(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
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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The Kirkland Signature Sonoma County Chardonnay 2022 is a $7.99 Costco exclusive. Kirkland Signature wines typically name the winery or the winemaker involved in the production, but not here. The back label mentions Grape and Grain Imports as having vinted and bottled this Chardonnay. Grape and Grain Imports is the custom wine brand branch of…
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Champion Nick and Domaine Dave taste tested two very inexpensive Chardonnay for the How Low Can You Go #2 Two Buck Chuck Vs Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay challenge. Both wines were purchased for $3.99, the Charles Shaw is from California and the Lindeman’s is from Southeastern Australia. The Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay (actually $4) bested…
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The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is a blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and the other 10% is a mix of Pinot Gris (White) and Pinot Meunier (Red). This Bubbly is produced in the Traditional Method or Champagne style. The second fermentation or triage lasted for a minimum of 18 months. GH Mumm started…
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How Low Can You Go… Two Buck Chuck ($3.99) Vs Aldi Hwy 5 Chardonnay with a name like Cheap Wine Finder people expect us to write about cheap wine, but we don’t. We write about good affordable wine…. bargains. Value-priced wines have never been available with the quality and drinkability of modern wines. We have…
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The Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found for $7.99 at a local wine shop. Columbia Crest is the second label from Chateau Ste. Michelle is by far the largest wine produced in the Columbia Valley of Washington State. Though Columbia Crest is a 2nd label it has an excellent history….
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The Amuse Bouche Pet-Nat 2022 is a $11.99 Trader Joe’s wine made for them by Pierre and Antonin who produce natural wines in the Languedoc region of France. Pet-Nat is short for Pétillant Naturel which is a very old method of producing Sparkling wine. It is also called the Ancestral Method. A simple explanation of…
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The Revelation Pays D’Oc Chardonnay 2021 is $7.99 at Trader Joe’s in the US and is widely available in other countries. Badet Clement is the producing winery. That is a project by two winemakers who make affordable wines with grapes from the Rhone Valley, Burgundy, and the Languedoc, and about 2/3rds of their wines are…
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The Intermingle California Chardonnay 2020-Aldi is a $6.99 wine made by Sutter Home Winery. Sutter Home is a brand owned by Trinchero Family Estates and produces over 40 wine brands including Menage a Trois, Joel Gott, and Charles and Charles. The front label indicates that this is a California Buttery Chardonnay. There are three main…
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The Picton Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is $7.99 at Trader Joe’s and sells for about $12.99 in places that Trader Joe’s does not serve. There is an actual Picton Bay winery. Usually, these wines are a brand made especially for TJ’s by a custom wine producer. The Picton Bay is a brand by Mount…
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The JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay 2021 is 100% Chardonnay and is a wine I found at Costco selling for $9.99 and is found on the web for 13 to $17. The JaM in the name stands for John and Michele Truchard. John is a second-generation California winemaker his father owns Truchard Vineyards in Napa. In…
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The Les Allies Blanc de Blanc Brut is a French Sparkling wine I found at a local Chicago wine shop selling for $9.99. This is a Cote d’Or wine from Burgundy, France, and is a Vin Mousseux wine meaning it was produced in a method different than the Traditional or Champagne Method. That usually means…
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The Sand Point Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is a wine I found selling for $9.99. The Sand Point brand of wine is part of the Lange Twins Family Winery and Vineyards located in Acampo, California inside the Lodi AVA. The Lange Twins are 5th generation farmers whose families started working the land in the 1870s. The…
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The Cecilia Beretta Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco 2021 is an $11.99 Trader Joe’s wine though it is available at a higher price elsewhere. Cecilia Beretta is a brand and winery owned by the Pasqua family since the early 1980s and they have a history in wine starting in the 1940s. Millesimato means that this is a…
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The Angeline California Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2021 is a wine I found on sale for $7.99 (Binny’s Chicago area), this vintage received 92 points from James Suckling, the leading wine reviewer. Angeline is an affordable line of wines from Martin Ray Winery (family owned since 1990) a high-end winery located in the Russian River AVA…
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The Kirkland Signature Extra Dry Prosecco Rosé 2021 is a 7.99 Costco exclusive. The traditional Prosecco grape, Glera, and Pinot Noir are used for additional flavor and color. This is an Extra Dry or slightly sweet wine, which is the way the Italians prefer it. The natural acidity balances the extra sugar, so this is…
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The Sainte Celine Chablis 2022 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. It is produced for trader Joe’s by Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard a noted Chablis producer (since 1973) who has made some of the first organic and bio-dynamic wines in Chablis and Burgundy. Chablis is the northernmost growing region in Burgundy and Champagne is north…
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The Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2021 is 100% Chardonnay sourced from sustainably farmed Kendal Jackson Estate vineyards in Santa Barbara County, The Santa Maria County AVA (the northern boundary of the Santa Barbara AVA and Monterey County. To show Santa Barbara on the label 75% of the grapes have to be grown…
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The Don’t Mind If I Do Pinot Grigio 2022 is Vegan-friendly. You might ask how can something made from fruit not be ok with vegans? It is the fining process, fining is where the solids, grape skin residue and spent yeast are removed from the wine after aging and before bottling. They have traditionally used…
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