(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
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 Elliot Cooper California Chardonnay is a non-vintage $10 Aldi exclusive. Aldi owns the brand name, but a subsidiary of Trinchero Family Wine and Spirits produced the wine. The Story Aldi tends to own the brand names in case the need to change the producer arises. A popular product can continue and have several producers…
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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 Castellore Gavi DOCG 2024 is an Aldi wine, priced at $9.99. We previously reviewed the 2022 vintage and were impressed, so we sampled a newer vintage to see if the quality is maintained. The Story Castellore is the brand name Aldi uses for value Italian wines. The brand is used for Chianti, Pinot…
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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 Seek to Find Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is sold at Trader Joe’s for $7.99. It was made for Trader Joe’s by a branch of Treana wines, which is a brand owned by Hope Family Wines from Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast. The Story Hope Family Wines is an excellent family-owned winery that…
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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 Emile Cheysson Cremant De Bourgogne Brut is a Sparkling wine I found for $9.99 at a local wine shop. The average price on he internet is $17 and up. Wine sales have been down for the last years, and shops have been having sales to get folks in the door, so keep an eye…
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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 Seaglass Central Coast Pinot Grigio 2024 is a wine that should be found for around $10. It was one of the 50+ brands of wines and spirits from Trinchero Family Vineyards. The Story Trinchero Family Vineyards is the 4th family-owned winery. They were founded in Napa Valley in 1948 and are still going strong….
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The Delicious Monster White 2024 is a wine available at Trader Joe’s, selling for $5.99. CWF reviewed the 2023 vintage of this wine and was impressed. How do they create a worthwhile wine at the southern tip of Africa and ship it all over the US for less than six bucks? The Story The Delicious…
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The Giardino Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Vivace 2024 is a $5.99 exclusive import available at Trader Joe’s. The Vivace in the name translates to lively and refers to this wine as having light bubbles. The Story Giardino is a brand produced especially for Trader Joe’s by 8 Vini Wine merchants. They produce multiple wines from…
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The Maison Barboulot Chardonnay Viognier 2024 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. This is an IGP or Vin de Pays designated wine from the Languedoc growing region of southwest France. The Story The Languedoc-Roussillon wine region is a place where French wine drinkers can find value-priced wines. IGP (also known as Vin de Pays)…
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The Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2023 is a Trader Joe’s exclusive, selling for $8.99. The back label indicates it was vinted and bottled by Compass Bridge of Manteca & Geyserville, California. The Story Manteca is the corporate home of Delicato Family Vineyards (100 years old this year), and Geyserville was the home of Coppola Wines,…
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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 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 Bear Bros. The California Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is an Aldi exclusive, priced at $7.99. I checked the California Wine Club Registry and found that an entity of Sutter Home was involved in the production. The Story Sutter Home wines are part of the Trinchero Family of Wine and Spirits. Sutter Home typically sells non-vintage…
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