Cheap wines that are SCARY cheap but super surprising
The Sterling Vintner’s Central Coast Chardonnay 2014 is sourced from multiple vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Central Coast AVA is large, it includes 6 Counties, 27 sub-AVA’s and over 90,000 acres of planted grape vines. The Sterling Vintner’s Chardonnay underwent malolactic fermentation and was at least partially aged in oak barrels. Malolactic changes…
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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 Prophecy Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is sourced from vineyards in the Marlborough region on the northeast corner of New Zealand’s South Island. Prophecy Wines feature varietals from different locations, a Pinot Noir from California, a Pinot Grigio from Veneto, Italy and a Red blend from both California and Washington. All value priced, within a few bucks of…
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The Springwood Chardonnay 2015 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, sourced from vineyards in the Murray Darling region of Australia. The Murray River and the Darling River are the 2 main rivers in the area, which is located east of Adelaide and north of Melbourne. It is a hot, dry growing region that depends on…
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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 Chateau Ste Michelle Chardonnay 2014 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from multiple vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley in Washington State. Chateau Ste Michelle is the largest winery in Washington, their 2nd label Columbia Crest won the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year for a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (sold for $40), another label, 14 Hands makes one…
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The Floriana Grüner Veltliner 2014 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, produced from vineyards in the Pannon region of Hungary. Hungary has a wine tradition that dates back to when the Romans planted vines in the 400s and more recently the Hungarians and the Austrians had empire where they were a military and economic powerhouse…
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The Vin du Sud Collection Domaine de Courtal Fitou 2013 is part of a 4-pack of 375ml (half bottles) featuring 3 Red wines and 1 White wine from different growing areas inside the Languedoc region of southwest France. The Languedoc is the region where the everyday wines or the more affordable wines are produced. Fitou AOP…
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The Liquid Geography Mencia Rosado 2015 is a dry Rose’ wine sourced from 53 year old vines in the Bierzo DO (north of the eastern boundary of Portugal) of Castilla y Leon of northwest Spain. The vineyards practice organic farming methods. Mencia is a Red grape that is indigenous to the area and Bierzo has a wine…
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The Valreas Cotes du Rhone Villages Cuvee Prestige 2014 is a $6.49 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, produced by a Co-Op Winery from grapes grown around the village of Valreas. Valreas is known as “the enclave of the Pope“, because in 1317 the Pope stopped by during his travels and enjoyed the local wine. A Co-Op is…
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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 Indaba Chenin Blanc 2015 is sourced from several vineyards in the Swartland, Paarl and Stellenbosch growing regions in the Western Cape area of South Africa. Chenin Blanc is the most planted grape in South Africa and has become “the wine of South Africa.” Originally, Chenin Blanc was a well known grape from the Loire Valley in…
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The Santa Monica Brut Cava produced from vineyards in the Penedes DO of the Catalonia region (near Barcelona) in Spain. This Sparkling wine uses the traditional Cava grapes, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel.lo. Cava is produced with the same methods as used in Champagne, which is where the grape juice is fermented twice. The first time fermentation…
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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 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 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 Vinas Chilenas Sauvignon Blanc 2015 is a $4.49 Trader Joe’s exclusive brand sourced from grapes grown in Chile’s Central Valley. The Central Valley lies in between the Chilean Coastal Mountain Range and the Andes Mountains, it is a warm area with intense sunlight and a long growing season. This is a young wine, meaning…
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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 Chiare Blanc de Blancs 2014 is a $6.99 ALDI exclusive (this is a seasonal Sparkling wine that sold for $9.99 during the holidays) made from Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Muscat grapes grown in Monterey County, California. This is a Sparkling wine produced with the Charmat Method, the same technique used to make Prosecco. 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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