Cheap wines that hover right around twenty bucks
The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Brut Rosé is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle, located in Healdsburg, California. The Story The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Rosé Brut is made entirely from 100% Pinot Noir. If this wine were not a Rosé, it would…
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The Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found on sale for $15.99; it typically sells for $20 or more. The Sonoma-Cutrer winery is part of the Duckhorn family of wines. The Story The Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2023 is their “entry-level” Chardonnay. It is 100% Chardonnay sourced from 4 sustainably farmed estate…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Blanc De Blancs is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It was produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle of Healdsburg, California. The Story Rack and Riddle is a large custom Sparkling wine producer serving California. They produce both the Traditional Method (think Champagne) and the Charmat Method (Prosecco)….
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The Freakshow Lodi Chardonnay 2021 is a wine I found at a local grocery store for $15. This wine is from Michael David Winery of Lodi, California. The Story Michael and David are brothers, and Phillips is the family name. They are fifth-generation grape growers. The family has farmed the land since the 1860s and…
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The Lapis Luna North Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2024 s a wine I found at Trader Joe’s selling for $10.99. It is not a Trader Joe’s exclusive and a quick check of the internet found it selling in the $10 to $14 range. The Story Lapis Luna is Latin for the Stone and Moon. It is…
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The Willia Creek Willamette Chardonnay 2023 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s wine. The Willia Creek Cellars trademark is held by Precept Wine & Spirits. The Story The back label shows this Chardonnay was ” produced and bottled by” Willia Creek Cellars of Dundee, Oregon. Produced and bottled by indicates the aforementioned winery may not have…
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The 19 Crimes The Mummy Hard Chard is a limited edition wine I found at Target, priced at $11.99. 19 Crimes is a brand owned by Treasury Wine Estates, an Australian company. In 2021, they reached sales of 5,000,000 cases globally, equivalent to 60,000,000 bottles sold annually. The Story The 19 Crimes The Mummy Hard…
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The Wente Morning Fog Central Coast Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found at a local grocery store, selling for $11.99. This is the entry Chardonnay for Wente Family Vineyards, who have a unique history with the Chardonnay grape. The Story Wente was founded in 1883 and is the oldest continuously operated family-owned vineyard and…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 is an exclusive Aldi offering at $12.99. The Willamette Valley is one of the premier Pinot Noir regions in the world. The Story Aldi’s Specially Selected series of wines is a collection of affordable wines from some of the best wine-growing regions—quality at a value price….
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The Aldi Specially Selected Napa Valley Brut is $17.99 in-store, but the Aldi website lists it at $19.99. The Story The back label shows that this Bubbly was produced and bottled by Rack and Riddle. Rack and Riddle is a custom Sparkling wine producer. They have many Sparkling wines in the value-price category, including Peaks…
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The Aldi’s Peaks & Tides Sonoma Brut is a Sparkling wine sold at Aldi stores for $13.99. This Bubbly was produced by Rack and Riddle. The Story Rack and Riddle (these are terms used in making Bubbly) is a custom Sparkling wine producer located in several locations in Sonoma and Lodi. If you have tasted…
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The Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier 2024 is a wine I found selling for $10.99 at a local wine shop. Pine Ridge Vineyards is a Napa Valley winery in the Stags Leap district. They typically produce Bordeaux-inspired wines, so this White wine is not typical of their wine program. The Story Pine Ridge Vineyards is…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label indicates that it was “vintage and bottled” by Ashford Court from American Canyon, located in the southern part of Napa Valley. The Story Ashford Court is a part of Plata Wine Partners, which is a versatile…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2023 is a $12.99 exclusive to Trader Joe’s. This is the 15th vintage of this wine, and they seem to offer a Platinum Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir during the Holiday months. The Story The back label says Carneros Cellars bottled this wine. I looked up who owns…
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The Substance Cs Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a wine I found selling for $13.99 on sale. Charles Smith produced this wine under the Wines of Substance brand. The Story Charles Smith has a history of establishing a wine brand and then selling it for a tidy sum. The Wines of Substance brand was sold to…
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The Justin Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a wine I found selling for $12.99; the list price is $18. This is a wine that is widely available from supermarkets to wine shops. The Story There was a Justin (Justin Baldwin), but he sold the winery to The Wonderful Company in 2010. The Wonderful Company…
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The Decoy Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found selling for $14.99; Duckhorn has it listed for $20. Decoy is the entry-level wine brand (if a $20 wine can be called entry-level) for Duckhorn Winery. The Story Duckhorn Winery was founded in 1976 and was known for its Merlot. They had ten wine brands, which…
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The Ferrari-Carano North Coast Fume Blanc 2023 is a wine I found for $10.99, and it received 92 points from a major wine critic. The Story Ferrari-Carano was founded in 1981 by Don and Rhonda Carano. It is a beautiful estate in Northern Sonoma, and they produced consistently excellent wines. After Don Carano passed away…
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The Sunshine Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label says it was “Produced and Bottled by” Northwest Collective from Dundee, Oregon. The Story The Northwest Collective is a part of Precept Brands, a large wine and spirits business in the Northwest part of the US. They have a…
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The Mount Fishtail Sur Lie Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is a wine I found for $12.69 at Costco. A price with a decimal point of 0.69 indicates that the manufacturer is offering this product at a special price. A quick check of the web found this wine selling in a range of $13 to $15….
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The Bonanza Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 7 is a wine I found for $11.98; it usually sells for between $17 and $25. Bonanza is a brand from the Wagner Family of wines, of Caymus fame, along with many other popular brands. The Story The Wagner family has roots in the wine world going back to the…
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The Stoller Estate Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2023 is a wine I found at a local shop selling for $14.99; the list price is $25. The Stoller Family Estate started as a turkey farm and transitioned to wine production in the late 1980s—the current winery and vineyards were established in 2001. The Story The Stoller Winery…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2023 is a $14.99 wine available exclusively at Trader Joe’s. The Dundee Hills AVA is a sub-AVA within the Willamette Valley AVA. The Story The back label indicates that this wine was “vinted and bottled by Cultavin Cellars.” Vinted and bottled by means that they bottled…
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The Markham Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a wine I found on sale, priced at $13.99; it is typically priced above $20. Markham Vineyards is a historic wine property dating back to the 1800s. The Story Bruce Markham founded the current winery in 1977, and it quickly became known as a premier producer of…
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The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage 2022 is an exclusive, $19.99 offering available only at Trader Joe’s. This wine was produced and bottled by (that means they made it) 1542 ACE, which is a label from Miura Vineyards, a project from a Master Sommelier, Emmanuel Kemiji. The Story Miura and 1542 ACE typically deal…
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