(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
The Aldi’s California Heritage Brut Sparkling Wine is a $4.95 Aldi exclusive sourced from grapes grown in California. The back label shows that a part of E & J Gallo produced this Bubbly. Neither Aldo nor E & J Gallo offer any production details on this wine. The wine was produced with the Charmat Method,…
Read More
Along with a PODCAST interview with Kono winemaker Bruce Taylor talking about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and much more. The Kono Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a wine I found at a local wine shop selling for $13.99. Kono is Mauri owned. The Wakatū Incorporation comprises 250 Mauri families who descended from the original land…
Read More
The Kirkland Signature Sancerre 2022 is a $14.99 Costco exclusive. Sancerre is a town in the Loire Valley of France and the grape is Sauvignon Blanc. The White wine of the Loire Valley is Sauvignon Blanc, the regular affordable wines are a spring day in a bottle, pure joy to drink. The best Sauvignon Blanc…
Read More
I found the Magistrate Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2021 selling for $11.99 at Mariano’s one of Kroger’s family of supermarkets. This seems to be a wine sold exclusively at Kroger stores. You store exclusive wine brands at Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Costco, but many grocery stores, restaurants, and large liquor, beer, and wine shops often have…
Read More
The Aldi Specially Selected Gavi DOCG 2022 is an exclusive $9.99 Aldi import. Gavi White wines are from the Provence of Alexandria in the southeast corner of Piedmont in Italy. Gavi is produced from the Cortese grape and is typically 100% Cortese. Gavi is considered THE White wine of Piedmont with Barolo made from the…
Read More
The Aldi Hwy 5 Chardonnay 2021 is a $4.99 Aldi exclusive made by a company from Modesto, California which means some entity of E & J Gallo produced this brand. This is Aldi’s answer to Charles Shaw wine (2 Buck Chuck) from Trader Joe’s. Last summer we did a cheap Chardonnay shoot-out, Charles Shaw, Hwy…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s DOC Prosecco is an $8.99 import exclusive for a Sparkling wine from the Prosecco region of Veneto in Northern Italy. The back label says a branch of Zonin, a large and excellent Italian wine producer produced it. If you are new to Prosecco, this Bubbly is made from the Glera grape which…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
