Cheap wines that are SCARY cheap but super surprising
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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The Seek to Find Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is sold at Trader Joe’s for $7.99. It was made for Trader Joe’s by a branch of Treana wines, which is a brand owned by Hope Family Wines from Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast. The Story Hope Family Wines is an excellent family-owned winery that…
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The Saldo Australia Shiraz 2021 is a wine I found on sale for $8.99; its list price is $30. The sale may still be on. Follow this link for more information. The Story Saldo is a brand from the Prisoner Wine Company, founded by renowned winemaker Dave Phinney. Dave was the winemaker for The Prisoner…
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The Emile Cheysson Cremant De Bourgogne Brut is a Sparkling wine I found for $9.99 at a local wine shop. The average price on he internet is $17 and up. Wine sales have been down for the last years, and shops have been having sales to get folks in the door, so keep an eye…
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The Seaglass Central Coast Pinot Grigio 2024 is a wine that should be found for around $10. It was one of the 50+ brands of wines and spirits from Trinchero Family Vineyards. The Story Trinchero Family Vineyards is the 4th family-owned winery. They were founded in Napa Valley in 1948 and are still going strong….
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The Delicious Monster White 2024 is a wine available at Trader Joe’s, selling for $5.99. CWF reviewed the 2023 vintage of this wine and was impressed. How do they create a worthwhile wine at the southern tip of Africa and ship it all over the US for less than six bucks? The Story The Delicious…
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The Giardino Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Vivace 2024 is a $5.99 exclusive import available at Trader Joe’s. The Vivace in the name translates to lively and refers to this wine as having light bubbles. The Story Giardino is a brand produced especially for Trader Joe’s by 8 Vini Wine merchants. They produce multiple wines from…
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The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 is a wine I found selling for $9.99 at a local wine shop. This wine was vinted and bottled by Charles Smith Wines, but Charles Smith has not owned this brand for years. The Story Charles Smith Wines were massive hits in the 2010s. He made 100-point $100 wines and…
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The Maison Barboulot Chardonnay Viognier 2024 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. This is an IGP or Vin de Pays designated wine from the Languedoc growing region of southwest France. The Story The Languedoc-Roussillon wine region is a place where French wine drinkers can find value-priced wines. IGP (also known as Vin de Pays)…
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The Compass Bridge Sonoma Pinot Noir 2023 is a limited-edition wine available at Trader Joe’s for $9.99. The Compass Bridge brand is from a entity of Delicato Family Vineyards. The Story Delicato Family Vineyards, from the Lodi AVA, purchased Coppola Wines (Sonoma) a few years ago and formed a large wine company that produces wine…
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The Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2023 is a Trader Joe’s exclusive, selling for $8.99. The back label indicates it was vinted and bottled by Compass Bridge of Manteca & Geyserville, California. The Story Manteca is the corporate home of Delicato Family Vineyards (100 years old this year), and Geyserville was the home of Coppola Wines,…
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The Granite Coast Organic Monterey Rosé 2024 is available exclusively at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. A check of CWF archives shows we reviewed the 2013 Granite Coast Red blend; that wine was $4.99. The Story The Granite Coast Vineyards label is owned by Scheid Family Vineyards. They are a large family-owned wine business that was…
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