Cheap wines that hover right around twenty bucks
The Louis M Martini Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 is Cabernet blended with a bit of Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, and Merlot sourced primarily from a vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley AVA and another in the Alexander Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Louis M Martini was founded in Sonoma in 1933, but is now one of…
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In this podcast episode, we kick off the holiday season with some of our favorite bubbles, the Gruet Brut NV a drier-style sparkling wine from – wait for it – New Mexico! Can awesome bubbly come from the American Southwest? Listen in to see what we say about it …
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The Coppola Diamond Collection Pavilion Chardonnay 2016 is a limited edition wine sourced from vineyards in 60% Santa Barbara and 40% Sonoma, the regular Diamond Collection Chardonnay is sourced from Monterey. In a side note, this Chard could have shown California on the front label, since Santa Barbara is part of the Central Coast AVA and…
Read MoreThe Sonoma-Cutrer Owsley Vineyards Russian River Pinot Noir 2016 is a single vineyard Pinot Noir grown in the southeastern corner of the Russian River AVA inside the Sonoma County AVA of Northern California. The Owsley Vineyard is along the Bloomfield Gap which is the geological feature that funnels fog inland from the Pacific Ocean to the…
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The Ferrari-Carano Sonoma County Chardonnay 2015 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from Ferrari-Carano Estate vineyards in Alexander Valley AVA, Dry Creek AVA, the Russian River Valley AVA, and the Carneros AVA all inside the Sonoma County AVA. Those 4 AVA’s are an excellent selection of cool growing areas and warmer regions, giving this Chard a nice taste…
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The Castle Rock Los Carneros Sonoma Pinot Noir 2012 is, of course, sourced from long termed contracted vineyards in the Sonoma side of the Carneros AVA in Northern California. Carneros is located inside both Napa and Sonoma, which is why the distinction is made. If you are trying to find Carneros sail east under the Golden…
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The Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2016 is 98% Chardonnay and 2% Gewürztraminer grown in Wente Estates vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA just inland from the San Francisco Bay inside the larger Central Coast AVA of California. Wente Vineyards has a very interesting story, they are the oldest continuously (since 1883) operated family owned vineyards and winery…
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The Casteller Cava Brut is 40% Macabeo, 40% Xarel-lo, and 20% Parellada (the 3 traditional indigenous Catalonian grapes used in producing Cava) sourced from the Celler Vilafranca vineyards and winery, the largest vineyard owner in the Penedes area of the Catalunya region of Spain (near Barcelona). Brut indicates that this is a dry or not sweet Sparkling…
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The Ménage à Trois Lavish Merlot 2016 is 81% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petite Sirah, and 5% Petit Verdot (other than the Petite Sirah, it’s very Bordeaux, at least in grape selection) sourced from vineyards in Monterey, the Lodi Delta region, and the North Coast AVA, all in Northern California. Ménage à Trois is one of…
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The Ménage à Trois Luscious Pinot Noir 2017 is 76% Pinot Noir, 13% Petite Sirah, 6% Syrah, and 5% Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA, the North Coast AVA, and the Lodi AVA in California. This is a Pinot Noir produced in a very modern California style that has become popular in the…
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The Hedges CMS Red 2014 is sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington, it is Hedges Family Estates iconic Red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, with the blend changing from year to rear. The blend also seems to change during the year, the Hedges website gives the 2014 blend as 40%…
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The Ritual Pinot Noir 2015 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from a Veramonte estate vineyard (Ritual is a Veramonte brand) about 18 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Casablanca Valley growing region inside the Central Valley of Chile. A quick check of the web showed this Pinot Noir selling for $15 to $20, with it…
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The Santa Julia Malbec Bonarda Tintillo 2017 is 50% Malbec and 50% Bonarda, the Malbec came from vineyards in the Uco Valley and the Bonarda came from estate vineyards near the town of Santa Rosa in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The Bonarda grape originated in France, it never became particularly popular there, but does quite…
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The Maison Les Alexandrins Syrah 2016 is 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier sourced mainly from vineyards in the Northern Rhone region of France, but also from vineyards in the Loire and in the Southern Rhone Valley. Viognier is a White grape and is the only White grape that is regularly added to Red wine, I asked…
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The Wente Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Petite Sirah, 5% Malbec and 2% Tempranillo grown in Wente’s estate, sustainably farmed vineyards in the southern section of the Livermore Valley AVA, east of the San Fransisco Bay (south and west of Lodi) in the Central Coast AVA of California….
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The Ferrari-Carano Siena 2014 is blend of mainly Sangiovese along with smaller portions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Sirah sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the Alexander Valley AVA, the Dry Creek AVA, and the Russian River AVA all inside the Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. The Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery have been family…
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The Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Dry Creek Zinfandel 2014 is 94% Zinfandel and 6% Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley AVA inside the Sonoma County AVA of Northern California. Many of you may remember Rancho Zabaco for their Dancing Bull line of wines (mainly Zinfandel), E & J Gallo split Rancho…
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The Indigenous Nebbiolo d’Alba 2015 is 100% Nebbiolo grape sourced from a family owned Estate in the Roero district of Piedmont in northern Italy. Indigenous Selection is an importer representing a carefully curated portfolio of wineries mainly in the Piedmont and Tuscany areas of Italy. The Indigenous label was created to be an old school second…
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The Ravines Dry Riesling 2015 is sourced from 2 estate vineyards and one contracted vineyard in the Finger Lakes AVA in north central/western New York, south of Lake Ontario and near the city of Rochester. Ravines Cellars is a family owned wine estate (since 2000) located on Seneca Lake and the Finger Lakes AVA consists of…
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The Forty Ounce Rose’ 2017 is a blend of 53% Gamay, 33% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Pineau d’Aunis sourced from vineyards in the Muscadet and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley in France. Gamay is the grape used in the making of Beaujolais and Pineau d’Aunis is a very old French grape that was…
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The Fiction Paso Robles Red Blend 2015 is a blend of 48% Zinfandel, 15% Syrah, 14% Mourvedre, 8% Graciano (a grape usually grown in Rioja, Spain), 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Touriga Nacional (maybe the best known grape from Portugal), and 3% Carignan (a grape best known from southern France and northern Spain) sourced from 8 carefully…
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The La Jaglerie Rose’ D’Anjou 2016 is 80% Grolleau and 20% Cabernet Franc sourced from the Anjou AOP of the middle Loire Valley located south and west of Paris in France. The Loire Valley runs for 300 miles along the Loire River with vineyards along the hillsides on both sides of the river. The Anjou region,…
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The Artezin Mendocino County Zinfandel 2016 is 84% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, and 2% Carignan sourced from well-respected old vine family owned vineyards in the warmer Ukiah Valley section of Mendocino County. Mendocino is north of Sonoma and much of the growing area is under the cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean which is great for a grape…
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The Broken Clouds Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2016 is a $12.99 ALDI exclusive. $12.99 is near the top of the price range for ALDI wine and the reason is that these grapes come from one of the best Pinot Noir growing areas in California. The Sonoma Coast is mostly smaller family owned vineyards and attached wineries…
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The Brooks Runaway Red Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2016 is sourced from 10 practicing biodynamic vineyards in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Biodynamic farming goes beyond organic farming practices, they make vineyard decisions based on the phases of the moon, they plant complimentary shrubs and flowers in the vineyard that attract the insects that feed on…
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