The Locations “F” (France) Red Blend is an outlaw wine. If you’re used to California wines, it’s nothing new, but if you’re used to wines from France, it will set your hair on fire! This is a blend of Bordeaux grapes, Rhone grapes, and Roussillon grapes – and if you don’t think that’s strange, go…
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The Psâgot Rosé 2016 is a blend of Red wine grapes, Psâgot does not indicate which grapes are used, but they grow Bordeaux and Rhone varietals in their estate vineyards located 3,000 feet up in the northern Jerusalem Mountains. Israel has produced wine for thousands of years, but Psâgot is a very modern (and beautiful) winery founded…
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The Ménage à Trois Midnight Red 2014 is a blend of 49% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Sirah, and 7% Petit Verdot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The Ménage à Trois brand was founded about 20 years ago as a left-over wine after the original winery bottled their main line…
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The Charles Smith Vino Rosso 2015 is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese sourced grapes grown in Washington State (the label says Washington State and not Columbia Valley). The Sangiovese came from 2 vineyards in the Yakima Valley AVA and the Cabernet came from the Frenchman Hills vineyard, which is located near the Wahluke Slope AVA, Frenchman…
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The Porta 6 Red 2015 is a blend of 50% Aragonez (the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and in Portugal this grape is also known as Tinto Roriz. Wine can be confusing enough without having 2 names for the same grape), 40% Castelão, and 10% Touriga Nacional (both indigenous local grapes) grown in the Lisboa region (north and west…
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The La Peña de España Red 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 34% Garnacha, 33% Syrah, and 33% Monastrell sourced from the vineyards of Viveros Cambra in the Valencia DO of eastern Spain. Viveros Cambra has been a vine nursery and vineyard since 1905 and has made their own wines since 2006. In the…
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The 90+ Cellars Big Red Blend Lot 113 2015 is an unusual blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, and Souzoa sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. 90+ Cellars are Negociants, what negociants do is purchase surplus wine from wineries and sell it under their own label. Sometimes they buy fermented juice from a famous winery…
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The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint-Esprit Rouge 2015 is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from vineyards in the Ardèche department near the towns of Saint-Julien and Saint-Alban in the Northern Rhone region of Southern France. Delas Freres is the winery and it was founded 160 years ago and is currently owned by the Champagne House…
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The 18th Man Red Blend 2013, well, actually, this is a first for me, I am not exactly sure of the name of this wine. “State of Origin” is written in large letters on the side and 18 or 18th Man is shown in various places on the label, so take your pick as to the…
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The Les Hauts de Lagarde Rouge 2014 is a certified Organic blend of 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc grown and produced at the Vignobles Raymond (Vineyards of Raymond)Estate near the town of Saint Laurent du Bois, in the Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux, France. The Estate is family owned and was founded in 1850….
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The Pontificis GSM 2014 is a blend of 40% Grenache, 33% Syrah and 27% Mourvedre, sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc region of France and is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. The GSM blend is one of the classic Red wine blends from the southern Rhone Valley in France and the Chateauneuf-du-pape region in…
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The Bota Box Nighthawk Black is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA and is available in a 3 liter box (four 750 ml Bottles) or 500 ml Tetra pack. Bota Box is part of Delicato Family Wines (Lodi, Ca.), they produce Gnarly…
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The Robert Mondavi Heritage Red Bland 2013 is a blend of 64% Syrah, 31% Merlot, 3% Zinfandel, 1% Thompson Seedless, and 1% Petite Sirah sourced from 82% Monterey County, 13% Paso Robles, 3% Valley South, and 2% Santa Barbara County, all of these inside the larger Central Coast AVA in California. Most table grapes (the ones you…
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The Firefly Ridge The Red Flash 2014 is a blend of Petite Sirah, Merlot, and Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Firefly Ridge is a label produced by The Wine Group whose wines include, Benzinger, Concannon, Cupcake, Fisheye, Franzia, and MD 20/20, along with several others. This brand isn’t listed…
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The Vin du Sud Collection Domaine de Courtal Fitou 2013 is part of a 4-pack of 375ml (half bottles) featuring 3 Red wines and 1 White wine from different growing areas inside the Languedoc region of southwest France. The Languedoc is the region where the everyday wines or the more affordable wines are produced. Fitou AOP…
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This is something a little different. It is a 4 bottle sampler pack of wine from the Languedoc. The bottles are 375ml, which equals a half bottle or 2 full glasses. There is one White wine, a Muscat from the Minervois AOC and 3 Red blends, one from Fitou AOC, another simply from the Languedoc…
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The Valreas Cotes du Rhone Villages Cuvee Prestige 2014 is a $6.49 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, produced by a Co-Op Winery from grapes grown around the village of Valreas. Valreas is known as “the enclave of the Pope“, because in 1317 the Pope stopped by during his travels and enjoyed the local wine. A Co-Op is…
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The Curator Red 2012 is an unique blend, 61% Shiraz/Syrah, 20% Cinsault, 6% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Tinto Barroca (when grown in Portugal this is one of the grapes used for Port) and 1% Carignan sourced from multiple vineyards owned by 4 contract growers in the Swartland growing region on the west coast…
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The Granite Coast Vineyards Red Blend 2013 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, estate grown and produced in Monterey, California. Granite Coast Vineyards seems to be a brand name and not an actual vineyard and winery, so if you want to know which estate grew the grapes and made the wine, look up wineries in…
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The Leer Vineyards Heroic Red is a non-vintage blend of 58% Syrah, 29% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from several California grape growing AVA’s. That is the particulars on this bottle of wine, but that is not the story here. The Leer Family and Leer Vineyards (Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay…
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The Outlander Meritage 2013 is a $8.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside the Central Coast AVA of California. A Meritage wine is made from the grapes varietals that are permitted for use in the Red blends of Bordeaux in France. Here the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot…
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The Saved Red Wine 2013 is a project between Scott Campbell, an artist and founder of Saved Tattoo, Brooklyn, New York and Clay Brock, a wine-maker whose resume includes Edna Valley Vineyards, Byron Vineyards, Zaca Mesa and currently Wild Horse Winery. The name Saved does not necessarily have religious overtones, Scott Campbell (his designs have…
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The Onx Moon Dark Red Blend (the label reads MOONX) is a non-vintage $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA and made for Trader Joe’s by one of the larger wineries in Lodi, California. The Onx Moon is one of…
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The Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles 2013 is a Rhone inspired wine blend, available for $6.99 at Trader Joe’s, but it does not seem to be an exclusive wine, sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Northern Rhone wines are Syrah based wines and Southern Rhone Reds are Syrah…
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The Marvelous Red 2013 (yes, this is a Red wine, but Marvelous Wines are named by color, the White Blend is Marvelous Yellow and the Bordeaux Blend is Marvelous Blue) is a blend of 42% Syrah, 41% Cinsault, 7% Mourvedre, 6% Grenache and 4% Viognier sourced from carefully chosen vineyards in the Western Cape Region…
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