Cheap wines that hover right around twenty bucks
The Giusti Asolo Extra Brut Prosecco is made from the Glera grape from Giusti estate vineyards in the Asolo DOCG region of Veneto about one hour north of Venice. Ermenegildo Giusti was born into a family from the region who had a history of making wine. As a young man, he left Italy and moved…
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The Peaks and Tides Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 is a $12.99 ALDI exclusive. The Sonoma Coast AVA is located between Coastal Mountain ranges on the Pacific Coast of Sonoma County. ALDI typically owns the trademark for the brands of wine they sell, so it is difficult to find out who exactly is responsible for…
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The Etienne Doue Brut Champagne is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from a Grower/Producer (look for an RM somewhere on the label) sourced from estate vineyards near the town of Montgueux in the Aube section of Champagne in France. Étienne Doué is the father-daughter team of Étienne and Virginie. A Grower/Producer…
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Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Not 2019 Lot #96 The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir 2019 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive from the vineyard(s) in the Santa Rita Hills AVA. Which is found inside the Santa Barbara County AVA in the southern section of California’s Central Coast AVA. Santa Barbara…
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The Amancaya Reserve Red Blend 2017 is a mix of 72% Malbec and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from estate and contracted vineyards in the foothills of the Andes in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The grapevines are all 30-plus years old and are situated between 2,600 and 4,600 feet in altitude. Amancaya is a joint…
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The Chronic Cellars Pink Pedals 2018 is the last of our Halloween wines 2020 series. we feature a red blend, a Chardonnay, and now a Rosé. The Pink Pedals is sourced from contracted vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA and is a blend of 88% Grenache and 12% Syrah. The Chronic Cellars Pink Pedals 2018…
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The More Halloween Wines 2020 Part 2 for today is the Freakshow Lodi Chardonnay 2018. Freakshow is one of the brands from Michael and David Winery (Lodi, California), there is this Chardonnay, a Red blend, a Cab, and a Zin. Michael and David Phillips are 5th generation grape growers and their family has farmed in…
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The Poppy Monterey Pinot Noir 2017 is sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside of Monterey County in California’s Central Coast AVA. Arroyo Seco translates to a dry riverbed and is located southeast of Monterey Bay. This area is a deep valley close to the Pacific Ocean and has warm days cooled by…
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The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is a non-vintage blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. Those are the 4 main grapes approved for use in Champagne, France. There are actually a couple of other approved grapes but they are seldom used. Mumm has been in Napa since the…
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The LÉGENDE Bordeaux Blanc 2019 is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Sémillon sourced from a vineyard in the Entre-deux-Mers region of Bordeaux in southwest France. 90% of the wines produced in Bordeaux are Red but Entre-duex-Mers accounts for 90% of the White wine. The LÉGENDE is a brand owned by Domaines Barons De Rothschild (LAFITE)…
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The Trader Joe’s Napa Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, actual name on the bottle is Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 Lot #97. The name was too long to fit in the title section. Trader Joe’s features an array of Napa Valley sub-AVA Cabernets. I saw Atlas Peak, Yountville, and Spring Mountain…
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The Aruma Malbec 2018 is a joint project between Nicolas Catena and Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) of Bordeaux fame. Both represent families that have been in the wine trade since the 1800s. They created Bodegas Caro in 1999 which is dedicated to growing high altitude (the vineyards 3,000 feet above sea level) focusing on…
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The La Burgondie Brut Rosé is an $11.99 Trader Joe’s import Sparkling wine made in the Traditional Method with grapes farmed in the Burgundy region of France. This is a Cremant which is French for Sparkling wine or Bubbly. The grapes used in this Cremant are 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay. If you are…
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The Lange Twins Old Vine Zinfandel 2017 is an Estate grown Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in the Lodi AVA of California’s Central Valley. The Lange Twins are identical twins Brad and Randall Lange, their family have farmed in Lodi since the 1870s and first purchased vineyards in 1916. They are the 4th generation farming grapes…
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The 30 Miles Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 ALDI is a $14.99 store exclusive. That is about all I know about this wine. I can usually do some sleuthing and figure out who made Trader Joe’s wine. But ALDI does things a little differently. With Trader Joe’s wines, I can do a trademark search and find…
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The Eola Hills Classic Pinot Noir 2017 is sourced from 7 vineyards in the Willamette Valley
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The Story The Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red 2017 is a blend of 33% Syrah, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 3% Mourvèdre, 2% Grenache, 2% Counoise, 2% Sangiovese, and 2% Petit Verdot sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington State. Counoise is a grape typically found in the Rhone Valley…
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The Story The 19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red 2019 is a blend of mostly Petite Sirah and then Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in California. 19 Crimes are one of Treasury Wine Estates’ family of almost 50 wine brands. They seem to concentrate on Australian Brands but have a very solid American portfolio. The name 19…
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The Story The Summer Water Rose‘ 2019 is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. This Rose’ is made in the style of French Provence Rose’. Summer Water is one of the Winc family of wines. Winc is a wine membership company, you pay…
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The Story The Hyland Estates Old Vine Pinot Noir 2018 is sourced from the Hyland Vineyard which was planted in 1971. The Hyland Vineyard is situated in the foothills of Oregon’s Coast Range inside the McMinnville sub-AVA of the greater Willamette Valley AVA. It is one of the oldest and finest vineyards in the Willamette…
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The Story The Petit Bourgeois Loire Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is an IGP Valle de Loire wine (the back label calls this a “table wine” which is a designation below IGP). It is the entry-level Sauvignon Blanc from Famille Bourgeois and winemaking family that has been producing wine in the Loire Valley for ten generations. They…
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The Story The Bogle Phantom Red Blend 2016 is a blend of 51.5% Petit Sirah and 48.5% Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in several California vineyard regions. Bogle Vineyards was named 2019 Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Bogle is located in the Clarksburg AVA which is south and a little east of Napa…
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The Story The High Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018 is a single vineyard (Betsy’s Vineyard) located in the High Valley sub-AVA of the Lake County AVA which is directly north of Napa. High Valley is one of Shannon Ridge’s family of wines. Shannon Ridge is owned by Clay Shannon who farms several thousand acres of vineyards….
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The Story PPE, six-foot social distancing, lockdown, masks, wash your hands every time you touch something, cross the street when you see someone walking towards you, so much for your favorite pub or restaurant, and stand in line to enter the grocery store, the so-called new reality. Well, we have our XLR microphones and our…
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The Story The Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Petite Sirah, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Merlot. All but the Petite Sirah are grapes approved to be included in the Red wine blends of Bordeaux. Petite Sirah is also a French grape, not Bordeaux, and never was widely…
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