(and the cheap WHITES we’re diggin’ on lately)
The 2008 Erotic Cellars Forplay Chardonnay is a label made by Stanger Wines out of Paso Robles, California. If you see “California” on the wine label, that indicates that the grapes were sourced from more than one AVA(American Viticulture Area). If you notice, Forplay is misspelled, that is because Naked Winery of Washington already has…
Read MoreThe 2010 Paso A Paso (translates to step by step) Organic White wine is a mystery wine, it is a White blend, but the bottle does not list the grapes or a Winery. The grapes are certified organic from vineyards in La Mancha, Spain and the wine is a Jorge Ordonez Selection. Jorge Ordonez is an Importer,…
Read MoreThe 2010 Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from various Vina Cono Sur Santa Elisa Estate vineyards located in the Central Valley of Chile. The Central Valley runs the entire length of Chile, with the Andes on one side and the Coastal Range on the other. Cono Sur is not just a play on words,…
Read MoreThe Albero Cava Brut is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, sourced from certified organic grapes (CCPAE SPAIN) grown on the Estate vineyards of Bogedas Iranzo (Spain’s oldest Estate vineyards, founded 1335) which is located in the Penedes DO near Barcelona by the Mediterranean Sea. The grapes used, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo are the traditional grapes…
Read MoreThe 2009 Antano Viura is 100% Viura (also called Macabeo, which along with Xarel-lo and Parellada is the 3 grapes that go into Spanish Cava) sourced from old vine vineyards grown near the town of Labastida in Rioja, Spain. The alcohol content is 12.5%. The color is pale sunshine yellow. The nose is apricot and…
Read MoreThe 2008 Cave Springs Riesling is 100% Riesling sourced from, 57% 20 Mile Bench, 20% Beamsville Bench, 17% Lincoln Lakeshore and 6% Creek Shores sub-appellations of the Niagara Peninsula VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) near Lake Ontario in Canada. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and the alcohol content is 11%. The…
Read MoreIf you were a cool breeze (my nickname in high school), you’d love blowing through the “Templeton Gap” – a series of mountain passes near Paso Robles – just to get to the rolling hills of Cass Vineyards. Your job is to cool their 100% estate-grown Rhone varietals so they can ripen into majesty. In…
Read MoreThe 2009 Seven Hills Viognier is 100% Viognier sourced from a single vineyard, Talcott Vineyards, which is located in the recently established Wahluke Slope AVA, which in turn is located inside the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington State. A reasonably small production wine, only 960 cases produced. The wine is aged in new French oak…
Read MoreThe 2010 Benefactor Cellars South Eastern Australia Chardonnay is a Trader Joe’s exclusive selling for $4.99. This is a Negociant wine, which means this is an unnamed Wineries excess wine is purchased and re-labeled by a 3rd party. That is a very common practice through out the wine world and if the Negociant has ties with…
Read MoreThe Monchhof Estate Riesling is 100% Riesling grown from vineyards near Urzig, Germany. The Monchhof (translates to “Monks House”) Winery was started on a charter from the Pope in 1177, there is a stone Roman wine press on the site that dates back to Roman times. The current Estate buildings and wine cellar were completed…
Read MoreThe 2009 Gordon Brothers Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from a 100 acre, certified organically grown Estate Vineyards located in the Columbia Valley of Washington State. A small production wine, only 940 cases made. The wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and different yeasts were used in each individual vat, the various yeast impose…
Read MoreA Trader Joe’s $4.99 wine, the Le Grotte Reggiano Lambrusco Russo Dulce (translates to sweet red) is a Sparkling wine sourced from the Lambrusco grape grown in the Reggiano nell’Emilia DOC of the Emilia-Romagna growing region in Italy. Lambrusco is both the name of the grape and the type of wine and this region has…
Read MoreWe reviewed the 2010 vintage of the Trader Joe’s Vinas Chilenas Sauvignon Blanc Reserva and thought it was a steal at $3.99. At that price, the winemaker can’t spend too much money on the wine making process, so these Trader Joe’s 4 buck specials are only as good as the grapes that are used and…
Read MoreThe Spanish White Guerrilla Verdejo is 100% Verdejo grown in a single vineyard located in the Valles de Sadacia growing area, which is a white wine only DO (Denominacion de Origen) located inside the Rioja district, in Spain. The Verdejo grape has been grown mainly in the Rueda region for 1,000 years and is a very hearty,…
Read MoreA Trader Joe’s exclusive, a $4.49, Sparkling Wine imported from somewhere in France. The term Blanc de Blancs normally indicates that the Bubbly was made from Chardonnay grapes, but the back label only mentions “white grapes,” which in France could also mean Chenin Blanc (Cremant de Loire) or Mauzac (Blanquette de Limoux) grapes. A Brut…
Read MoreTheir Merlot is an awesome value and has been selling out everywhere. Now here’s their Pinot Grigio and it’s just as wonderful a deal as the Merlot. Hints of lemon grass and apricot with a small amount of acidity. Not watery like other examples out there at the same price. Easy drinking and yummy. This…
Read MoreI love this wine! Usually unoaked Chardonnay is not my thing, but this is as good as any I’ve had! It explodes with fresh crisp fruit, mango, pineapple, melon and even a little banana flavors with citrus notes too. It finishes with more mango and apple flavors. It has so many different fruit flavors that…
Read MoreThe 2009 Domaine de Gournier is 100% Estate grown Chardonnay located in the hills overlooking the town of Nimes in the Rhone Valley, but outside the borders of the Costieres de Nimes AOC. Since this was not grown inside a AOC designated growing area, the wine is referred to as a Vin de Pays des Cevennes (translates…
Read MoreFirst thing you need to know about Trader Joe’s Pancake Cellars Big Day White is that there is no Pancake Cellars. Pancake Cellars is one of the many labels produced by Central Coast Wine Warehouse a contract wine producer, they make 50+ labels, many of which are first class wines. We reviewed the 2009 Pancake…
Read MoreThe 2009 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is 99% Chardonnay and 1% Roussanne sourced from several vineyards with long term grape contracts in Carneros and other Sonoma growing areas. 52% of the wine (mostly from vineyards in the coolest growing areas) was aged in mainly Hungarian oak barrels (Hungarian oak barrels are $300 cheaper than French oak…
Read MoreThe 2009 Armand Roux Verdillac Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc– Trader Joe’s $7.99. In Bordeaux, the blanc or white wine is primarily Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon, in past vintages the Verdillac Sauvignon Blanc was a mostly Sauvignon Blanc with a smaller percentage of Semillon. This is a negociant wine, which Bordeaux Estate grew the grapes or produced…
Read MoreVouvray is the name for Chenin Blanc grown in the Vouvray growing region near the town of Tours in the Loire Valley, France. The Lacheteau Vouvray is exclusively imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $6.99. Lacheteau is one of the largest negociant’s in the Loire Valley, which means they do not grow the grapes,…
Read MoreThe Santa Julia [+] Torrontes is 100% Torrontes sourced from the sustainably grown grapes from the Mendoza growing region in Argentina. The grapes are hand picked and the wine is aged in stainless steel vats. This is the classic white wine from Argentina, the perfect summer wine. The alcohol content is a relatively stout 13.8%. The color…
Read MoreThe 2009 Bonterra Organic Chardonnay is 92% Chardonnay, 4% Muscat and 4% Viognier sourced from several vineyards along side the Russian River in Mendocino, California. Bonterra is under the same ownership group as Fetzer wines, so the majority of the grapes come from Fetzer’s certified organic vineyards (Fetzer started growing organic grapes back in 1984)….
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