(the cheap REDS we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Josh Cellars Legacy Red 2012 is a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards thru-out California, but mainly in the Central Coast, Lodi, Sonoma and Napa. Josh Cellars is the second line of wines from Joseph Carr Wines and is named in tribute to Joseph Carr’s dad, also a Joseph,…
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The OZV Lodi ZInfandel 2012, OZV stands for Old ZInfandel Vines, is 96% Zinfandel and 4% Petite Sirah sourced from 50 to 120 year old ZInfandel vines located in the Lodi AVA, east and a little south of Napa. The OZV Zinfandel is produced by Oak Ridge Winery, started in 1934 as a wine co-op and…
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The Hob Nob Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of southwest France. This is a Vin de Pays d”Oc wine also known as an IGP wine, that rating shows that the wine has the characteristics of the wines of the region, but do not follow the rules and standards of the…
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The Ca’ di Rajo Raboso Del Piave 2007 Notti di Luna Piena (translates to Full Moon, is 100% Raboso Del Piave grown in an estate vineyard by the Piave River near the city of Treviso in Veneto, Italy. Raboso Del Piave is indigenous to the eastern Veneto region and is a grape that exhibits strong tannins and acidity….
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The Bird Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from the Dayvinleigh Vineyard on the Wairau River in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. Steve Bird is the winemaker and he is the first to produce Pinot Noir with Vernou roll fermentation. He uses huge 238 gallon oak barrels (Tonnellerie Vernou is a French cooperage who make the…
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The Fire Road Pinot Noir 2013 is sourced from several vineyards located in the Marlborough region, which is in the northeast corner of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlborough is best known for Sauvignon Blanc, just check the NZ Sauv Blanc section of your local wine shop and you will see Marlborough on virtually every bottle. Marlborough…
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The Michael David Inkblot Tannat 2012 is sourced from a single vineyard located in the southeastern edge of the Lodi AVA in northern California. Michael and David Phillips are brothers and 5th generation grape growers (their family has been farming in Lodi since the 1850s) who started their winery in 1984. Lodi is in the…
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The Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2011 is a blend of 31% Petite Sirah, 29% Petit Verdot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA near San Francisco Bay. Murrieta’s Well was first planted in 1883 and in the 1930s was purchased by Wente Vineyards (they…
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The Apothic Dark Limited Release 2013 is a blend of Petite Sirah, Teroldego and Merlot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA, but the majority of the grapes came from the Lodi AVA (east of Napa). The Dark is a limited edition for E & J Gallo’s hugely popular Apothic line of Red And White blends. Teroldego is…
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The Columbia Crest Grand Estates Red Blend 2011 is 61% Merlot, 27% Syrah, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% “other” sourced from vineyards in the Wahluke Slope AVA, the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (both inside the Columbia Valley AVA) and the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. Columbia Crest is owned by Chateau…
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From the old farm-house (La Vieille Ferme) to your table comes this rose-colored, almost neon pink dry rosé from Jean Pierre and François Perrin (of the “5 generations of winemaking” Famille Perrin) – the La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2013. The nose is farm stand raspberries. Expecting a sweet sip? Nope – dry! Opening up with…
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Yes, another celebrity wine! Everyone from Lady Gaga and Fergie to Drew Barrymore and AC/DC has their own wine these days. Most wine drinkers are a little skeptical of wines that are produced with a celebrity’s name attached to them. And rightfully so when the association is just that – name only. Now it’s Brad…
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The Lindeman’s Bin 80 Cabernet Merlot 2013 is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot sourced from multiple vineyards in Southeastern Australia. Southeastern Australia is a huge area encompassing 3 Australian States that have diverse climates and growing conditions, it is the equivalent to seeing California on the label of an American wine, and not Sonoma…
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The Pere et Fils Cinsault Syrah Rose 2013 (Pere et Fils translates to father and son) is a blend of 70% Cinsault and 30% Syrah grown in the estate vineyards in the hills of the Languedoc of Laurent Miquel, an 8th generation winemaker. Cinsault is a grape that is commonly used in the Languedoc and…
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The Sola Lodi Syrah 2012 is produced by Sola Winery, a small Napa winery that purchases premium grapes from various California AVA’s. Their stated mission is to be “the best value wine on the West coast.” They keep their overhead low and their costs down and these small production, boutique wines are priced lower than…
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The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2011 is 90% Zinfandel, 5% Primitivo (an Italian twin of the Zinfandel grape), 3% Syrah and 2% Barbera sourced from Renwood Estate vineyards and other old vine vineyards in Amador County. Amador County is located east of the Lodi AVA in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern California. Amador…
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The Four Vines Paso Robles Zinfandel 2011 is 82% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 4% Grenache and 4 % Primitivo (Primitivo is a twin of the Zinfandel grape) sourced from two vineyards in the westside of the Paso Robles AVA inside the larger Central Coast AVA of California. This Zin was aged in oak barrels and has an…
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The Sphere Lodi Zinfandel 2012 is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 exclusive. TJ’s says the grapes came “from a premium winemaker’s vineyards in Lodi“, which makes the Sphere an estate grown, single AVA, 6 buck California wine, that is something you do not see very often. There is a top-notch Lodi winery that produces a…
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The Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 is 94.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Merlot and 0.2 Cabernet Franc sourced from Kendall Jackson estate vineyards (about 2/3’s from Alexander Valley and the rest from Knights Mountain) in Sonoma County, California. The grapes selected are in the top 7% of all grapes grown on KJ’s…
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The 2012 Garnet Monterey County Pinot Noir is sourced from Garnet Vineyards estate vineyards near the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey County, California. This Pinot Noir lists for $14.99, but its tech sheet reads like a far more expensive Pinot. First, Garnet grew the grapes themselves, then they aged the Pinot Noir in 100% French…
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The 2011 Four Vines Truant Old Vine Zinfandel is 90% Zinfandel, 7% Barbera and 3% Petite Sirah sourced mainly from the Lodi, Paso Robles and Mendocino AVA’s. Here is a brief run down on “old vine” Zinfandel in California, it was first planted by Italian immigrant farmers in the late 1800s as a taste…
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The 2008 La Villa Real Crianza is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot from grapes grown in the La Mancha DO of Spain. La Villa Real is produced by Bodegas La Remediadora a co-op of 350 vineyards (covering 3,700 acres) who band together to build their own winery, hire a wine-maker and…
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The 2008 AllozO Tempranillo Reserva is sourced from grapes grown near the town of Tomelloso in the Ciudad Real Province of Castilla La Mancha in Spain. AllozO is produced by Bodegas Centro Espanolas (they also make exceptional Reserva, 25 and 100-year-old Brandy), even though Tempranillo is The Red wine of Spain, it was not…
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The 2012 Caymus 40th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon celebrates Caymus Vineyards 40th year of wine-making in Napa Valley, California. Caymus Vineyards is still and family owned and operated vineyard/winery and in 1972, their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $4.50 a bottle. In 1987, Wine Spectator proclaimed Caymus, “The best damn Cabernet Sauvignon in California,” and twice…
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The Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is sourced from vineyards located in 6 of the 7 sub-AVA’s in Lodi, California. The bottle says the grapes are sourced from California, which means that more than one AVA is involved with no AVA producing 85% of the grapes, but Gnarly Head’s technical information says this is…
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