Cheap wines that are SCARY cheap but super surprising
The Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles 2013 is a Rhone inspired wine blend, available for $6.99 at Trader Joe’s, but it does not seem to be an exclusive wine, sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Northern Rhone wines are Syrah based wines and Southern Rhone Reds are Syrah…
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The Skeleton Malbec 2014 is sourced from grapes grown in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Mendoza is located in the middle section of Argentina on the eastern side of the Andes and Mendoza produces the majority of Argentinean wine. Skeleton Malbec is part of Skeleton Wine Co. who also import a Austrian Red and White…
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The Pampa Estate Malbec 2014 is a $4.99 ALDI import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Mendoza is the largest grape producing region in Argentina and is located on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains (the wine regions of Chile are on the western side). ALDI doesn’t give much information…
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The Cycles Gladiator Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA (inside the Monterey AVA) and the Livermore Valley AVA (near the San Francisco Bay), both inside the Central Coast AVA of California. The Cycles Gladiator brand was started in 2005 by Hahn Family Wines, Hahn recently decided to overhaul their wine…
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The Sargent Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is a $6.99 ALDI’s wine sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Sargent Canyon Cabernet is Estate grown and sustainably farmed. So who or what is Sargent Canyon? A quick check with Google shows that Sargent Canyon is a trademark owned by Scheid Vineyards, vineyards and winery…
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The La Granja 360 Cava Brut is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 70% Xarel-lo and 30% Parellada (these, along with Macabeo, are the grapes traditionally used in Cava) sourced from vineyards in the Penedes district of Catalonia (near Barcelona) in northeast Spain. The La Granja 360 Cava is made by Parxet, who have produced…
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The Emma Pearl Pinot Noir 2013 is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. The Emma Pearl Pinot is 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Petite Sirah. Now, California Pinot Noir does not usually sell for under 4 bucks, there is a story to tell here. Treasury…
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The Green Fin Grenache Rose’ 2013 is 76% Grenache, 20% mixed Red grapes and 4% mixed White grapes sourced from certified organic (the Green Fin is Vegan friendly, too) vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. Green Fin is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, produced by Bronco Wines (the makers of Two…
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The 2012 Maryhill Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from 2 vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. Maryhill Winery is family owned and was founded in 1999, by 2009 they were named Washington Winery of the Year and in 2015 were named Pacific Northwest Winery of the year. This Sauv Blanc was fermented and aged…
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The 2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza is a $4.99 ALDI’s import exclusive, bottled by Bodegas Isidro Milagro using grapes grown in the La Mancha DO (a DO is similar to an AVA in California, it delineates the boundaries of a wine region and provides rules and regulations) of central Spain. La Mancha is a huge…
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The 2014 La Granja 360 Verdejo Viura is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 70% Verdejo and 30% Viura grown in the vineyards of Bodegas Avelino Vegas around the town of Santiuste in the Castilla y Leon region in northeast Spain. Verdejo is a grape that has been farmed in Spain for over a thousand…
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The La Finca Oak Aged Malbec 2014 is a $4.49 Trader Joe’s wine exclusive, produced by Finca La Celia (Finca translates to farm or estate), founded in 1890, from grapes grown in the Uco Valley region, in the southwest corner of Mendoza, in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina. This Malbec was aged for…
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The 2013 Earthstone Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc is $4.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced by a family owned, sustainably farmed, carbon neutral winery located in Healdsburg, California. Trader Joe’s does not say who produces this Sauv Blanc, but if you Google carbon neutral, solar powered, family owned wineries in Healdsburg, it’s easy to figure out. Single…
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The 2013 Black Ink Red is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Malbec and Zinfandel sourced from more than one California grape growing Ava. When 85% of the grapes in the bottle come from one AVA (such as Napa, Lodi, Paso Robles, etc..), then you will see that AVA shown on the front label. If none…
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The Underwood Pinot Gris 2014 Can is sourced from grapes grown in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are the same grape, Gris is the French word for gray and Grigio is the Italian word (the grapes can have a blue/grey color, but they do vary). Underwood is one of the…
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The Tin Roof Merlot 2012 is a taste of California Merlot with grapes sourced from the Central Coast, the North Coast and Lodi AVA’s. Tin Roof’s website has not been updated in a while (the last Merlot vintage shown is 2009), but they have made wine for over 30 years and have a pretty good…
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The Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from grapes farmed in the Clarksburg, Monterey and Lodi AVA’s of northern California. Bogle Vineyards is a 6th generation, family owned vineyard (they have 1500 acres of grape vines) and winery located in the Clarksburg AVA, which is in the Sacramento River Delta. This Chardonnay is fermented “on…
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The Lehman’s Orchard Honeycrisp Apple Hard Cider is a small batch cider sourced from Lehman’s orchard in Niles, Michigan. Family owned and founded in 1929, Lehman’s has grown and sold fruit and harvested honey for decades and began making wines and cider in 2008. The color is almost clear, just slightly golden-yellow. The nose is…
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The Belcreme de Lys Pinot Noir 2013 is Pinot Noir, with a little bit of Syrah added in, sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Belcreme de Lys is one of Diageo Chateau & Estate Wine many wine brands. Their portfolio runs from Moet & Chandon to Blossom Hill White Zinfandel….
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The Natura Pinot Noir 2013 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from certified organic vineyards in the Colchagua Valley in the southern half of the Rapel Valley inside Chile’s Central Valley. The Colchagua Valley is a little cooler than the rest of the Rapel Valley and the western side of the valley sees climate influence from…
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The Natura Rose’ 2014 is 85% Syrah and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from certified organic and sustainably farmed vineyards in the Rapel Valley inside Chile’s Central Valley growing area. Natura is one of Emiliana Organic Vineyards line of organic and bio-dynamic wines. Emiliana is a family owned winery and vineyards who went organic back in…
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The Natura Sauvignon Blanc 2014 is 100% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from certified organic vineyards in the Casablanca Valley of the Aconcagua Region in Chile. You must remember this about the Casablanca Valley, this is a cool coastal growing region with morning fog and Pacific Ocean breezes. Much of the Chilean wine you see on store…
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The Natura Syrah 2013 is 100% Syrah and 100% organic sourced from vineyards in the Rapel Valley inside the Central Valley of Chile. The Rapel Valley growing area is includes the Cachapoal Valley and the Colchagua Valley and is one of the larger grape producing regions in Chile.. The Natura label is the everyday wine…
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The Matua Sauvignon Blanc 2012 is sourced from multiple vineyards thru-out the Marlborough region on the South Island of New Zealand. Matua translates to “head of the family” in the Māori language and the winery was founded by Bill and Ross Spence. They planted the first Sauvignon Blanc vines in New Zealand in 1969 and…
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The Altovinum Evodia 2013 is 100% Garnacha sourced from vineyards in the Calatayud DO of the Aragon region of northeast Spain. This region is to Garnacha what Lodi in California is to Zinfandel, which is the home of a myriad of old vine grapes farmed in an area that does not always get the respect…
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