(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
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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The Angels & Cowboys 2015 Rosé is a deliciously dry rosé of Grenache, Merlot, Verdot (the petit kind) and Grenache Blanc sourced from three distinct AVAs in Sonoma County, California – Carneros, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley. This rosé is one of my faves for a few reasons. Reason #1 – she has a familiar…
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The Diseño Old Vine Malbec 2014 is a collaboration by 2 Wineries (both unnamed) in the Uco Valley and the Lujan de Cuyo Valley (both high-altitude growing areas) in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Diseño is one of Constellation Brands family of wines, they include Kim Crawford, Mark West, Mouton Cadet, Rex Goliath, Robert Mondavi, Ravenswood and many others….
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The Brancott Estate Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013 is sourced mainly from 2 Estate vineyards, the Fairhall and Kaituna vineyards (here is a wine where Estate on the label actually means something), along with grapes from the Awatere Estates, all located in the Marlborough growing region on the northern tip of the South Island of New Zealand. This…
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The Angeline Vineyards Pinot Noir 2015 is sourced from multiple AVA’s in California, but mainly from the Central Coast and the Northern Coast. The Angeline line of wines is the everyday value brand for family owned (since 1990) Martin Ray Wines and Courtney Benham Wines (he is the owner). The 2015 vintage showed the effects of…
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The Robert Mondavi Heritage Red Bland 2013 is a blend of 64% Syrah, 31% Merlot, 3% Zinfandel, 1% Thompson Seedless, and 1% Petite Sirah sourced from 82% Monterey County, 13% Paso Robles, 3% Valley South, and 2% Santa Barbara County, all of these inside the larger Central Coast AVA in California. Most table grapes (the ones you…
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The Firefly Ridge The Red Flash 2014 is a blend of Petite Sirah, Merlot, and Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Firefly Ridge is a label produced by The Wine Group whose wines include, Benzinger, Concannon, Cupcake, Fisheye, Franzia, and MD 20/20, along with several others. This brand isn’t listed…
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The Cono Sur Reserva Especial Pinot Noir 2014 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from 2 estate vineyards in the San Antonio Valley region of Chile. San Antonio Valley is the newest growing region in Chile, the vineyards are located on the coast near the Pacific Ocean. The ocean winds provide a cool climate, rainfall is sparse…
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The Los Andicos Malbec 2015 is a $6.99 ALDI import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Mendoza Province of Argentina. Mendoza produces most of the wine coming out of Argentina, it includes some of the highest altitude vineyards in the world. Because of the lofty altitudes, the vines receive hours of intense sunlight and the higher elevations keep most…
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The VINTJS Mendocino County Carignane 2013 is a Trader Joe’s exclusive (I found it for $4.99, but it seems to have sold for $8.99 a few months ago). Carignane (sometimes spelled with an “e” sometimes without) is a grape widely planted in Spain and in the Languedoc region of France. It was only a few years ago that…
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The Beau Jardin Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, or maybe not. The back label shows that Chateau St. Jean (Sonoma) vinted and bottled this Cabernet. While vinted and bottled only indicates that Chateau St. Jean produced less than 10% of this wine and bottled it at their facility, it does not rule…
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The Meiomi Pinot Noir 2014 is composed of 100% Pinot Noir grapes from 48% Monterey County, 27% Sonoma County and 25% Santa Barbara County. Meiomi (translates to “coast” in the language of the local native people) is a brand started by Joe Wagner, part of the Wagner Family who are well-known for Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon….
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