The J L Quinson Beaujolais Villages 2015 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s import wine from the Beaujolais appellation in eastern central France. Beaujolais is directly south of Burgundy, but instead of the Pinot Noir grape that Burgundy is known for, Beaujolais grows the Gamay grape. Gamay has been grown for 100’s of years and is related to…
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The Parducci Small Lot Mendocino County Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot (Merlot is the traditional Bordeaux companion to Cabernet Sauvignon, it adds flavor and softens the Cab) produced from grapes grown in vineyards in the Mendocino County AVA of Northern California. Parducci is a family owned winery that has done business…
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The Parducci Small Lot Mendocino County Chardonnay 2015 is sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the Mendocino County AVA which is located in the North Coast AVA of California. Mendocino County is north of Sonoma and west and north of Napa. Parducci was founded 85 years ago and is the oldest family owned and operated winery in Mendocino…
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The Parducci Small Lot Mendocino County Pinot Noir 2014 is 100% Pinot Noir produced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the Mendocino County AVA of Northern California. Parducci is a family owned winery celebrating their 85th year of winemaking. Mendocino is located north of the Sonoma AVA, west of the Lake County AVA, and north and west of Napa. The…
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The Dove Creek Monterey Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 seems to be a $11.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from estate grown grapes from 2 vineyards, one located in the San Lucas sub-AVA and the other in the Hames Valley sub-AVA of the Monterey AVA which is inside the Central Coast AVA of California. I say this seems to be an…
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The Atlantis Albariño 2016 is 100% Albariño sourced from vineyards in the Condado de Tea district of the Rias Baixas DO in northwest Spain. Rias Baixas is just north of Portugal and along the Atlantic Coast, the Condado de Tea sub-region is the southernmost district in Rias Baixas and the furthest from the coast. The climate is heavily influenced…
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The Ferrari-Carano Pinot Grigio 2016 is sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA inside the Sonoma County AVA of northern California. The Russian River Valley AVA follows the Russian River as it turns to the west towards the Pacific Ocean but stops before the coastal region. Ferrari-Carano has produced wine since 1985, their…
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The Lazy Creek Vineyards Rose Of Pinot Noir 2014 is sourced from sustainably grown grapes farmed in the Anderson Valley AVA inside the Sonoma AVA in Northern California. Lazy Creek Vineyards have been around for about 100 years and are currently own by Don and Rhonda Carano, they are the Carano in the Ferrari-Carano Winery. This…
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The Folie à Deux Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is sourced from grapes grown in the Anderson Valley AVA inside the Sonoma AVA of Northern California. Folie à Deux translates from French to “the madness of two” or to translate a little further to “a shared psychosis“. Folie à Deux is one of the Trinchero Family Estates…
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The Locations “I” (Italy) Red Blend is a blend of Negroamaro and Nero d’Avoloa from Puglia Southern Italy and Barbera from Piedmont in Northwest Italy. Italy is a land of 2,000 indigenous grapes that have existed very happily until Dave Phinney hit. This is an Italian wine made with California rules. This ain’t DOCG, this ain’t DOC,…
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The Austerity Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside the Central Coast AVA about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Austerity is one of O’Neil Vintners many labels (others include Line 39, Harkin, and Red Tree) and they control 15,000 acres of vineyards thru-out California (including Paso Robles). Paso…
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The Locations “E” (Spain) Red Blend is a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, and Carinena, grown from vineyards in Priorat, Jumilla, Toro, Rioja, and Ribero del Duero. If you noticed, grapes from Priorat go into Priorat wines, grapes from Jumilla go into Jumilla wines, etc., etc., etc. That is – until Dave Phinney decided to do Spanish…
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The Locations “F” (France) Red Blend is an outlaw wine. If you’re used to California wines, it’s nothing new, but if you’re used to wines from France, it will set your hair on fire! This is a blend of Bordeaux grapes, Rhone grapes, and Roussillon grapes – and if you don’t think that’s strange, go…
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The Big Churn Chardonnay 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in more than one California AVA. TJ’s wines rarely have a great deal of technical information attached to them and the Big Churn is no different. But the main thing to know about the Big Churn is the producers “goal was the oakiest,…
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The Ménage à Trois Midnight Red 2014 is a blend of 49% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Sirah, and 7% Petit Verdot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The Ménage à Trois brand was founded about 20 years ago as a left-over wine after the original winery bottled their main line…
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The Poppy Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside California’s Central Coast AVA. Poppy has not updated their production notes for the 2015 vintage, but the 2014 Poppy Cab was sourced from the B & E Vineyard in Paso Robles and I expect that the…
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The Castle Rock Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2014 is sourced from vineyards located in the Willamette Valley AVA of Oregon. The Willamette Valley is my favorite Pinot Noir region, I know I am supposed to think Burgundy in France is numero uno, but for me, it’s the Willamette Valley. Most of the wineries in the Willamette…
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The Stone Fly Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 is sourced from more than one AVA in California. Stone Fly Vineyards had been a boutique winery based in Napa, California, but they sold off their business and the name now seems to be used for a House Brand line of wines for Binny’s Beverage Depot, a chain of 35 huge liquor stores…
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The Crimson Roots Old Vines Zinfandel 2013 is a $9.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County in Northern California ALDI is very good at hiding the actual producer of the wines they sell and rarely provide technical notes, so that I will come up with my own. Why are…
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The La Peña de España Red 2015 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, 34% Garnacha, 33% Syrah, and 33% Monastrell sourced from the vineyards of Viveros Cambra in the Valencia DO of eastern Spain. Viveros Cambra has been a vine nursery and vineyard since 1905 and has made their own wines since 2006. In the…
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The Santa Barbara Landing Chardonnay 2014 is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in Santa Barbara County, California. Santa Barbara is about a 1 1/2 hour drive (north) from Los Angeles and would be too warm a place to grow grapes for fine wine, except for a bit of luck of geography. The…
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The 90+ Cellars Big Red Blend Lot 113 2015 is an unusual blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, and Souzoa sourced from vineyards in Lodi, California. 90+ Cellars are Negociants, what negociants do is purchase surplus wine from wineries and sell it under their own label. Sometimes they buy fermented juice from a famous winery…
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The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint-Esprit Rouge 2015 is a blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache sourced from vineyards in the Ardèche department near the towns of Saint-Julien and Saint-Alban in the Northern Rhone region of Southern France. Delas Freres is the winery and it was founded 160 years ago and is currently owned by the Champagne House…
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The Moon X Black Pinot Noir 2014 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Moon X and all the other TJ’s Moon wines are produced by Delicato Family Vineyards of Lodi, California, their brands include Gnarly Head, Bota Box (check out the Nighthawk Black, the best box…
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The Bota Box Nighthawk Black is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA and is available in a 3 liter box (four 750 ml Bottles) or 500 ml Tetra pack. Bota Box is part of Delicato Family Wines (Lodi, Ca.), they produce Gnarly…
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