinot is the 2013 vintage which is…
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The Sea Pearl Pinot Noir 2013 is sourced from vineyards in the Marlborough growing area of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlborough is located at the northeast tip of South Island and has the Pacific Ocean to it’s north and east and mountain ranges to the west and south. It has a very sunny, but cool climate,…
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The Heartswork Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is a certified USDA Organic with no detectable sulfites, available at ALDI and some other wine shops for $6.99. This Cabernet is sourced from certified organic vineyards located in more than 1 California grape growing AVA (in California, if 75% of the grapes were farmed in one AVA, then that…
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The Peirano Heritage Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from 50 year old vines grown in Peirano Estate vineyards in Lodi, California. Peirano Estate Vineyards is family owned and was founded in 1895. Lodi is a little south and east of Napa Valley, it is an inland AVA and has a Mediterranean…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Zinfandel 2013 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from 3 sections of a single vineyard in Paso Robles, California. A different Zinfandel clone was grown in each section, so this Zin is a blend of three Zinfandel variants. The back label says this wine was “vinted and…
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The Granite Coast Vineyards Red Blend 2013 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, estate grown and produced in Monterey, California. Granite Coast Vineyards seems to be a brand name and not an actual vineyard and winery, so if you want to know which estate grew the grapes and made the wine, look up wineries in…
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The Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha 2014 (translates to kiss of wine) is sourced from 40 year old vines grown near the town of Aguarón in the Carinena DO of the Aragon Province in northeast Spain. This is a wine that you should be able to find for ten dollars or less, but it…
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The IL Nespoli Sangiovese 2012 is 100% Sangiovese sourced from Poderi dal Nespoli 1929 (name refers to the year the winery was founded) family owned estate vineyards located near the village of Nespoli in the Romagna region of Emilia-Romagna in north-central Italy. Emilia-Romagna is the part of Italy where Ferrari, Maserati and most of the…
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The Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with a 10% of a mix of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot sourced mainly from vineyards in the Lodi AVA, along with grapes from the Sacramento Delta and the San Joaquin Valley. These are inland growing regions that receive cooling breezes coming in from the…
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The Alias Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Syrah sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Alias Wines started off as a side project for a group of 8 young California winemakers, they called themselves the Gang of 8. They all had friends and contacts with growers and wineries…
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The Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages 2014 is produced from the Gamay grape sourced from long-term contract growers in the Beaujolais-Villages AOC and from Louis Jadot Beaujolais Cru vineyards near the village of Régnié. Gamay is a cousin of the Pinot Noir grape and has been grown in the region since the 1300s. In France, wine is categorized by…
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The Pillar Heights Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is an $8.99 ALDI exclusive, produced for them by Turn Key Wine Brands. Turn Key is a private label winery with vineyards in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, along with contracts with other growers. Paso Robles is located inside the Central Coast AVA, about half way between Los…
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The Bouchaine Carneros Pinot Noir 2011 is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive, just the 2011 vintage, the other vintages are available elsewhere at the regular price (list price is $35). The 2011 Bouchaine Pinot Noir comes from their Estate vineyard (and 3 other Carneros growers) on the Napa side of the Carneros AVA (Carneros is…
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The Trader Joe’s Sonoma County Brut Rosé is a $9.99 blend of 84% Pinot Noir and 16% Pinot Meunier produced for TJ’s by Rack and Riddle, a custom Sparkling Wine facility located in Sonoma, California. Pinot Meunier is a grape that is routinely used in Champagne, but does not get star billing like the other…
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The Kamiak Rock Lake Red 2012 is a blend of 53% Syrah, 44% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. Kamiak is the entry-level label for Gordon Estates, a family owned winery founded in 1980. Gordon Estate is known for estate grown and produced wines made under…
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The Leer Vineyards Heroic Red is a non-vintage blend of 58% Syrah, 29% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from several California grape growing AVA’s. That is the particulars on this bottle of wine, but that is not the story here. The Leer Family and Leer Vineyards (Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay…
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The Cycle Buff Beauty Shiraz Malbec 2013 is 90% Shiraz, sourced from 2 vineyards in McLaren Vale and 1 in Clare Valley and 10% Malbec sourced from a single vineyard in Clare Valley, both a part of the South Australia growing region. Shiraz (Shiraz and Syrah are two different names for the same grape) and…
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The Outlander Meritage 2013 is a $8.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside the Central Coast AVA of California. A Meritage wine is made from the grapes varietals that are permitted for use in the Red blends of Bordeaux in France. Here the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot…
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The Cotillion Pinot Noir 2013 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in 60% Monterey County, 24% Sonoma County and 16% Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County is about an hour north of Los Angles, Monterey County is north of Paso Robles and both are part of the Central Coast AVA. Sonoma County…
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