The 2010 Barton & Guestier Vouvray is sourced from contracted vineyards in the Vouvray AOC near the village of Tours inside the Loire Valley. The only grape grown in the Vouvray AOC is Chenin Blanc. The nature of Chenin Blanc changes with variations in the growing conditions, in cool growing seasons mostly dry Chenin Blanc’s…
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Named for the Apotheca – where then-pharmacists known as apothecaries not only dispensed tobacco and medicine but also blended and stored wine, Apothic is one of the butt-load of labels owned by the largest family-owned wine company in the world E & J Gallo. This puts the virtual winery Apothic (owning no vineyards or wineries)…
Read MoreThe Anna De Codorniu Brut Cava is a little different from the usual value priced (I found it for $7.99, but it sells for up to $16 on the web) Cava’s on the market. Cava, traditionally, is a blend of three Spanish grapes, Xarel.lo, Macabeo and Parellada, the Anna De Codorniu is 70% Chardonnay (traditionally…
Read MoreWhen it comes to bubbly, I love a nice Prosecco. It’s Italy’s answer to Champagne. The difference? Well, both are sparkling wines from Europe that lean towards being drier than sweeter. Both have to be produced in very specific places and using very specific methods. Champagne is sparkling wine made primarily from only three grapes…
Read Moreyellow tail] Bubbles Rose’ is a blend of Semillon, Traminer (in the Gewurztraminer family), Shiraz and Frontignac ( the Australian name for Muscat Blanc) sourced from vineyards in southeast Australia. This is designated a Dry Bubbly meaning that is on the sweet side. They don’t say which production method they used to add the bubbles,…
Read MoreThe Ferrari-Carano Bella Luce (translates to beautiful light) Sonoma County White is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Semillon and Muscat Giallo grown in several Ferrari-Carano vineyards in Sonoma County, California. The individual grape varietals are fermented separately in stainless tanks and then blended to get the proper mix. This…
Read MoreEver needed to bring a white wine to a steakhouse? I was heading to a BYOB dinner at an Argentinean steakhouse with a couple non-red wine drinking friends and was in a predicament: what white wine should I bring? I had never had this $18.99 ($13.99 @ Binny’s) Verdejo before but am glad the store…
Read MoreThe Grandi Mori Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is a $8.99 Sparkling wine imported exclusively for ALDI’s. This is an Extra Dry Prosecco, which is halfway between Brut and Dry (The Italians prefer their Prosecco to be Extra Dry). The Prosecco DOC is grown in the Veneto and Friuli region, the Valdobbiadene DOCG is a valley…
Read MoreThe 2011 Secco (Dry) Italian Bubbles Bianco (White) is a blend of 77% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Bianco (a mutation of Pinot Noir) and 8% Raboso Piave (a Red local grape) sourced from vineyards in the northern part of the Piave Valley of Veneto, Italy. This is a joint project with Charles Smith of Charles Smith Wines…
Read MoreThe Husch Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2011 is sourced from sustainably farmed Husch managed vineyards in the Mendocino AVA of Northern California. Husch Vineyards was founded (they were also the very first winery in the valley) in the Anderson Valley sub AVA of Mendocino in 1971 and was purchased by the Oswald Family in 1979. Husch has practiced sustainable farming…
Read MoreThe Tenute Tomasella Ose-Rosato Demi-Sec is a Spumante or Sparkling wine grown in vineyards in both Veneto and Fruili in north-eastern Italy. The grapes used are Refosco (a dark skinned Red grape) and Verduzzo (one of the most planted White grapes from this area), the grapes are not picked a harvest, but left on the…
Read MoreGewurztraminer (guh – wertz – trah – meaner) is a hard wine to pin down. Sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes it’s oily, sometimes it’s effervescent, and other times…it is none of these things. So when I picked up Valckenberg’s 2010 Gewurztraminer for $13.99 at Whole Foods, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised to…
Read MoreThe Louise d’ Estre’e Brut Rose’ Sparkling wine is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. The wine is produced by Marcel Martin, who makes both still and Sparkling wines in the Loire Valley in France. Marcel Martin makes a Brut Rose’ Cremant under his own label (Cremant = Sparkling wine, it can only be called Champagne if…
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The 2004 Jose Maria da Fonseca Moscatel de Setubal is not the usual wine you see on Cheapwinefinder. The Moscatel de Setubal is a fortified (meaning Brandy was added to the wine) dessert wine made from the Moscatel de Setubal grape which is a type of the Muscat grape (Muscat normally produces Moscato). Jose Maria…
Read MoreThe 2010 Herdade Da Comporta White is a blend of 65% Arinto and 35% Antão Vaz grapes grown on Comporta Estate Vineyards in the Peninsula de Setubal region of Portugal. Arinto and Antão Vaz are two of the main indigenous White grapes of Portugal, they are often blended together, Antão Vaz gives the wine good body and…
Read MoreThe 2011 Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani is 100% Grechetto grown on Arnold-Capri Estate vineyards on the Colli Martani DOC located on the left bank of the Tiber River in the Montefalco region of Umbria in Central Italy. The Grechetto grape made one of the most popular wines during the Renaissance and in Montefalco it was a…
Read MoreThe Fisheye Moscato is a non-vintage wine sourced from Muscat grapes grown in Southeast Australia. Fisheye is one of Underdog Wine Merchant’s labels (others are flipflop, Cupcake, Big House and many more) and they are in turn part of The Wine Group, which used to be Franzia. Sweet wines are all the rage this year, with…
Read MoreThe 2011 FUSO Verdicchio di Matelica (no not Metallica) is sourced from grapes grown by the Cantina Belisario Co-Op in the Matelica DOC in Marche, central Italy. Verdicchio is a popular White grape in Italy, back in the 1980s they grew so much Verdicchio that there was more Verdicchio grown in the world than Chardonnay….
Read MoreThe 2011 Le Vigne di Alice DOCG Extra Dry Prosecco is sourced from Glera grapes grown in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG (the area where the best Glera grapes are grown) of Italy. Le Vigne di Alice is a women owned and operated boutique winery and their motto is “Life is a Bubble”. This is a…
Read MoreThe 2010 Fetzer Goosefoot Road Riesling is 83% Riesling and 17% Muscat sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Fetzer has been using sustainable farming practices since 1968 and 100% of all the energy for its winemaking facility comes from 100% green renewable energy. The bottle is lighter weight than the…
Read MoreThe 2009 Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Blanc is a White Blend containing 50% Grenache Blanc (one of the main White grapes of the Cotes du Rhone), 20% Marsanne, 20% Viognier and 10% Bourboulenc (a White blending grape from the south of France, gives the wine body and smoky citrus flavors) grown in vineyards in the…
Read MoreThe Canyon Oaks Moscato ($5.99) is made from the Muscat grape grown in vineyards located in several California grape growing AVA’s. The Muscat grape is grown all over the world and is used for table grapes, raisins and wine, there are a huge variety of Muscat grapes grown and it is thought that this might…
Read MoreThe 2010 Hermanos Lurton Rueda Verdejo is 85% Verdejo, 10% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Viura (also known as Macabeo, which is one of the 3 grapes traditionally used to make Cava) grown in the Rueda DO inside of Castilla y León region in Spain. They have been growing Verdejo in Rueda since the 11th century and…
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Rosés have come a long way. Before all you’d see was White Zinfandel or White Merlot, but now it seems the American palate has become a bit more refined. Suddenly rosés out of Provence and Tavel have made a come back and brought a lot of other unique wines along with them. The one I…
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