The Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with a 10% of a mix of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot sourced mainly from vineyards in the Lodi AVA, along with grapes from the Sacramento Delta and the San Joaquin Valley. These are inland growing regions that receive cooling breezes coming in from the…
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The Cycle Buff Beauty Shiraz Malbec 2013 is 90% Shiraz, sourced from 2 vineyards in McLaren Vale and 1 in Clare Valley and 10% Malbec sourced from a single vineyard in Clare Valley, both a part of the South Australia growing region. Shiraz (Shiraz and Syrah are two different names for the same grape) and…
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The Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles 2013 is a Rhone inspired wine blend, available for $6.99 at Trader Joe’s, but it does not seem to be an exclusive wine, sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Northern Rhone wines are Syrah based wines and Southern Rhone Reds are Syrah…
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The 2013 Woodwork Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in coastal regions of the Central Coast AVA of California. Woodwork is one of The Wine Bars brands of wine that include Snap Dragon, Ensemble, Uppercut and many others. The key to the Woodwork line of wines is their use of oak staves, instead of oak…
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CheapwineFinder’s Bubbly Basics 1) All Bubbly, whether it is from the Champagne region of France, the Prosecco region of Italy, Cava from Catalonia in Spain or just plain old Bubbly from anywhere, is Sparkling wine. Sparkling wine is called different things in different countries, Spumante in Italy, Cremant in France or Sekt in Germany, but…
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The Bird Big Barrel Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from the Dayvinleigh Vineyard on the Wairau River in Marlborough on New Zealand’s South Island. Steve Bird is the winemaker and he is the first to produce Pinot Noir with Vernou roll fermentation. He uses huge 238 gallon oak barrels (Tonnellerie Vernou is a French cooperage who make the…
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The Ca’ Di Rajo Prosecco Brut is a Sparkling wine produced from the Glera grape near the town of Treviso (DOC), along the Piave River in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The winery is located on the site of an ancient convent ( founded 1507) and the property was converted to vineyards in 1960. This Prosecco…
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The Apothic Dark Limited Release 2013 is a blend of Petite Sirah, Teroldego and Merlot sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA, but the majority of the grapes came from the Lodi AVA (east of Napa). The Dark is a limited edition for E & J Gallo’s hugely popular Apothic line of Red And White blends. Teroldego is…
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The Winking Owl Chardonnay is a non-vintage $2.89 California wine sold by ALDI. The Winking Owl wines (produced by E & J Gallo) are the ALDI competitor to Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wines or 2 Buck Chuck (produced by Bronco Wines). The back label mentions toasted oak as a flavor, so this Chardonnay sees some…
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The 2012 Burlwood Cellars Merlot is a $4.99 ALDI US exclusive wine. Burlwood Cellars is one of E & J Gallo’s many labels and has been around for several years, but is now an ALDI wine, though you can find it in Canada for about $11. There is not much technical information available for the Burlwood…
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[/audio]] The 2012 Starborough Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from several vineyards in the Marlborough region located at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island. Starborough is one of E & J Gallo’s import brands, the Starborough winery usually produces single vineyard wines and this is their entry-level offering featuring grapes from several parts of…
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The 2012 Alamos Red Blend is a mix of Malbec, Tempranillo and Bonarda (a grape that is thought to have originated in the Piedmont Region of Italy and is the 2nd most planted grape in Argentina) sourced from vineyards in the Lujan de Cuyo and the Valle de Uco growing areas of Mendoza in Argentina….
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The Darkhorse Big Red Blend 01A is something that I have not come across before, a bottle of wine usually says something like California or Chile on the label, or maybe something more specific like Sonoma or Maule Valley as a source for the grapes. The Darkhorse Big Red Blend 01A is made from grapes…
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The 2011 Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA, but mainly from Lodi and the San Joaquin Valley (east of the San Francisco Bay in the Central Valley) in Northern California. Carnivor is one of…
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The 2011 Redwood Creek Merlot is sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. In California, if less than 85% of the grapes are sourced from a single AVA, say for instance Paso Robles or Napa, the label must read California and not the more specific AVA. Red Wood Creek is one of…
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The 2010 Red Rock Reserve Merlot is sourced from vineyards in several California grape growing AVA’s, but mainly from Sonoma, with Monterey and Napa providing most of the rest. Red Rock is one of E & J Gallo’s 60 brands of wines and spirits. Gallo has extensive vineyard holdings in Sonoma as well as other…
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The 2011 Flaco Tempranillo is an Estate bottled wine sourced from the Arganda sub region (south east of Madrid) of the Vinos de Madrid DO, smack dab in the middle of Spain. The Madrid Do is divided into 3 sub sections, Arganda, San Martin and Navalcarnero, Tempranillo is Arganda’s specialty. If you are familiar with…
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Named for the Apotheca – where then-pharmacists known as apothecaries not only dispensed tobacco and medicine but also blended and stored wine, Apothic is one of the butt-load of labels owned by the largest family-owned wine company in the world E & J Gallo. This puts the virtual winery Apothic (owning no vineyards or wineries)…
Read MoreThe Apothic Red Winemakers Blend 2011 is one of E & J Gallo’s 62 brands, it is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. E & J Gallo is the largest family owned wine company in America, they are also leaders…
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The 2010 Bodega Elena de Mendoza Chardonnay is one of E & J Gallo’s Argentinean wine labels (Alamos is the other), it should sell for under $10, I found it for $6.97. The grapes are sourced from vineyards in the Mendoza Region which accounts for 2/3’s of Argentina’s wines. The vineyards in Mendoza have some…
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The 2010 Mirassou Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in several California grape growing AVA’s, with some of the grapes coming from Sonoma and Monterey. The Mirassou family have been growing grapes and producing wine since 1854, they are the first to introduce Pinot Noir grapes to California and were among the first to…
Read MoreThe 2010 The Original Darkhorse Chardonnay is $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine, but it does not seem to be a TJ’s exclusive and is available on the web for the same price. The Original Darkhorse is one of E & J Gallo’s 58 brands. I have high hopes for this Chardonnay, we posted the Darkhorse Cabernet…
Read MoreThe 2010 Edna Valley Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from grapes grown in several sections of the Paragon vineyard located in the Edna Valley AVA which is inside the San Luis Obispo County AVA which in turn is part of the Central Coast AVA in California. The Edna Valley Sauvignon Blanc can be found on…
Read More$2.69, that’s right a $2.69 California Cabernet Sauvignon. The Winking Owl Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage Aldi’s exclusive, Aldi’s is the parent company of Trader Joe’s and while Bronco Wines produces their low end wine, Charles Shaw (2 Buck Chuck, actually $2.99 in Illinois), Aldi’s bargain wine, Winking Owl, is produced by E & J…
Read MoreThe 2010 The Original Darkhorse Cabernet Sauvignon is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine. The wine is produced by E & J Gallo, the largest family owned wine company in the world. Gallo’s wines run the spectrum from Andre’s and jug wine to topnotch, Estate wine. There is a winery in Sonoma and another in Australia…
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