The Louise d’ Estrée Brut (in 2023) is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive, in places not served by Trader Joe’s this Bubbly sells at wine shops for $17 to $20. This is a Cremant wine, meaning it is a Bubbly produced in the Traditional Method (Champagne) but not in Champagne. The label is devoid of…
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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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Piper Sonoma Brut- Sonoma vs Champagne- This Wine Rocks The Piper Sonoma Brut has been in Sonoma for 43 years, it is the California outpost of Piper Heidsieck. I found it for $17 while it does list for $22. Which is half of what the French version sells for, Is the French stuff twice as…
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The Piper Sonoma Brut is a non-vintage Champagne-style Sparkling wine I found selling for $17 (lists for 21.99). It is a blend of 56% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Blanc, and 6% a blend of aged Reserve wine. The aged Reserve wine is from their higher-tier sparkling wine. Piper Sonoma was. founded in 1980…
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The Chandon California Brut is a wine that lists for $26, but I found it on sale in December of 2023 for $15, there are great prices on Sparkling Wine during the Holidays. Chandon is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton who also owns Moet Chandon, Dom Perignon, Krug, and many more. Chandon was…
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The Photograph North Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from vineyards in the Sonoma and Napa AVAs, the list price is around $13, but I found it on sale at Target for $8.99. It was a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy in 2023 and received 92 points. This brand from Vintage Wine Estates offers 34 different…
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I think the Trading Post by Trader Joe’s Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a $19.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. I say I think because I can’t find a single mention of this wine on the internet. I do not recall another “by Trader Joe’s” wine before, typically the wines in this price range are Patinum…
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The Poppy Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2019 is a wine I found for $13.99 and it is the house brand for Monterey Wine Company, a custom wine producer. This is a single vineyard wine with grapes from the Poppy Hillside Vineyard. The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is located on the western foothills of the Salinas…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sonoma County Brut Sparkling Wine-2023 Edition is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive featuring a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a little bit of Pinot Meunier which is a classic Champagne blend. This Sparkling wine was “produced and bottled by” (that means they made this Bubbly) Rack and Riddle of…
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The Elouan Oregon Chardonnay 2020 is one of the brands from Copper Cane, the wine company owned by Joe Wagner who is part of the Wagner family of Caymus fame. Joe Wagner is the son and you should know him from Meiomi wines which he founded and sold for 1/3 of a billion dollars. The…
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The Burlwood Brut Sparkling Wine is a $4.95 Aldi exclusive made by some part of E & J Gallo Winery, any time you see Modesto, California on the back label you can bet that Gallo made the wine. Gallo also produces Andre Champagne and Barefoot Bubbly lines, all in the same general price range. The…
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The Cameron Hughes Russian River Pinot Noir 2018 Lot 947 is a Nogociant wine, you should be able to find it for around $19. A negociant is a French wine company that goes to wineries and makes a deal to buy excess wine. It is all very hush-hush, nobody is to know who the winery…
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The Mumm Napa Blanc de Blanc is a Bubbly that lists at $26 but should be available for under $20 during the holiday season. Mumm Napa is the California division of C.H. Mumm, a Champagne house founded in 1827. In 1983 they started producing Sparkling wines in Napa under the Domaine Mumm name which was…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2021 is a $12.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. In January of 2022, Trader Joe’s offered the Platinum Reserve SLH Pinot Noir. That wine sold for $14.99 and if you click on the link you will find that we thought it had too much alcohol and wasn’t…
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The VINTJS Sonoma County Chardonnay 2021 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive if you wish to know which winery produced this wine head to the TTBGov California Cola Registry and type VINTJS into the search box. I usually hesitate to name the producer since they are producing wine to Trader Joe’s specifications and not always…
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The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a wine I found selling at a local wine shop for $11.99. Cannonball Wine was founded in 2016 with the mission goal of making “the best California Cabernet under $20“, they have since branched out to include Melot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022…
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The Willam Wright Monterey Chardonnay 2021 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive produced for them by Scheid Family Vineyards of Monterey, California. Scheid is a large family-owned winery founded in 1972 and they have been Certified Sustainable since 1914. They owned vineyards dotted throughout a 70-mile section of the Salinas Valley and they have 3,000 acres…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Prosecco 2022 is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive, it is part of 10 wines in the Specially Selected series featuring wines from all over the world. Here is a link to their French Sparkling wine LINK. Aldi does not offer any details on the wines, such as why they…
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The Aldi Specially Selected Fleurs D’Eau Sparkling Brut Rosé is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive, it has been available at European Aldi stores for several months and has been well received. Basic information such as where exactly the grapes came from (location is significant for French wine), which grapes were used, and which Sparkling wine method…
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The Z Alexander Brown Uncaged Proprietary Red Blend 2020 is a wine I found for $12 at a local wine shop. It is a collaboration between musician Zac Brown and John Killebrew, the winemaker for Delicato Family Vineyards, the makers of Gnarly Head and Coppola wines. Proprietary Blend indicates that the blend is unique to…
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The Peaks & Tides Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $11.99 Aldi exclusive. There is a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast AVA from Peaks and Tides. The Peaks and Tide’s name is more reflective of the Sonoma Coast AVA than Sonoma County since the is located in Coastal Mountain Valleys….
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Vinha Da Fonte Reserva 2021-Trader Joe's Excellent $9 Portuguese Red This is a $8.99 Red Blend from a 102-year-old Portuguese winery. The blend has Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, but the other two grapes are very Portuguese grapes, and this is an extremely tasty wine! Fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged for 9 months in…
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The Vinha Da Fonte Reserva 2021 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine though it is available in other countries. This Red Blend is produced by Casa Ermelinda Freitas, a winery in business since 1920 in the south of Portugal inside the Setúbal Peninsula Region. This wine is a blend of Castelão (25% a local…
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The Doña Paula Estate Blue Edition Velvet Red Blend 2021 is $10.99 at Costco and $14 to $29 elsewhere. This wine is a blend of 60% Malbec, 30% Pinot Noir, and 10% Bonarda sourced from the Doña Paula Estate El Alto Vineyard (3,445 feet up in the Andes foothills of the Ugarteche sub-region of the Luján…
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The Kirkland Signature Sonoma Couty Chardonnay 2022 is a $7.99 Costco exclusive. Kirkland Signature wines typically name the winery or the winemaker involved in the production, but not here. The back label mentions Grape and Grain Imports as having vinted and bottled this Chardonnay. Grape and Grain Imports is the custom wine brand branch of…
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