(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Kidia Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a $5.99 wine, at Trader Joe’s it sells for $5.99, it seems to be a $10 wine elsewhere. It is an Estate wine produced by Vina del Pedregal (VDP), a family-owned winery located in Loncomilla Valley in the Maule Valley of Chile. They were founded in 1825 with…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Cremant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé is a $11.99 Aldi import exclusive. The Aldi Specially Selected brand includes at least 55 wines in Europe, my local Ald’s never had more than 5 or 6. They had Cremant wines from France’s (8) Cremant AOP areas. Cremant translates to “creamy” but it stands for…
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The Butternut Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found for $11.99, the label says the grapes came from California. Butternut is one of the brands in the Miller Family Wines line of wines. The Miller Family Wines also own Central Coast Wine Warehouse, a custom wine producer, who ten years ago was a major producer…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Los Carneros Brut Sparkling Wine 2019 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This Bubbly is a blend of 84% Pinot Noir and 16% Chardonnay sourced from grapes grown in the Carneros AVA, located inside both the Sonoma AVA and the Napa AVA. Carneros sits on the northern shore of San…
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The Anna de Codorniu Cava Brut Rosé is a Sparkling wine I found on sale selling for $8.99. Anna de Codorniu is the oldest winery in Spain, founded in 1551. Today they are part of the Raventos family of wines. Raventos started growing grapes in 1497 and 1872 producing the first Traditional Method Cava. The…
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The Louise d’ Estrée Brut (in 2023) is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive, in places not served by Trader Joe’s this Bubbly sells at wine shops for $17 to $20. This is a Cremant wine, meaning it is a Bubbly produced in the Traditional Method (Champagne) but not in Champagne. The label is devoid of…
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The Piper Sonoma Brut is a non-vintage Champagne-style Sparkling wine I found selling for $17 (lists for 21.99). It is a blend of 56% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Blanc, and 6% a blend of aged Reserve wine. The aged Reserve wine is from their higher-tier sparkling wine. Piper Sonoma was. founded in 1980…
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The Chandon California Brut is a wine that lists for $26, but I found it on sale in December of 2023 for $15, there are great prices on Sparkling Wine during the Holidays. Chandon is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton who also owns Moet Chandon, Dom Perignon, Krug, and many more. Chandon was…
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The Photograph North Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from vineyards in the Sonoma and Napa AVAs, the list price is around $13, but I found it on sale at Target for $8.99. It was a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy in 2023 and received 92 points. This brand from Vintage Wine Estates offers 34 different…
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The Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2019 is a wine I found for $13.99 and it is the house brand for Monterey Wine Company, a custom wine producer. This is a single vineyard wine with grapes from the Poppy Hillside Vineyard. The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is located on the western foothills of the Salinas…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sonoma County Brut Sparkling Wine-2023 Edition is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive featuring a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a little bit of Pinot Meunier which is a classic Champagne blend. This Sparkling wine was “produced and bottled by” (that means they made this Bubbly) Rack and Riddle of…
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The Elouan Oregon Chardonnay 2020 is one of the brands from Copper Cane, the wine company owned by Joe Wagner who is part of the Wagner family of Caymus fame. Joe Wagner is the son and you should know him from Meiomi wines which he founded and sold for 1/3 of a billion dollars. The…
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The Burlwood Brut Sparkling Wine is a $4.95 Aldi exclusive made by some part of E & J Gallo Winery, any time you see Modesto, California on the back label you can bet that Gallo made the wine. Gallo also produces Andre Champagne and Barefoot Bubbly lines, all in the same general price range. The…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Alto Aldige Pinot Grigio 2022 is a $9.99 Aldi exclusive and is part of the ten wine Specially Selected series of wines released in the fall of 2023. These are wines from top-rated growing regions worldwide being sold at bargain prices. Alto Adige, in far northern Italy, is the home to…
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The Mumm Napa Blanc de Blanc is a Bubbly that lists at $26 but should be available for under $20 during the holiday season. Mumm Napa is the California division of C.H. Mumm, a Champagne house founded in 1827. In 1983 they started producing Sparkling wines in Napa under the Domaine Mumm name which was…
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The VINTJS Sonoma County Chardonnay 2021 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive if you wish to know which winery produced this wine head to the TTBGov California Cola Registry and type VINTJS into the search box. I usually hesitate to name the producer since they are producing wine to Trader Joe’s specifications and not always…
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The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a wine I found selling at a local wine shop for $11.99. Cannonball Wine was founded in 2016 with the mission goal of making “the best California Cabernet under $20“, they have since branched out to include Melot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022…
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The Willam Wright Monterey Chardonnay 2021 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive produced for them by Scheid Family Vineyards of Monterey, California. Scheid is a large family-owned winery founded in 1972 and they have been Certified Sustainable since 1914. They owned vineyards dotted throughout a 70-mile section of the Salinas Valley and they have 3,000 acres…
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The Kirkland Signature Ti Point Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a $7.49 Costco exclusive. Ti Point Winery is family-owned and originated in the 1990s with vineyards in the Ti Point Peninsula near Auckland in the northcentral part of the North Island of New Zealand. The original vineyard was small but they have branched out and…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Prosecco 2022 is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive, it is part of 10 wines in the Specially Selected series featuring wines from all over the world. Here is a link to their French Sparkling wine LINK. Aldi does not offer any details on the wines, such as why they…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Fleurs D’Eau Sparkling Brut Rosé is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive, it has been available at European Aldi stores for several months and has been well received. Basic information such as where exactly the grapes came from (location is significant for French wine), which grapes were used, and which Sparkling wine method…
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The Bay Moon Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s wine and is the same price as it was in 2012 when we first reviewed this brand. In places where there are no Trader Joe’s stores, this wine can sell for $11.99. The back label mentions this wine was “vinted and bottled by” Trader…
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The 90+ Cellars Pinot Grigio 2021 Lot #42 is a wine I found selling for $9.99 at a local wine shop. The grapes come from vineyards in Trentino, Italy which is in the far northern part of Italy. Alto Aldige is in the northern half and Trentino is in the south. 90+ Cellars are negociants…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay 2021 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. TJ’s at one time had a chart that said that this tier of Reserve wine is equal in quality to this price range of retail wine. They no longer publish those claims, but a Grand Reserve wine should to…
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The ranga.ranga. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a single vineyard (Waverley Vineyard) located in the bluffs overlooking Blind River in the Awatere Valley in southwest Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. Barker’s Marque Wines is an independently owned winery that produces ranga.ranga, their “old school” Sauvignon Blanc. ranga.ranga is the Maori word for “gentle breeze”…
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