The 2011 Chateau St Jean California Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from vineyards in Santa Barbara and Paso Robles in the Central Coast AVA and vineyards in Sonoma to Lake County in the North Coast AVA. Chateau St Jean is known for their high-end Estate wines, but the this is their entry level Cabernet Sauvignon and…
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The 2010 California 37 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the band Train’s line of wines, though you would not know it by looking at the label unless you happen to know their 2012 album was named California 37. California 37 is one of Under Dog Wines many labels, which also include Cupcake, flipflop, Big House,…
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The 2011 Spiral Wines California Red blend is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, made for them by private label producer Fior di Sole, Napa, California. The blend is 58% Merlot, 15% Petite Sirah, 16% Zinfandel and 11% Syrah sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing AVA. Trader Joe’s offered a $4.99…
Read MoreThe Flame Lily California Red 2010 is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah sourced from vineyards in 40% Monterey (in the Central Coast AVA) and 60% Lodi Delta (at the North end of the Central Valley, east of San Francisco). Flame Lily is a label owned by Sutter Home Wines who are…
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The Heavyweight Old Vine California Zinfandel 2009 is one of the many labels produced by ADS Wines, which is owned by Scotto Family Vineyards. This wine is 82% Zinfandel, 14% Syrah and 4% Mourvedre sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA, this Zin was bottled in Lodi, California and it is…
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 2010 Fetzer Goosefoot Road Riesling is 83% Riesling and 17% Muscat sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Fetzer has been using sustainable farming practices since 1968 and 100% of all the energy for its winemaking facility comes from 100% green renewable energy. The bottle is lighter weight than the…
Read MoreThe Cameron Hughes Lot 313 California Field Blend is composed of 71% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah and 9% Carignane, along with very small amounts of indigenous Italian grape varietals grown the Lodi AVA inside the Central Coast AVA in California. The label shows California as the origin of the grapes, which means the grapes…
Read MoreThe 2009 Pennywise California Pinot Noir is 94% Pinot Noir and 6% Syrah of which 60% is sourced from a single vineyard in the Clarksburg AVA, 30% from the River Junction AVA (a very cool section of the Central Valley) and 10% from the Monterey AVA. Pennywise is one of Don Sebastiani & Sons labels,…
Read MoreThe 2008 Alias California Merlot is 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Syrah sourced from multiple California wine AVA’s. Alias is a project put together by 8 unnamed winemakers (hence the Alias name) who are attempting to make “affordable luxury” wines. The website listed on the bottle is not operational, a…
Read MoreA by Acacia is the entry level label for Acacia Vineyards, a top notch producer of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Carneros AVA of Napa Valley. The A by Acacia Red Blend is 85% Syrah, 10% Merlot, 2% Grenache, 2% Petite Sirah and 1% Zinfandel, the grapes were sourced from vineyards in several AVA’s…
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The Embroidery Monterey Pinot Noir 2021 is a $6.89 wine at Costco. The .89 indicates that this is a special price and may not last. This is a wine produced by Precision Wine Company located in Napa, California. They have about 25 brands and made wine for Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Costco. The Monterey County…
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Trader Joe's Platinum Reserve Saint-Emilion 2022-The Best $15 Merlot? Saint-Emilion is a village on the Right Bank in Bordeaux and they do Merlot, between them and Pomerol they produce what may be the best Merlot in the world. American value-priced wine drinkers barely know what Merlot is. There are plenty of high-end California and Washington…
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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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Aldi's Specially Selected Napa Valley Chardonnay 2021-Aldi Is Killing It! This is a $10.99 Napa Valley Chardonnay, big deal, right? Napa is about place and people and this Chardonnay is Napa generic. Is that Bad? No, not when the wine is $10.99. It tastes like Napa and costs like California. For more information check out https://cheapwinefinder.com/ and…
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The Porto 6 Vinho Tinto 2021 (Vinho Tinto translates to Red Wine) is a Trader Joe’s $5.99 import exclusive sourced from vineyards in Lisboa Portugal. Lisboa is a region along the northern Atlantic coast near Lisbon. It is a large wine region with several sub-regions inside. Porto 6 Vinho Tinto 2021 is produced by Vidigal…
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The Juggernaut Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is a wine brand from Bogle Family Vineyards of Clarksburg, California. It is a wine I found for $14.99 at a local wine shop. The Sonoma Coast AVA is the most westward AVA in California and runs to Mendocino. It features rugged Coastal Mountain valleys and is a cool climate…
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The Babs Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2020 is a $15.99 wine at Costco, $25 to $35 elsewhere. Babs is a project by John Wagner, he owns Peake Ranch Winery with three vineyards two in the Santa Rita Hills AVA and one in the Santa Maria AVA, all within Santa Barbara County and all very high-end…
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The Gruet Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine is a Pinot Noir-based Champagne-style non-vintage Sparkling wine from Sante Fe, New Mexico. This is a Sparkling wine that should be found selling for around $15, I found it on sale for $13.99 and Brut means dry or not sweet. Gilbert Gruet had a Champagne House in Champagne France…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Russian River Chardonnay is a $12.99 Trader exclusive produced with grapes from the Russian River Valley AVA in Sonoma County. The back label says this wine was “vinted and bottled by”Aril WInes of Oakville, Napa. They are a small boutique high-end winery with winemakers from Turley and Silver Oak. Vinted…
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The Loudenotte Pays D’Oc Pinot Noir 2022 is a $.6.99 Trader Joe’s wine, it is $12 in places that TJ’s does not cover. D’Oc indicates that this wine is from the Languedoc in France. This wine has been available at Trader Joe’s for several vintages. Here is a link to the 2018 version. The Languedoc…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve SLO County Chardonnay 2022 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by Miller Family Wine Company. The SLO in the title is San Luis Obispo which is in the middle of California’s Central Coast AVA, inside the SLO AVA in Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Arroyo Secco, and the San…
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Trader Joe's Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022-A $13 SLO Pinot Noir San Luis Obispo County which included Paso Robles, Edna Valley, and Arroyo Secco AVAs got repositioned. The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA was organized in 2022 and included Edna Valley and Arroyo Secco, these are some of the coolest temperatures…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve San Luis Obispo Coast Pinot Noir 2022 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The San Luis Obispo Coast AVA is new, founded in 2022, and includes the Edna Valley AVA and the Arroyo Secco AVA. These are all cool climate AVAs. Paso Robles is more inland and specializes in warm-weather…
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