The Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage wine sourced from vineyards in Argentina, there is also a little Aspiran Noir blended in. Aspiran Noir is a grape founded mainly in the Languedoc region of France and it adds some color, a perfumed nose and a little flavor. Barefoot is E and J Gallo’s line of…
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The Pillar Heights Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is an $8.99 ALDI exclusive, produced for them by Turn Key Wine Brands. Turn Key is a private label winery with vineyards in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, along with contracts with other growers. Paso Robles is located inside the Central Coast AVA, about half way between Los…
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The Coppola Diamond Collection Claret Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot sourced from grapes grown in Coppola estate vineyards, Sonoma, Napa and Eldorado AVA’s (Eldorado AVA is located inside the Sierra Foothills AVA). Claret is the British term for Bordeaux Red blend wines, in California,…
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The Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 is 94.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.4% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Merlot and 0.2  Cabernet Franc sourced from Kendall Jackson estate vineyards (about 2/3’s from Alexander Valley and the rest from Knights Mountain) in Sonoma County, California. The grapes selected are in the top 7% of all grapes grown on KJ’s…
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The 2012 Natura Cabernet Sauvignon is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot sourced from certified organic and sustainably farmed vineyards in the Rapel Valley in the northern half of Chile’s Central Valley. The Natura label is one of Emiliana Organic Vineyards line of 100% organic, sustainable frown and sometimes bio-dynamic wines. The Rapel Valley…
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The 2011 Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Merlot is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot sourced from vineyards in South Eastern Australia. Jacob’s Creek has been making wine since 1847 and South Eastern Australia is a huge grape growing area with a wide variety of climates and produces half of all Australian wines. This is a…
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Send us a text Trader Joe's Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 2023 A Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, and Malbec. All sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA. It has some oak conditioning with flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and spice on display. A wine with dark fruit, but balanced….
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Meritage Paso Robles 2023 is a $9.99 wine from Trader Joe’s. The back label indicates that it was produced and bottled by Barrel 29 Wine Company, which had previously been a label of McPrice Myers Winery, also located in Paso Robles. The Story The Barrel 27 brand was founded in 2002…
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Send us a text Ever wondered if you could find a genuinely good bottle of wine for just $10? In this episode, we uncork a surprising discovery from Trader Joe’s – their Reserve Paso Robles Grenache 2023, produced by one of the most respected winemaking families in California’s Central Coast. The Beckett family, founders of…
Read MoreSend us a text Ever wondered if you could find a legitimate Napa Valley wine for $20? The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage 2022 might just be that unicorn. This isn’t your typical grocery store wine – it’s a serious Bordeaux-style blend from one of Napa’s most prestigious growing regions. The Rutherford AVA sits…
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The Trader Joe’s Diamond Reserve Rutherford Meritage 2022 is an exclusive, $19.99 offering available only at Trader Joe’s. This wine was produced and bottled by (that means they made it) 1542 ACE, which is a label from Miura Vineyards, a project from a Master Sommelier, Emmanuel Kemiji. The Story Miura and 1542 ACE typically deal…
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Send us a text The fascinating world of wine often hides gems in plain sight. Meet the Bacchus Ginger’s Cuvée Pinot Noir 2023, a $12.99 bottle that breaks the assumption that quality must come with a hefty price tag. What makes this wine remarkable isn’t just its approachable price point, but the pedigree behind it….
Read MoreSend us a text Few things bring more satisfaction than discovering a wine that dramatically overdelivers for its price point. Enter Trader Joe’s Lustrous Russian River Chardonnay 2023—an $8.99 bottle that has me reaching for a third sip and taking notice. This newcomer from Precision Wine Company (creators of 22 different wine brands found at…
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The LaCheteau Chinon 2023 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. If you see Chinon on the label, that means this is a Cabernet Franc wine sourced from vineyards surrounding the town of Chinon in France‘s Loire Valley. The Story Vignobles (means vineyards) LaCheteau is the negotiant brand of GCF Group, the leading exporter of French…
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.The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Meritage 2022 is a $17.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label says this wine was “vinted and Bottles by” JBA Cellars in Rutherford, California. Vinted and bottled legally means they bottled the wine and possibly did some aging, so JBA Cellars is a company set up to keep us…
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The Tenebres GSM 2022 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s import wine, in 2019 it sold for $5.99, and in Canada, it is priced at $19.50. It is designated an IGP. Pay d’Oc wine, Pays d”Oc indicates that this wine is sourced from the Languedoc Roussillon Wine region of southwest France. The Languedoc Roussillon region is…
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The Kate Arnold Columbia Valley Riesling 2022 is a wine I found in Chicago selling for $11.99, a quick check of the web saw prices from $10 to $15. Kate Arnold Wines is a family-owned winery located in Kelseyville, Ca. in Lake County. Kate and Jean Arnold are co-owners, they feature a Sauvignon from the…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Cachapoal Valley Red Blend 2021 is $14.99 at Trader Joe’s. This Red Blend is not exclusive to Trader Joe’s since the same wine sells under a different label for about $35. There were a few clues to the origin of this bottle, the bottle is a very heavy Napa-style. The…
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Outlander Paso Robles Meritage 2022-Aldi-$8 Of Juicy Goodness If you like your California Bordeaux ripe and juicy this is your wine. It is a Blend Of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot, the only Bordeaux-approved grape missing is Cabernet Franc. Meritage is a California organization dedicated to the research and education of Bordeaux grapes,…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Saint-Emilion 2022 is a 414.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive. Saint-Emilion is on the Right Bank of the Garonne River in Bordeaux and along with nearby Pomerol is arguably the best place in the world to grow Merlot. The Merlot grape comprises 79% of the vines, 15% of Cabernet Franc, and…
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The Belhara Estate Single Vineyard Malbec 2021 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine. Belhara Estate is a family-owned winery in the Uco Valley inside Mendoza in Argentina. They own three vineyards and this wine is sourced from one of them. This wine seems to be the same or very close to Trader Joe’s Grand…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Cremant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé is a $11.99 Aldi import exclusive. The Aldi Specially Selected brand includes at least 55 wines in Europe, my local Ald’s never had more than 5 or 6. They had Cremant wines from France’s (8) Cremant AOP areas. Cremant translates to “creamy” but it stands for…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021 is a $7.99 exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Maule Valley in the south-central portion of the Central Valley in Chile. The back label says this wine was vinted and bottled by TerrAral Wines and here is a link to their website, they seem to own…
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The Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Red Blend 2021 is a $10.99 Costco exclusive. Costco often names the producer of their Signature wines, but not here. This is a Bordeaux Blend with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Carmenere is the other Bordeaux-approved Red grape, but it is…
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The Dearly Beloved I Thee Red Lodi 2021 sells for $7.99 at Trader Joe’s stores and seems to sell for as high as $14 in places that TJ’s does not cover. This is a wine that returns to Trader Joe’s vintage after vintage. We typically review the latest version of this Red Blend at this…
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