The 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 337 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is a single clone (#337 also known as FPS 47), single Estate vineyard (Clay Station Vineyard) wine grown in the Lodi AVA of California’s Central Valley (east of San Francisco Bay). The producer, Noble Vines is one of Delicato Family Vineyards many labels and Clay Station Vineyards is one of Delicato’s…
Read MoreThe 2011 Noble Vines 446 Chardonnay is a single vineyard, single vineyard section (maybe), single Chardonnay grape clone wine, that just happens to list for $12.99. Nobles Vines is one of the many labels produced by Delicato Family Vineyards and the grapes are sourced from Block 46 of Delicato Family Vineyards 5,000 acre San Bernabe…
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 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…
Read MoreOk, the 2008 Franciscan Estate Magnificat Meritage is not anywhere near cheap, it lists for $50, but sometimes, a big Napa wine is called for and the Magnificat Meritage is actually well priced for a Oakville AVA, Napa wine. The Franciscan Estate winery is just down the road from Silver Oak, Opus One and Groth….
Read More
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…
Read MoreThe 2010 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA, primarily Monterey County. The front label says California which indicates the grapes can be sourced from more than one AVA, but only Central Coast grapes were used and the 2011 label has been redesigned and now shows Central…
Read MoreThe 2010 Brassfield Estate Serenity Proprietary White Blend is 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Pinot Grigio and 7% Gewurztraminer sourced from sustainably grown Brassfield Estate vineyards located in the High Valley sub AVA of the Lake County AVA (just north of Napa) in Northern California. The grapes were grown, the wine was produced and bottled, all on…
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 2008 Alias Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. If you see Napa (or any other growing area) on a wine label, that indicates at least 75% of the grapes came from Napa Valley, if only 74% of the grapes came from Napa, then the label…
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 Stonehedge Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon seems to be a Trader Joe’s ($7.99) exclusive bottling produced by Stonehedge Winery of Napa Valley. Stonehedge is a family owned winery that has been making wine for 30 years, this Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is not listed on their website. Paso Robles is located roughy half way between…
Read MoreThe 2010 Found Object Syrah is a Trader Joe’s ($7.99) exclusive, sourced from the Colchagua Valley, in the Rapel Valley region of Chile. The Colchagua Valley is the sweet spot for Chilean wine, they have a Mediterranean climate and receive cool morning breezes off the Pacific Ocean, just like Napa Valley, only with no smog…
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 Markham Napa Merlot is sourced from multiple estate Napa Valley vineyards. Markham has been one of the leaders in California Merlot for years. Merlot fell on hard times after the movie “Sideways” came out (that was a really dopey reason to stop drinking Merlot), but Merlot has been coming back strong in recent years…
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…
Read MoreThe Blackburn & James Paso Robles Red Blend, a Trader Joe’s $6.99 exclusive, is a blend of 45% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Sangiovese sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles, California. The blend is mostly aged in used oak barrels, with 5% of the wine aged…
Read MoreThe 2010 Dynamic White Table Wine is 51% Sauvignon Blanc and 49% Chardonnay in certified organic and bio-dynamic Estate vineyards in Lake County, California. Dynamic Vineyards are part of the Ceago VineGarden Group, which is in turn owned by Jim Fetzer of Fetzer Vineyard fame. The Lake County AVA is north of Napa Valley, east…
Read MoreThe 2009 Three Knights Los Carneros Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s exclusive ($8.99), produced by Bronco Wine Company, the makers of 2 Buck Chuck and many other Trader Joe’s labels.There is no actual Three Knights Winery and Bronco Wines makes their wines as inexpensively as possible, so they don’t spend money on information on…
Read MoreThe 2009 Trader Joe’s Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir sells for $9.99, at least 85% of the grapes are grown in the Carneros AVA of California and the alcohol content is 13.9%, is about all I know for sure about this wine. This is a Trader Joe’s negociant wine, so who grew the grapes and who…
Read More