The Oxte The Silence Red Blend 2017- Trader Joe’s is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 import exclusive, a blend of 40% Tempranillo, 25% Syrah, 25% Garnacha (same as Grenache) and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Cariñena region of Northeast Spain. Oxte is the Spanish word for “shoo” as in shoo fly, to swat something away….
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The Francesco Toscana IGT Rosso 2015 is an ALDI $8.99 import exclusive. The ALDI website from Germany says this is a blend of Bordeaux grapes with a little Syrah added in to smooth things out. A Toscana IGT Rosso indicates that this is a Red (Rosso) wine from the whole of Tuscany (Italy) and not an…
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The Shoofly Shiraz 2015 is sourced from select vineyards located in the McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Padthaway, and Wrattonbully wine regions of South Australia. Shoofly is one of Ben Riggs wines, he has been a successful winemaker in Australia for a long time and CWF has featured 4 or 5 vintages of his Woop Woop Shiraz…
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The Satis Dei Syrah-Garnacha 2016 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, though I think it is available in other parts of the world from different retailers. The Satis Dei is 55% Syrah and 45% Garnacha and is a Tierra de Castilla designated wine (the same as a IGP or Vin de Pays wine) in the Castilla/La…
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The Colossal Reserva Red 2015 is a blend of 30% Touriga Nacional (probably the #1 Red grape of Portugal), 30% Syrah, 30% Tinta Roriz (known as Tempranillo in Spain), and 10% Alicante Bouschet sourced from Casa Santos Lima estate vineyards in the Lisboa wine region of Portugal. The Colossal Reserva is something of a rare wine,…
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The Hedges CMS Red 2014 is sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington, it is Hedges Family Estates iconic Red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, with the blend changing from year to rear. The blend also seems to change during the year, the Hedges website gives the 2014 blend as 40%…
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The Maison Les Alexandrins Syrah 2016 is 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier sourced mainly from vineyards in the Northern Rhone region of France, but also from vineyards in the Loire and in the Southern Rhone Valley. Viognier is a White grape and is the only White grape that is regularly added to Red wine, I asked…
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The Fiction Paso Robles Red Blend 2015 is a blend of 48% Zinfandel, 15% Syrah, 14% Mourvedre, 8% Graciano (a grape usually grown in Rioja, Spain), 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Touriga Nacional (maybe the best known grape from Portugal), and 3% Carignan (a grape best known from southern France and northern Spain) sourced from 8 carefully…
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The Aime La Vie! Syrah Grenache Rose’ 2016 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import wine sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of south-eastern France, along the Mediterranean Ocean and just north of Spain. Aime La Vie! translates to “love the life”, you usually see J’Aime La Vie which means “the life I love”. This Rose’…
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The Guild of Fermentation Fanatics Coonawarra Shiraz 2016 is a $8.99 ALDI import wine sourced from the Coonawarra region of the Limestone Coast district in southern central South Australia. The Guild of Fermentation Fanatics are the winemakers for Kingston Wine Estates of Australia who banded together to produce their own wine brand. This Shiraz (Shiraz and…
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The Hahn GSM Central Coast 2016 is a blend of 71% Grenache (mainly from vineyards in the Arroyo Secco AVA), 22% Syrah (mainly from vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA), and 7% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in the San Benito AVA, the Contra Costa AVA, and the Paso Robles AVA, all inside the Central Coast…
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The Chariot Gypsy Red 2014 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. The blend for this wine changes from year to year and TJ’s mentions Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah along with other “secret” grapes. The Chariot Gypsy Red has sold for $4.99 at Trader…
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The Michael David Sixth Sense Syrah 2015 is Syrah with a little bit of Petite Sirah added, grown in vineyards in the Lodi AVA, which is south and east of Napa Valley. The Michael David in the title are the Phillips brothers, they are the 5th generation of Phillips to work these lands (the 6th generation…
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The Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Villages 2015 is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah grown in “Villages” designated vineyards in the southern Rhone region of France, south of Switzerland and west of the Italian border. In the Cotes du Rhone AOC in terms of perceived quality, the lowest designation is simply Cotes du Rhone…
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The William Wright Artist Series Red Wine Blend 2015 is I believe a $9.99 ALDI exclusive, produced from 65% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Zinfandel, and 2% Syrah grown in vineyards in the Monterey AVA below San Francisco and inside the Central Coast AVA. William Wright wines are produced by Scheid Winery, Monterey, Ca. who produce…
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The Billy’s Shadow Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2014 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz (exact same grape as Syrah), and 11% Merlot sourced from vineyards in South Australia. In Australia, this wine is sold under the Jamiesons Run brand (known for delivering good wine for the money), a…
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The Mercer Estate Sharp Sisters Horse Heaven Hills Red Blend 2015 is an estate grown blend of 29% Cabernet Sauvignon (Eagle & Plow Vineyard), 27% Syrah (Spice Cabinet Vineyard), 18% Merlot (Dead Canyon Vineyard), 14% Petit Verdot (Milt’s Vineyard), 10% Grenache, and 2% Carignane (both from the Spice Cabinet Vineyard) in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA inside…
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The ALDI Exquisite Collection Cotes de Provence Rose’ 2016 is a $7.99 ALDI exclusive that is best known as the Rose’ that won a silver medal and the Best Wine Under $10 award at the International Wine Challenge blind tasting in England. ALDI’s wine has a very good reputation in Europe, so winning awards there is,…
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The Vigilance Cimarron 2014 is 79% Syrah, 8% Grenache, 7% Mourvedre, and 6% Petite Verdot sourced from vineyards located in several AVAs inside the Lake County AVA which is inside the larger North Coast AVA of Northern California. Lake County is north of Napa, Mendocino is north and west and Sonoma is south and west. A…
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The Winking Owl Shiraz is a non-vintage $2.89 ALDI (checked the receipt and the bag of apples I purchased sold for 50 cents more than this bottle of wine) exclusive sourced by grapes grown in California. ALDI and Trader Joe’s are each owned by different branches of the same family and Winking Owl (Gallo) is ALDI’s version…
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The Barossa Valley Estate GSM 2013 is a blend of 45% Grenache, 41% Shiraz (also known as Syrah) and 14% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in the Barossa Valley of South Australia.Vineyards have been planted in the Barossa Valley since 1843 and many of Australia’s best known wineries are located here. The valley floor can get very warm…
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The Jellybean Moscato Rose’ is a non-vintage blend of Moscato, with a smaller portion of Syrah grapes sourced from vineyards in Spain. Ok, maybe you are thinking, “Hey, isn’t Moscato a White Wine grape and isn’t Rose’ made from Red grapes?’. Well, that is where the Syrah grapes come in, it isn’t mentioned on the label, so…
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The Locations “F” (France) Red Blend is an outlaw wine. If you’re used to California wines, it’s nothing new, but if you’re used to wines from France, it will set your hair on fire! This is a blend of Bordeaux grapes, Rhone grapes, and Roussillon grapes – and if you don’t think that’s strange, go…
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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 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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