The 2010 Stump Jump Shiraz (Stump Jump is the name of a plow that is used on rough terrain) is sourced from multiply vineyards in the McLaren Vale grape growing region of Australia. This is d’Arenberg’s entry level Shiraz and is basically made from many leftover parcels of wines from their more expensive Shiraz labels,…
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The 2010 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz (75%) Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) is sourced from vineyards all over Australia, but mainly the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra on the Limestone Coast. Penfolds was founded in 1844 and are known for The Grange, a blend that sells for $500 for a new vintage and increasing more as…
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The 2010 Gnarly Head Authentic Red is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Syrah sourced from the vineyards of long term contract growers in Lodi, California. The 2010 vintage provided a long, cool growing season, which is ideal for developing complex. fully ripe grapes. The Zinfandel portion of the blend was…
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The 2010 BB King Signature Selection Red Blend is a mix of Garnacha Tintorera (not the same as Garnacha/Grenache, but a cross of Garnacha and Petit Bouschet, also known as Alicante Bouschet) and Syrah with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon added in. This wine is produced for BB King by Bodega Santa Cruz de…
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The 2011 Robert Mondavi Private Selection California Pinot Noir is 80% Pinot Noir, 12% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah and 1% Thompson seedless (Thompson seedless is the most widely planted grape in California, these are the grapes you buy in the produce department and are made into those little boxes of raisins, they usually are used…
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The 2009 Whiplash Redemption Red Blend is 65% Syrah, 25% Barbera and 10% Zinfandel sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Whiplash wines are the value brand for Reata Wines from Napa Valley. The Barbera grape was the 2nd most planted grape in Italy until 1985 when a group of idiotic producers added…
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The 2010 Kenwood Vineyards Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Syrah sourced mainly from vineyards in Alexander Valley, Dry Creek and Sonoma Valley in the Sonoma AVA of Northern California. The grapes from each individual vineyards were fermented and aged separately and then blended to taste just before bottling….
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The 2011 Spiral Wines California Red blend is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, made for them by private label producer Fior di Sole, Napa, California. The blend is 58% Merlot, 15% Petite Sirah, 16% Zinfandel and 11% Syrah sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Trader Joe’s offered a $4.99…
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The 2009 Peirano Vineyards The Unknown is a blend of 70% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, along with 5% Viognier sourced from their Estate vineyard in the Lodi AVA of California. Viognier is a white wine grape, it is used to put a “shine” on the fruit flavors and add some structure, though they…
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The 2010 Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, 4% Syrah, 1% Carignane and 1% Petite Sirah. If you are asking yourself, why with all the different grapes used, is this wine called a Cabernet Sauvignon? In California, as long as 75% of the grapes are of…
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The 2010 HandCraft Petite Sirah is 82% Petite Sirah, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Sangiovese, 3% Syrah and 3% Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. HandCraft is one of DFV Wines (makers of Gnarly Head, Brazin, {noble vines} and several others), owned by the Indelicato Family (in business since 1924). The…
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The 2009 Milton Park Shiraz is a label owned by Thorn-Clarke Wines and is sourced from vineyards in the Barossa region of South Australia, which includes both the Barossa Valley and the Eden Valley. The name Milton Park comes from their vineyard in Eden Valley, they also own vineyards in the Barossa Valley, the grapes…
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The 2011 Flying Heart Red is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced by the custom and private label winery, Fior di Sole (they also produce Spiral wines), located in Napa Valley, California. This is a “kitchen sink” blend of Merlot, Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay of all things, sourced from…
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The 2010 R & B Swingsville Contra Costa Zinfandel is 91% Zinfandel (sourced from a single vineyard in the Contra Costa AVA), 5% Barbera (sourced from the same vineyard) and 4% Petite Sirah (sourced from a vineyard in Napa Valley). Contra Costa is located in the northern section of the Central Coast AVA, near the…
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The 2011 Berton Vineyard The Black Shiraz is a $7.49 Trader Joe’s imported wine, sourced from several contracted vineyards in the Barossa Valley growing region of southeast Australia. Berton Vineyard is a wine Estate located in the Eden Valley area of the Barossa Valley and the The Black Shiraz is their “bang for the buck”…
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The 2009 Thorny Rose Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 3% Syrah sourced from vineyards in Columbia Valley, Washington, along with vineyards located in sub-AVA’s, Horse Heaven Hills and the Wahluke Slope, located inside of the Columbia Valley. Thorny Rose is one of Hogue Cellars labels, which in turn is…
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The 2010 Triptych Red (a triptych is a 3 panel painting or carving) is a blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 20% Petite Sirah sourced from Broken Earth Wineries Estate vineyard, Shimmin Canyon Vineyard, in Paso Robles, located inside San Luis Obispo County which in turn is inside the larger Central Coast AVA and situated…
Read MoreThe Q Sonoma County Syrah is a private brand wine for the Albertson’s Supermarket chain,(Jewel/Osco, Cub Foods, Lucky, Shaw’s and Farm Fresh), sourced from multiple vineyards in Sonoma County, California and produced by Sonoma Wine Company, a custom and private label wine producer. The Q wine project is an effort to bring AVA specific wines…
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The 2009 Bogle Essential Red is a blend of old vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah sourced from contract vineyards in several California grape growing AVA’s. Bogle also makes the Phantom Red blend which is one of the best under $20 blends on the market. The Essential Red was produced with younger wine…
Read MoreThe Natura Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 6% Syrah grown in certified organic vineyards in Chile’s Valle Central. Natura is Emiliana Organic Vineyards organic line of wines, they also offer sustainably farmed wines and biodynamic wines which take organic growing methods to a whole new level. 20% of this Cabernet Sauvignon…
Read MoreThe Apothic Red Winemakers Blend 2011 is one of E & J Gallo’s 62 brands, it is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. E & J Gallo is the largest family owned wine company in America, they are also leaders…
Read MoreThe Flame Lily California Red 2010 is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah sourced from vineyards in 40% Monterey (in the Central Coast AVA) and 60% Lodi Delta (at the North end of the Central Valley, east of San Francisco). Flame Lily is a label owned by Sutter Home Wines who are…
Read MoreThe HobNob Wicked Red is an unusual blend of Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards in the Languedoc in the south of France. There are 3 levels of wine in France, the top level is AOC (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, etc), the 2nd is IGP (used to be known as Vin…
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The Heavyweight Old Vine California Zinfandel 2009 is one of the many labels produced by ADS Wines, which is owned by Scotto Family Vineyards. This wine is 82% Zinfandel, 14% Syrah and 4% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA, this Zin was bottled in Lodi, California and it is…
Read MoreThe Black Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir is mostly Pinot Noir blended with a little bit of Syrah and sourced from vineyards in Mendocino, Monterey and Sonoma. This is a non-vintage wine produced by ADS Wines to retail for under 10 bucks. There are 3 Black Ridge Pinots on the market, one from New Zealand, a…
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