Looking for an introduction to Oregon Pinot Noir that won’t break the bank? Join me as I unravel the flavors and aromas of Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir 2020, a silky and smooth entry-level wine with funky spices and wild, light-bodied characteristics. I’ll dive into its unique production techniques, like open-top fermenters and yeast propagated from…
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The Firesteed Oregon Pinot Noir 2020 is produced from grapes from several growing Oregon regions. Willamette Valley is the most well-known, but there are 23 AVAs, including Rogue Valley and Umpqua Valley. The Firesteed Winery (founded in 1992) is located in Dundee, Oregon. This is their entry-level offering with their wines focusing on different areas…
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The Woop Woop Shiraz 2020 is an Australian Red wine you should be able to find in the $12 range. In the early 2000s value-priced Aussie Shiraz wines were the rage and Woop Woop was always a bang-for-the-buck bargain. Here is a link to a write-up on the 2013 vintage, the last time we featured…
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The Angeline California Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2021 is a wine I found on sale for $7.99 (Binny’s Chicago area), this vintage received 92 points from James Suckling, the leading wine reviewer. Angeline is an affordable line of wines from Martin Ray Winery (family owned since 1990) a high-end winery located in the Russian River AVA…
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The Sainte Celine Chablis 2022 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. It is produced for trader Joe’s by Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard a noted Chablis producer (since 1973) who has made some of the first organic and bio-dynamic wines in Chablis and Burgundy. Chablis is the northernmost growing region in Burgundy and Champagne is north…
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The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive bottled for them by Miller Family Wines. Bottled for them means just that, they officially bottled the wine, and who knows who did the rest. Miller Family Wines are the parent company of the Central Coast Wine Warehouse which 10 to 15…
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The1 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s wine though it is available in other countries. This is an IGP-designated wine, the top rating is DOCG followed by DOC. IGP wines have less stringent growing and producing regulations and are often sourced from vineyards in more generic growing regions. Aglianico is said to be one of the…
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The Vino Columbia Valley Pinot Grigio 2020 is a wine that should be found for around $10, I saw prices as high as $13 and I found it for $8.99. It is a brand from Charles Smith/House of Smith Wines. The full name of this wine is Vino CasaSmith and these wines are Italian varietals…
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The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from three vineyards one in the Edna Valley AVA, the next in Arroyo Grande AVA, and the Santa Maria Valley all located inside San Luis Obispo County. For reference, Paso Robles is also inside San Luis Obispo County. It is…
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The Hahn Appellation Series Arroyo Seco Pinot Noir 2020 is sourced from a single Estate vineyard the Ste—Philippe in the Arroyo Seco AVA inside the Monterey AVA again inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Arroyo Seco translates to “dry creek” and is south of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Hahn Estate Wines was founded…
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The Tuatea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s wine. This wine is imported to the US by WX Imports. It seems this wine sells in places where there is no Trader Joe’s for $13.99. CWF reviewed the 2017 vintage Tuatea and the Fearless Flyer back then mentioned his wine had some oak…
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The Highland 41 Black Granite Paso Robles Red 2020 was picked as the #1 wine in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Value Wines ($15 and under) of 2022. It is widely available but Costco has it for $11.99. It is a blend of 45% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 15% Malbec, 10% Syrah, and 10% Merlot all…
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The Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2022 sells at Costco for $13.89, on the web for an average of $17, and for $21 on the Spy Valley website. Spy Valley is a family-owned winery founded in the 1990s in the Waihopai Valley in Marlborough of New Zealand’s South Island. This is an extremely rural, isolated location and…
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The Mumm Napa Brut Rosé is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay sourced from up to 50 growers in Napa County. GH Mumm is a Champagne House founded in France in 1827. Mumm Napa was established in the late 1970s. The Mumm Napa Brut Rosé comes from almost 200 years of Champagne-making…
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The Lindquist Family Bien Nacido Chardonnay 2020 is sourced from a single block (Block L) of the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard located inside the Santa Maria AVA which is part of the Santa Barbara AVA in California’s Central Coast AVA. Bien Nacido Vineyard has been called one of the best 5 vineyards in California, the…
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The Sea Sun California Chardonnay 2021 is sourced from three AVAs, 52% Monterey, 3% San Benito County (inside the Central Coast AVA), and 45% Soldano County, (southeast of Napa inside the North Coast AVA). Sea Sun is one of the brands from the Wagner Family (Caymus) with a history in California dating back to the…
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The Chateau Ste Michelle Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from multiple vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley AVA, using both estate and contracted vineyards. Chateau Ste Michelle (founded in 1954) is the largest winery in Washington. Eight of the top ten best-selling labels of Washington wine are owned by them and almost 2/3rds of the grapes…
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The Laurent Perrachon Beaujolais Villages 2020 is sourced from vineyards surrounding two small towns, La Chapelle de Guinchay (70%) and Lancié. One village has sandy soils and granite the other has clay and limestone. The villages are not far apart but offer very different soil. The grape is 100% Gamay. Beaujolais is located just south…
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The Los Dos Brut Cava is a traditional blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada sourced from independent family-owned vineyards in the Penedes DO in Northeast Spain. Penedes is located in the Catalonian region of Spain where the central city is Barcelona. Cava is produced in the same way as Champagne though its history in Spain…
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The Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Verdot, and 8% Merlot sourced from vineyards in the 58% Paso Robles AVA and 42% Lodi AVA. This is a Bordeaux blend. Cycles Gladiator is a project from winemaker Adam LaZarre started in 2005. The brand is part of the Wine Hooligans’ stable…
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The Zombie Zin is a non-vintage wine that is 95% Zinfandel and 5% Syrah sourced from vineyards in several locations in California. Zombie is a brand from Chateau Diana a family-owned and operated winery started in 1981 and is located in Sonoma. Zombie Zin may be a brand that was produced to take advantage of…
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The Sebastopol Oaks California Chardonnay 2019 is sourced from grapes grown on the Clarksburg and Lodi AVAs with some Paso Robles grapes added in. Sebastopol is a town that is situated inside bother the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River AVAs. The Sebastopol Oaks California Chardonnay 2019 is one of the many wine brands from…
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Rodney Strong Charlotte's Home Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2021-French Oak Barrel Fermented The value-price range of Sauvignon Blanc is filled with wines that are fermented and aged in stainless steel vats. The Rodney Strong Charlotte's Home Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2021 has 15% of the wine fermented in 100% new French oak barrels and that portion has…
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The Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from vineyards in 38% Alexander County, 31% Dry Creek, 11% Russian River, 10% Arroyo Seco, and 2% Monterey County. For a wine to show Sonoma on the label as the place of origin for the grapes 85% of the grapes must be from Sonoma,…
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Trader Joe's Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2020 This is a $9.99 Trader Joe's wine. The Santa Licia Highlands typically sells Chardonnay from $16 to $66. This is a 100% oak barrel fermented Chardonnay, that usually ups the price. So this is a lesson in stainless steel vs oak barrel fermented wine. So, check out…
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