The Black Ridge Vineyards Pinot Noir is mostly Pinot Noir blended with a little bit of Syrah and sourced from vineyards in Mendocino, Monterey and Sonoma. This is a non-vintage wine produced by ADS Wines to retail for under 10 bucks. There are 3 Black Ridge Pinots on the market, one from New Zealand, a…
Read MoreThe 2010 Mark West California Pinot Noir was sourced mainly from vineyards in Central Coast AVA (primarily Monterey and Santa Barbara) along with grapes from Mendocino, Sonoma County and Lodi grape growing AVA’s. Then to give the wine a little extra shine, they blend in Pinot Noir from their more expensive bottlings, 5% from Santa…
Read MoreThe 2008 St. Francis Red Splash is a blend of 27% Merlot, 19% Petite Sirah, 17% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Zinfandel and the other 14% made up of Cabernet Franc, Alicante Bouschet and mixed blacks (various red grapes, I don’t know why the accounting is so impercise). Some of the 2008 vintage labels say…
Read MoreThe 2010 Coppola Diamond Collection Claret is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc sourced from Coppola Estate vineyards, other Napa vineyards, Sonoma and El Dorado AVA (located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains). The word Claret is a British term used to identify Bordeaux…
Read MoreThe 2010 Coppola Diamond Collection Merlot is 80% Merlot, 19% Petite Sirah and 1% Syrah sourced from vineyards all over California (they mention Paso Robles, Sonoma and Monterey as some of the vineyard locations), though the core of the vineyards used has been the same since 1996. This Merlot was aged in French oak barrels…
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The 2010 Mirassou Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in several California grape growing AVA’s, with some of the grapes coming from Sonoma and Monterey. The Mirassou family have been growing grapes and producing wine since 1854, they are the first to introduce Pinot Noir grapes to California and were among the first to…
Read MoreThe 2010 Trader Joe’s Reserve Knights Valley Meritage is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Knights Valley is an AVA located in the far eastern edge of Sonoma County, California, it is the warmest AVA in Sonoma and features volcanic soil and is well known for producing Red grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The…
Read MoreThe 2010 The Original Darkhorse Chardonnay is $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine, but it does not seem to be a TJ’s exclusive and is available on the web for the same price. The Original Darkhorse is one of E & J Gallo’s 58 brands. I have high hopes for this Chardonnay, we posted the Darkhorse Cabernet…
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The 2010 Garnet Carneros Pinot Noir is sourced from Estate vineyards, (the Stanly Ranch, the Diamond Vineyards and the Rodgers Creek Vineyard) in the Carneros AVA, Northern California. The Carneros AVA sits inside both the Sonoma AVA and the Napa AVA. For serious Pinot drinkers, Pinot Noir is all about the “clone” (a clone is a…
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The 2010 friends.red is a blend of Merlot, Syrah and Sangiovese sourced from vineyards located in Sonoma County, California. This wine is produced by Pedroncelli Winery, a family owned and operated facility dating back to 1927. The grapes used in the blend seem to change from vintage to vintage, so don’t expect it to be…
Read MoreThe 2010 The Original Darkhorse Cabernet Sauvignon is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine. The wine is produced by E & J Gallo, the largest family owned wine company in the world. Gallo’s wines run the spectrum from Andre’s and jug wine to topnotch, Estate wine. There is a winery in Sonoma and another in Australia…
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The 2011 Acre Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. There is or at least was an Acre Wine Company that produce wines sourced from the Central Coast (the wines they make list for 3 times as much), and this bottle shares their bottle graphics, a silk screened grape vine, but this…
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The 2010 Picket Fence Pinot Noir is sourced from 2 vineyards, the Green Valley vineyard and the Riverside Vineyard in the Russian River Valley AVA inside of Sonoma, California. The winemaker, Alison Crowe, worked at Chalone and Boony Doon before taking over the winemaking chores at Picket Fence. Picket Fence is owned by Bronco Wines…
Read MoreThe 2008 Little Stone Vineyards Petite Sirah is sourced from grapes grown in California’s North Coast. The North Coast is composed of 6 counties (Napa, Lake and 4 others) and 44 grape growing AVA’s (including Napa Valley, Mendocino, Sonoma). Little Stone Vineyards is a “virtual winery,” Larry Palmerson a wine professional from the Chicago area,…
Read MoreThe 2010 Earth and Vine Chardonnay is a Trader Joe’s exclusive ($7.99) sourced from sustainably farmed grapevines in Sonoma County, California. The wine was produced for Trader Joe’s by Kunde Family Estates, a family owned and operated winery purchased by them in 1904, the original winery on the site, the Wildwood Vineyards dates back to…
Read MoreThe 2010 Buena Vista Zinfandel is 100% Zinfandel sourced from vineyards in Sonoma, California. Buena Vista Winery is owned by Boisset Family Estates and is located on the site of the original Buena Vista Winery that was founded in 1857. This Zinfandel was aged for 14 months in French, Hungarian and American oak barrels, 10%…
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The 2010 Hook and Ladder Russian River Chardonnay is sourced from their Estate vineyards in the Russian River sub AVA of Sonoma, California. This is not a “brand” wine or a virtual winery, Hook and Ladder grow the grapes in their own vineyards and produce, age and bottle the wine in their own winery. Hook…
Read MoreThe 2008 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from their Estate vineyards on the Sonoma side of the Carneros grape growing AVA. Gloria Ferrer is known for Champagne style Sparkling wines and the Pinot Noir grapes used for the Sparkling wines have different characteristics and are grown in a different section of…
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The 2010 Uppercut North Coast Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from vineyards in the Mendocino and Lake County grape growing AVA’s of Northern California. This wine was vinted and bottled by Uppercut Wines of Sonoma, California, “vinted and bottled” legally indicates that the listed winery made less than 25% of the wine and…
Read MoreThe 2010 Honey Bunch Chardonnay is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in California’s North Coast, which encompass 6 Northern California Counties and 46 grape growing AVA’s including Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. The back labels says this wine was produced by Sugar Pie Honey Bunch Cellars, which tells you more about what song…
Read MoreThe 2009 Dreaming Tree Crush Red Blend is a part of a project between Dave Matthews (of the Dave Matthews Band) and Simi Winery Winemaker Steve Reeder. Dave Matthews is not new to wine, he founded Blenheim Vineyards, located near Charlottesville, Va., in 2000. The Crush Red Blend is 67% Merlot and 33% Zinfandel sourced…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sugar Pie Red Wine is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 exclusive, sourced from grapes grown in the North Coast of California, which encompasses 48 wine growing AVA’s, including Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino. The label says this wine was produced by Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch Cellars. Trader Joe’s does not give out much information on…
Read MoreThe 2008 Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from multiple vineyards located in Willamette, Rouge, Umpqua and Walla Walla Valleys, a decent cross section of Oregon Pinot Noir growing regions. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and 20% of the Pinot Noir was aged in oak barrels, the rest aged…
Read MoreThe 2010 Sebastopol Hills Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s ($9.99) exclusive, is a label produced by Owl Ridge Wine Services, a custom wine making facility, who are also related to Owl Ridge Winery, a top notch Russian River Pinot Noir producer. The label indicates only that the grapes are sourced from the Sonoma Coast…
Read MoreThe Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Sparkling Wine ($9.99) is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir (a Blanc de Noir) sourced from grapes grown in California’s North Coast. The North Coast encompasses 50 different AVA’s, with the main growing areas being Sonoma, Napa Valley and Mendocino. Made by Rack and Riddle, the only custom…
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