Cheap wines that are SCARY cheap but super surprising
The Aldi California Heritage Brut Sparkling is a $4.85 non-vintage Bubbly. It is produced for Aldi by E & J Gallo, who have plenty of experience with bargain Bubble with the Andre, Balatore, and Barefoot. The Story This is a revisit. We reviewed this Sparkling wine in February 2024 and found it to be very…
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The Napa Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 s $9.99 at Trader Joe’s. It is Cellared and Bottled by DnA Cellars, who are long-time suppliers of popular and tasty value Trader Joe’s wines. The Story To Cellar and Bottle a wine means that the barrels and tanks are kept in storage for an unspecified time, and then…
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The Flora and Stone Cabernet Sauvignon is a $6.99 Aldi wine. It is a non-vintage wine made by some division of Fetzer Wines, Mendocino California. The Story Fetzer makes affordable wines and is a certified B Corporation. Here is a quote from the Fetzer website, As a Certified B Corp, we are committed to caring…
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The Cocobon Espresso Roasted Oak Red Blend is $6.99 at Trader Joe’s. The Cocobon line of wines is a little different; they have a Red blend, a dark Red Blend, a roasted oak Red blend, and a roasted oak Chardonnay. The three Red blends use the same three grapes: Merlot, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah, with…
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The Angeline Vineyards California Pinot Noir 2024 is a wine I discovered at Trader Joe’s, priced at $9.99. It is widely available in wine shops across the US and can be found on the wine list for $15 on the company’s website. The Story Angeline Vineyards is a brand from Martin Ray Winery. The original…
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The Roseta Lisboa Vinho Tinto 2024 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. It is a table wine from the Lisboa region of northern Portugal. The Story This is a table wine from vineyards in the Lisboa region (near Lisbon) of northern Portugal. Portugal has DOC, IGP, and table wine classifications for their wines. The…
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The Aldi Scarlet Path Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel 2023 sells for $6.79, which is the cheapest it has been, and we have reviewed every vintage since 2020. It is produced for Aldi by a large sustainably farmed family-owned winery from Monterey, California. The Story There is no legal definition of “Old Vines.” It is generally…
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The Villa Borghetti OTTO Pinot Grigio 2024 is a wine from Trader Joe’s that sells for $7.99. It has been cheaper in past vintages. This wine is produced by Pasqua Wines. The Story Pasqua Wines is a family-owned winery operating in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy. They have been in business since 1925. Villa…
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The Aldi’s Mark Hill Pinot Noir 2023 is a $7.89 exclusive to Aldi. This is a wine made from some entity of Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits. The Story The 2023 vintage has a new label; the previous vintages had labels reminiscent of Mark West Pinot Noir. The Mark West Pinot Noir (E&J Gallo) had…
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The Trader Joe’s French Blanc de Blanc Brut is a $7.99 exclusive that has shown up at the Holidays for years. This is not a Champagne or Traditional-style Bubbly, but a Mousseux. The Story Champagne is only grown and produced in Champagne. Cremant is Champagne-style Bubbly grown and produced in another famous French growing region….
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The Mumm Sparkling Brut Prestige (2025) is a wine I found on sale, selling for $8.99. GH Mumm has been a French Champagne House since 1827 and has had a California outpost since the 1970s. The Story Mumm has been in Napa and Sonoma for 50 years. Their Estate vineyard is located in Carneros, where…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé (2025) is a $9.99 wine available year-round. It is produced by Rack and Riddle for Trader Joe’s. The Story The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Rosé (2025) is a Sparkling wine that has been available at Trader Joe’s for the last couple of years. We reviewed…
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The Aldi Landkastel Mosel Riesling 2024 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive. Aldi owns the trademark to the Landkastel name, but a winery named St. Gisbertus is mentioned on the back label. The Story Mosel in Germany is the premier Riesling growing region in the world; some say it is the greatest wine region over Napa,…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 2023 is a $9.99 wine from Trader Joe’s. The back label indicates that it was produced and bottled by Barrel 29 Wine Company, which had previously been a label of McPrice Myers Winery, also located in Paso Robles. The Story The Barrel 27 brand was founded in 2002…
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The Sonoma Grove Zinfandel 2022 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s, selling for $7.99. It is wine from the Navigator Wine Collection, which, up until recently, was known as Precision Wine Company. They have made many wines for Costco and Trader Joe’s. The Story The label says the grapes are sourced from Sonoma…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Douro Doc Reserva Red 2022 is a $9.99 Aldi exclusive. The Specially Selected line of Aldi wines is a curated line that features affordable wines from the world’s greatest growing regions. The Story This red blend is produced and bottled by Van Zeller and Company, the oldest Port wine producer in…
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The Wittenberg Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine. It was produced and bottled by Northwest Collective, which is an entity of Precept Wine and Spirits. The Story Precept Wine and Spirits is the largest wine company in the Northwest with 4,000 acres of vines, multiple wineries, and 25+ brands. They routinely…
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The Elliot Cooper California Chardonnay is a non-vintage $10 Aldi exclusive. Aldi owns the brand name, but a subsidiary of Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits produced the wine. The Story Aldi tends to own the brand names in case the need to change the producer arises. A popular product can continue and have several producers…
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The Florility French Organic Pinot Noir 2024 is a $7.99 Aldi import exclusive. It is produced for Aldi by the Ethicdrinks company of France. The Story The Ethicdrinks company is certified organic, carbon neutral, sustainable, and vegan-friendly. They have a line of wines that allow you to plant a tree with every purchase, another that…
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The Intermingle California Dark Red Blend 2023 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive. The Story The Intermingle brand is produced for Aldi by a division of Sutter Home Family Vineyards. Sutter Home was founded in 1890, and the original owners operated the winery until the onset of Prohibition. In 1948, the winery and vineyards were acquired…
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The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red 2023 is a $7.99 exclusive at Trader Joe’s. This wine has been produced since at least the 2009 vintage, with several different producers involved. It was a Central Coast AVA for most of its existence, but the last few vintages have been from the Lodi AVA. The Story Over…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2023 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a repeat wine for Trader Joe’s. We reviewed the 2021 vintage here. The Story This wine is produced and bottled by Bozzano & Company, who also made the 2021 vintage. They are a bulk and custom wine…
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The Twin Suns Lodi Mevushal Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a wine I discovered at Trader Joe’s, although it is not an exclusive wine to Trader Joe’s. I paid around $10 for it, but prices on the web are all over the place. The Story This is a Kosher wine from Gabriel and Shimon Weiss, who…
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The Bonflor California Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a $7.99 wine found at Aldi stores. The name Bonflor translates to “Good Flower, which is “likely a reference to the type of plants grown in the organic vineyard to attract the kinds of insects and birds that feed on the insects detrimental to the vines. The…
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The Aldi Castellore Gavi DOCG 2024 is an Aldi wine, priced at $9.99. We previously reviewed the 2022 vintage and were impressed, so we sampled a newer vintage to see if the quality is maintained. The Story Castellore is the brand name Aldi uses for value Italian wines. The brand is used for Chianti, Pinot…
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