The Sargent Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is a $6.99 ALDI’s wine sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Sargent Canyon Cabernet is Estate grown and sustainably farmed. So who or what is Sargent Canyon? A quick check with Google shows that Sargent Canyon is a trademark owned by Scheid Vineyards, vineyards and winery…
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The 2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza is a $4.99 ALDI’s import exclusive, bottled by Bodegas Isidro Milagro using grapes grown in the La Mancha DO (a DO is similar to an AVA in California, it delineates the boundaries of a wine region and provides rules and regulations) of central Spain. La Mancha is a huge…
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The 2012 Flirty Bird Syrah is an ALDI $4.99 import exclusive. Produced for ALDI by Felix Solis Wines a family owned winery in business since 1952, they have holdings in several areas of Spain and have operated a winery in China since 1998. The Flirty Bird Syrah is produced from vineyards in the Castilla-LaMancha region…
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The 2012 La Maceta Garnacha (translates to The Flower Pot) is a $4.99 ALDI import exclusive, produced for them by Bodegas San Valero in the Cariñena DO of Spain. Bodegas San Valero is a cooperative of 700 small growers (they farm 8,600 acres) founded in 1944. The Cariñena DO is located in the Zaragoza Province of Aragon in…
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The Winking Owl Chardonnay is a non-vintage $2.89 California wine sold by ALDI. The Winking Owl wines (produced by E & J Gallo) are the ALDI competitor to Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wines or 2 Buck Chuck (produced by Bronco Wines). The back label mentions toasted oak as a flavor, so this Chardonnay sees some…
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The 2012 Burlwood Cellars Merlot is a $4.99 ALDI US exclusive wine. Burlwood Cellars is one of E & J Gallo’s many labels and has been around for several years, but is now an ALDI wine, though you can find it in Canada for about $11. There is not much technical information available for the Burlwood…
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The 2012 Dancing Flame Cabernet Sauvignon is a $4.99 ALDI import exclusive, sourced from vineyards in the Central Valley of Chile. This Cabernet is produced by Vina Luis Felipe Edwards, a family owned winery in business since 1976 and this wine is exported to 60 different countries. The Dancing Flame was aged in oak for…
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The 2010 Vilalva Douro Reserva Red Blend is a $6.99 ALDI’s import exclusive, made for them by Enoport United Wines from grapes grown in the Douro DOC of Portugal. This is a DOC wine which is Portugal’s highest quality classification. Portuguese wines use indigenous grapes, you will not find Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, but you…
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The Ornament Chardonnay is a $5.99 ALDI exclusive, a non-vintage IGP Pays D’Oc wine, which means it is sourced from the Languedoc region of France and is representative of the wines from the area, but does not conform to the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) rules. The main reason to purchase this Chardonnay is the bottle,…
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The 2011 San Bachelli DOCG Chianti is an ALDI’s $4.99 import exclusive. Chianti is a wine produced from grapes grown in the Chianti zone of central Tuscany in Italy. The Chianti region has several sub regions, but the two main regions are Chianti Classico and the regular Chianti, Chianti Classico has a better reputation and…
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The 2011 Intermingle California Red blend is a $5.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. ALDI does not provide much information on the particulars of the wine, “Cherry and berry notes with a touch of oak in the finish” and this is a semi-sweet Red, is about…
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The 2012 Le Parisian Bordeaux Red is a $4.99 ALDI’s import exclusive. In Europe, ALDI’s has a fairly decent reputation for selling good quality, inexpensive Bordeaux wines, while in the US their wine selection is scaled down. The general rule of thumb with buying cheap Bordeaux wines is, in an excellent vintage everyone in Bordeaux…
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The Lost Cellar White Wine 2011 is an Aldi’s. $3.99 (had been $6.99 currently on close-out) import exclusive. This blend is designated a Vin de Pays D’Oc wine which indicates it was sourced from the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of France and was produced in a style that did not meet AOC standards, but was a…
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The lil’ koala Chardonnay is a $4.99 Aldi’s wine imported from South East Australia. This is a non-vintage wine with a cartoon critter label, at one time if a wine had a cartoon critter on the label it was probably a wise idea to avoid it. But, inexpensive wine has seen enough improvement in the…
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The 2010 Whispering Valley Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay is an $8.99 Aldi’s exclusive that is currently on close-out for $4.99. The 2009 Whispering Valley Chardonnay was sourced from the Delle Venezie growing region of northeast Italy, not Napa Valley, California. Aldi’s does not provide much information concerning this bottle, such as who made it and…
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The 2011 Real del Pedro Oak Cask Aged Malbec is a $6.99 Aldi’s import exclusive sourced from vines grown in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The cork says this wine was Estate bottled, but not which Estate. The back label says this Malbec was aged in oak casks or barrels for 6 months. Red wines…
Read MoreThe St. Gisbertus Holiday Chardonnay is a $5.99 Aldi’s import exclusive. This is a non-vintage Chardonnay using IGP (new designation for Vin de Pays wines) D’Oc (the Languedoc) grapes but the wine is bottled in Germany, Aldi’s is a German company. To be honest, I bought this wine for the bottle, the front label serves…
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 Sunshine Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 is a $6.99 exclusive imported (New Zealand) Aldi’s wine. Don’t be afraid, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s. This Sauvignon Blanc is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and is made in a lighter, fruit forward style. The alcohol content is 12.5%. The color is a…
Read MoreThe St Gisbertus Silver Moon Dornfelder Blood Red is a non-vintage $4.99 Aldi’s import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Rheinhessen region (the largest grape growing area in Germany) located on the left bank of the Rhine River. Dornfelder is a recently created grape (1979, no, it is not a mutant) and it is popular…
Read MoreThe 2011 Grate Red (Grate comes from the grilling surface of what looks like a Weber grill on the label) Toscana Rosso is a $4.99 Aldi’s exclusive. Aldi’s is an international company and the parent company of Trader Joe’s. In Europe, Aldi’s wines are treated something like how we treat Trader Joe’s, they have a…
Read MoreThe Chaza Moscato is a $4.99 Aldi’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in South Africa. Moscato is made from the Muscat grape or Muscadel in South Africa. This wine was produced by Iona Wines from the Stellenbosch region east of Cape Town near the coast. The grapes were grown and the wine was produced with certified sustainable…
Read More$2.69, that’s right a $2.69 California Cabernet Sauvignon. The Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage Aldi’s exclusive, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s and while Bronco Wines produces their low end wine, Charles Shaw (2 Buck Chuck, actually $2.99 in Illinois), Aldi’s bargain wine, Winking Owl, is produced by E & J…
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The 2007 Walker Napa Valley Red Blend is a $7.99 Aldi’s exclusive (don’t be scared, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s). If you see Napa Valley on the label, then at least 75% of the grapes were grown in Napa Valley. This wine was cellared and bottled (that means they didn’t grow the…
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