The 2011 Rickshaw Cabernet Sauvignon is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc sourced from vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles and Mendocino. Rickshaw Wines are sourced from up to 24 different lots of grapes (different vineyards, different sections of a vineyard, aged for varying times in new or used oak barrels),…
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The 2011 Redwood Creek Merlot is sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. In California, if less than 85% of the grapes are sourced from a single AVA, say for instance Paso Robles or Napa, the label must read California and not the more specific AVA. Red Wood Creek is one of…
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The 2011 Murphy-Goode Homefront Red is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah and a little Merlot sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. This blend is aged in French and American oak barrels and the alcohol content is 13.5%. That is a summery of the technical details for this Red…
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The 2011 Pepi California Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from vineyards in the Lake County AVA (north of Napa) and the Clarksburg AVA (near the San Francisco Bay, if you see California on the front label of a wine bottle there is a good chance some of the grapes came from Clarksburg, since most of the…
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The 2012 Castle Rock Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is one of Castle Rocks 3 AVA specific Cabernets, the other two are sourced from Napa Valley or the Columbia Valley in Washington State. Castle Rock owns no vineyards and does not have its own winery facilities, instead they have long term relationships with grape growers in…
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The 2007 Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG is sourced from the Azienda Agraria Estate vineyards in the Montefalco area of Umbria, Italy. Scacciadiavoli translates to “drives out devils” since at one time an exorcist lived near the vineyard. Azienda Agraria has been producing wine since 1884 and Sagrantino has been produced in Montefalco since the 1500s….
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The 2010 BV Coastal Estates Red Blend is produced from Zinfandel grown in the Lodi AVA, Barbera and Merlot from adjacent vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA and the Petite Sirah from the Lake County AVA. BV stands for Beaulieu Vineyards which was founded in the Rutherford AVA of Napa Valley in 1900, though BV…
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The 2011 Coppola Diamond Collection Black Label Claret (Claret is the term used in England for Red wine blends from Bordeaux, France) is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc sourced from Coppola Estate vineyards in Sonoma as well a long term contracted vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and El Dorado AVA’s…
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The Scarpetta Timido Vino Spumante Brut Rose’ 3rd Edition is 60% Franconia (also known as Limberger) and 40% Pinot Nero (Italy’s version of Pinot Noir) sourced from a vineyard in the Colli Orientali del Friuli sub region of the Friuli Venezia Giulia grape growing region of Italy. Scarpetta translates to taking a piece of bread…
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The 2010 O.P.P. Other Peoples Pinot Noir (Andre Mack of Mouton Noir is a negociant, he does not grow grapes, he buys them, so these grapes were other peoples Pinot grapes) is sourced from 3 vineyards in different areas of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. 40% of the grapes came from the Roserock Vineyard in…
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The 2011 Love Drunk Rose’ is a blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir sourced from the Hyland Vineyard in the McMinnville AVA in Yamhill County, inside the larger Willamette Valley of Oregon. Love Drunk Rose’ is part of a line of wines produced by Mouton Noir Wines. Mouton Noir is a project put…
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The 2011 Blue Fin Pinot Noir is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive made for them by Bronco Wines (2 Buck Chuck) at their Napa Valley facility. The Pinot Noir grapes are sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Pinot Noir grapes are very finicky and require very specific weather conditions, a long, cool growing…
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I attended a Planet Bordeaux tasting here in Chicago (99th floor of Willis Towers, you were high before the first sip) and to my surprise what did I see? Bordeaux wines with the grape varietal on the label and back labels that included wine maps, pairing suggestions and technical notes, the label actually told you…
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The 2011 Gnarly Head Authentic White is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Colombard, Muscat and Viognier sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Whenever you see the word, California, on the front label of a wine bottle, that means the grapes were grown in more than one AVA, such as Napa or…
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The 2009 Whiplash Redemption Red Blend is 65% Syrah, 25% Barbera and 10% Zinfandel sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Whiplash wines are the value brand for Reata Wines from Napa Valley. The Barbera grape was the 2nd most planted grape in Italy until 1985 when a group of idiotic producers added…
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The 2011 Spiral Wines California Red blend is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, made for them by private label producer Fior di Sole, Napa, California. The blend is 58% Merlot, 15% Petite Sirah, 16% Zinfandel and 11% Syrah sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Trader Joe’s offered a $4.99…
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The 2010 Vinum Cellars Pinot Noir is sourced from sustainably farmed long term contracted vineyards in Monterey, California. The label says this is a California Pinot Noir which means that the grapes came from more than one grape growing AVA, but their website says Monterey. Vinum Cellars is a virtual winery, they lease the facilities…
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The 2010 Red Rock Reserve Merlot is sourced from vineyards in several California grape growing AVA’s, but mainly from Sonoma, with Monterey and Napa providing most of the rest. Red Rock is one of E & J Gallo’s 60 brands of wines and spirits. Gallo has extensive vineyard holdings in Sonoma as well as other…
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The 2011 Chateau Moulin de Beausejour Bordeaux Rouge is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. This Bordeaux is 100% Merlot sourced from Estate vineyards in the Saint-Emilion region on the Right Bank in Bordeaux, though this is not a Saint-Emilion AOC designated wine. Chateau Moulin de Beausejour only grows Merlot grapes and they produce 120,000…
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The 2008 Kenwood Sonoma County Zinfandel is 87% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 2% Sangiovese and 1% Barbera sourced from vineyards in Sonoma, Alexander Valley and Dry Creek. Kenwood has been in business since 1970 and are currently owned by F. Korbel, the California Sparkling wine company. The different lots of grapes from each vineyard were…
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The 2011 Flying Heart Red is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced by the custom and private label winery, Fior di Sole (they also produce Spiral wines), located in Napa Valley, California. This is a “kitchen sink” blend of Merlot, Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay of all things, sourced from…
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The 2009 Mazzoni Toscana Rosso is a Super Tuscan blend of 72% Sangiovese and 28% Merlot grown on the Francechi Estate in the Brunello region of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy. The Brunello region is the prime growing region for the Sangiovese grape and Brunello’s are among the best of Italian wines. Super Tuscan wines came…
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The Rack & Riddle Blanc de Blanc (White from White, meaning White wine made from Chardonnay grapes) is a non vintage Bubbly sourced from contracted vineyards in California’s North Coast AVA. The North Coast AVA encompasses 6 counties and 47 AVA’s, including Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino. Rack & Riddle is a custom Sparkling wine…
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The 2010 R & B Swingsville Contra Costa Zinfandel is 91% Zinfandel (sourced from a single vineyard in the Contra Costa AVA), 5% Barbera (sourced from the same vineyard) and 4% Petite Sirah (sourced from a vineyard in Napa Valley). Contra Costa is located in the northern section of the Central Coast AVA, near the…
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The 2011 Berton Vineyard The Black Shiraz is a $7.49 Trader Joe’s imported wine, sourced from several contracted vineyards in the Barossa Valley growing region of southeast Australia. Berton Vineyard is a wine Estate located in the Eden Valley area of the Barossa Valley and the The Black Shiraz is their “bang for the buck”…
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