(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
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 JOYA Sangria White is 100% Airén grape with “all natural essences of fresh Mediterranean fruit” sourced from vineyards in the Castilla-LaMancha region of Spain. Airén is a grape that is almost exclusively grown in Spain and not too long ago was the most planted grape in world, today it is the 3rd most planted…
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The Segura Viudas Gran Cuvée Reserva Brut is a blend of 85% Macebeo and Parellada (these, along with Xarel.lo, are the grapes traditionally used in the production of Cava), plus 15% of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in the Penedès region of Spain. The Segura Viudas property has been an estate since the 1000’s and…
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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 Old Soul Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from Oak Ridge Winery estate vineyards located in the Lodi AVA of northern California. Oak Ridge is the oldest winery in Lodi (founded in the 1930s) and is currently owned by the Maggio and Reynolds families who have 5 generations of vineyard and wine making experience. Lodi is…
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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 Bel Lago Auxerrois 2013 is an estate grown White wine sourced from grapes grown on the Leelanau Peninsula surrounded by Lake Michigan in upstate western Michigan. The Auxerrois grape is common to the Alsace region of France near the border with Germany. It is a close relative of the Chardonnay grape and does well…
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The Pascal Janvier Jasnieres 2013 is 100% Chenin Blanc (known locally as Pineau de la Loire) sourced from Pascal Janvier estate vineyards in the Jasnières AOC located in the northern section of the Loire Valley in France. Chenin Blanc is the only grape grown in Jasnières AOC. It had been a premier growing area for…
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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 Cantina di Soave Rocca Sveva Classico 2012 is 100% Garganega grape grown in DOC vineyards near the towns of Soave and Monteforte in Veneto, Italy. Cantina di Soave was founded in 1898 and is a co-op of over 2,600 vineyards comprising 8,600 acres of vines. Garganega is the main grape of Soave White 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 Celler del Roure Cullerot Blanco 2012 is an unusual blend of Verdil, Pedro Ximenez, Macabeo and Chardonnay sourced from an estate vineyard located near the town of Moixent in Valencia, Spain. Verdil is a grape indigenous to the region that was nearly extinct, there are only a little over 100 acres of these vines…
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The Herencia Altes Garnacha Blanca 2014 is sourced from estate vineyards near the village of Batea in the Terra Alta DO of southeast Catalonia in Spain. Garnacha Blanc is a White grape that is related to the Red Grenache/Garnacha grape, it is possibly a mutation of the Red grape. Terra Alta (translates to High Land)…
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The il Palagione Hydra 2013 DOCG is 100% Vernaccia di San Gimignano grown in hillside vineyards outside the town of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. There has been a farm on this site since the 1500s and they have grown the Vernaccia di San Gimignano grape here since the 1200s. There are other grapes named…
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The Bucamel Blanco Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from a Bodegas Tierras de Orgaz vineyard located on a hillside outside the town of Los Yebens in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain. This Chardonnay is designated a Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla wine, which is like IGT wines from Italy and Vin de Pays wines…
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The Mavam Gold Fushion Vulcano 2014 is a Sparkling wine using the Macabeo grape (one of the 3 grapes traditionally used in the production of Cava Sparkling wines) and is produced by Bodegas Vidal Del Saz in the La Mancha DO of central Spain. There are 3 varieties, Gold Fushion, which is pink/orange in…
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The Bedell Cellars Taste White 2013 is a blend of 50% Albariño, 30% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Viognier and 5% Chardonnay sourced from sustainably farmed estate vineyards near the town of North Fork in Long Island, New York. Long Island has a maritime climate that cools the vineyards during the heat of summer and protects the…
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The Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza DOC 2013 is a blend of 40% Garganega, 30% Fernanda, 15% Trebbianello and 15% Trebbiano grown in the Custoza district, southeast of Lake Garda in Veneto, Italy. Bianco di Custoza is a traditional blend of 9 approved grapes, the blend must contain specified percentages of 3 grapes and the other 6…
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The 2013 Wente Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown “Louis Mel” vineyard in California’s Central Coast (for you specific folks, that’s the southern part of Livermore Valley). Who the hell’s Louis Mel? Well he was this French dude with two first names that came to the U.S. in the 1870’s. Instead of becoming…
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The 2013 Wente Riverbank Riesling is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown Riverbank vineyard in the “Arroyo Seco Cone”. This funnel-shaped geological anomaly in the Arroyo Seco appellation was formed by eons of its eponymous creek/river flow cutting a deep ravine, the southern edge of which enjoys deep rocky soils where Riesling thrives. The significance of Wente…
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The Astoria Valdobbiadene DOCG Extra Dry Prosecco Millesimato 2012 is sourced from Glera grapes grown on estate vineyards on the hillsides overlooking the Crevada river near the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene in the Treviso province of Veneto, Italy. This is the heart of the Prosecco district and the wines grown here are rated DOCG,…
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The Villa Sandi Il Fresco Brut Prosecco is produced from Glera grapes grown in estate vineyards near the town of Treviso in Veneto, Italy. The Villa Sandi estate was built in 1622 and the family has produced wine for generations. Il Fresco Brut Prosecco is Villa Sandi’s everyday Bubbly and is produced in the Charmat…
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CheapwineFinder’s Bubbly Basics 1) All Bubbly, whether it is from the Champagne region of France, the Prosecco region of Italy, Cava from Catalonia in Spain or just plain old Bubbly from anywhere, is Sparkling wine. Sparkling wine is called different things in different countries, Spumante in Italy, Cremant in France or Sekt in Germany, but…
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The Parxet Cuvée 21 Cava Brut is 33% Macabeo, 33% Parellada and 33% Pansa Blanca (a cousin and similar to the Xarello grape traditionally used in Cava) grapes grown in certified organic vineyards near the town of Alella, just outside Barcelona, Spain. The Parxet winery was built in 1920 and the parent company had been…
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The Barone Fini Valdadige Pinot Grigio 2013 is a DOC wine sourced from the Valdadige district of the Trentno-Alto Adige region of northern Italy. A rough translation of Valdadige is the valley of Adige and Alto Adige is the heights of Adige, The Barone and the Fini families founded the winery in 1497 and their…
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