The 2013 Earthstone Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc is $4.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced by a family owned, sustainably farmed, carbon neutral winery located in Healdsburg, California. Trader Joe’s does not say who produces this Sauv Blanc, but if you Google carbon neutral, solar powered, family owned wineries in Healdsburg, it’s easy to figure out. Single…
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The 2013 Black Ink Red is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Malbec and Zinfandel sourced from more than one California grape growing Ava. When 85% of the grapes in the bottle come from one AVA (such as Napa, Lodi, Paso Robles, etc..), then you will see that AVA shown on the front label. If none…
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I think sours will be the next IPA! There I said it. And not a moment too soon (pretty sick of IPAs)! Ever had a sour? It’ll definitely be one of your more memorable firsts. Funky! Some of you will stop after your first or first five, pucker, make a face, and never venture into…
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How to buy cheap wine? The real answer is: go to a wine shop, grab a bottle off the shelve, head to the check out and hand the clerk some money. There are no secrets, no hidden tips, no mystic fonts of knowledge, you learn about wine, about finding the…
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The Old Soul Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot sourced from Oak Ridge estate vineyards in the Lodi AVA of California’s Central Valley. To be a single varietal wine, the grape shown on the label must make up a minimum of 75% of the wine. Old Soul is one of Oak Ridge…
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The Old Soul Pure Red 2013 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah sourced from Oak Ridge Winery vineyards in Lodi, California. Oak Ridge is the oldest winery in Lodi, they started in the 1930s as a co-op and is currently run by the Maggio and Reynolds family who have 5 generations…
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The Old Soul Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from Oak Ridge Winery estate vineyards located in the Lodi AVA of northern California. Oak Ridge is the oldest winery in Lodi (founded in the 1930s) and is currently owned by the Maggio and Reynolds families who have 5 generations of vineyard and wine making experience. Lodi is…
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The Old Soul Pinot Noir 2014 is Pinot Noir with Zinfandel and Merlot blended in, sourced from vineyards in the Lodi AVA at the northern end of the Central Valley Region of Northern California. Lodi is located east of the San Francisco Bay, south and east of Napa. The temperature can be very warm during…
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The Tin Roof Merlot 2012 is a taste of California Merlot with grapes sourced from the Central Coast, the North Coast and Lodi AVA’s. Tin Roof’s website has not been updated in a while (the last Merlot vintage shown is 2009), but they have made wine for over 30 years and have a pretty good…
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The Bogle Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from grapes farmed in the Clarksburg, Monterey and Lodi AVA’s of northern California. Bogle Vineyards is a 6th generation, family owned vineyard (they have 1500 acres of grape vines) and winery located in the Clarksburg AVA, which is in the Sacramento River Delta. This Chardonnay is fermented “on…
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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 Belcreme de Lys Pinot Noir 2013 is Pinot Noir, with a little bit of Syrah added in, sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Belcreme de Lys is one of Diageo Chateau & Estate Wine many wine brands. Their portfolio runs from Moet & Chandon to Blossom Hill White Zinfandel….
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The Altovinum Evodia 2013 is 100% Garnacha sourced from vineyards in the Calatayud DO of the Aragon region of northeast Spain. This region is to Garnacha what Lodi in California is to Zinfandel, which is the home of a myriad of old vine grapes farmed in an area that does not always get the respect…
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The Fort Ross Sea Slopes Pinot Noir 2012 is sourced from the Fort Ross Vineyard in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA located about an hour and half north and west of San Francisco on the Sonoma Coast of California. Fort Ross-Seaview received AVA designation in 2011 and is situated on coastal ridges near the Pacific Ocean,…
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The Coppola Director’s Cut Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2012 is 80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards with 40 to 80 year vines located in the Dry Creek Valley AVA inside Sonoma County in Northern California. Dry Creek Valley is 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean which gives the region cool evenings and…
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The 2013 Wente Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown “Louis Mel” vineyard in California’s Central Coast (for you specific folks, that’s the southern part of Livermore Valley). Who the hell’s Louis Mel? Well he was this French dude with two first names that came to the U.S. in the 1870’s. Instead of becoming…
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The 2013 Wente Riverbank Riesling is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown Riverbank vineyard in the “Arroyo Seco Cone”. This funnel-shaped geological anomaly in the Arroyo Seco appellation was formed by eons of its eponymous creek/river flow cutting a deep ravine, the southern edge of which enjoys deep rocky soils where Riesling thrives. The significance of Wente…
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The Cooper’s Hawk Romance Red is a sweet, non-vintage wine. The bottle shows American as the place of origin for the grapes, they source grapes from California, Washington, Oregon and Michigan. When you see American on the label that means that grapes grown in more than one state were used. Cooper’s Hawk is a winery and restaurant…
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I was never much of a fan of blind wine tasting, I figured it was simply an easy way to make a complete fool out of myself. I just knew that at some point I would mistake a Malbec for a Riesling and anyway I want to enjoy a glass of wine, not turn it…
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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 Josh Cellars Legacy Red 2012 is a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from vineyards thru-out California, but mainly in the Central Coast, Lodi, Sonoma and Napa. Josh Cellars is the second line of wines from Joseph Carr Wines and is named in tribute to Joseph Carr’s dad, also a Joseph,…
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The OZV Lodi ZInfandel 2012, OZV stands for Old ZInfandel Vines, is 96% Zinfandel and 4% Petite Sirah sourced from 50 to 120 year old ZInfandel vines located in the Lodi AVA, east and a little south of Napa. The OZV Zinfandel is produced by Oak Ridge Winery, started in 1934 as a wine co-op and…
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The Gia Pinot Grigio 2013 is sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. The Gia on the label is Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola and Gia wine is one of the Coppola family of wines. Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape, the difference is Pinot…
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The Michael David Inkblot Tannat 2012 is sourced from a single vineyard located in the southeastern edge of the Lodi AVA in northern California. Michael and David Phillips are brothers and 5th generation grape growers (their family has been farming in Lodi since the 1850s) who started their winery in 1984. Lodi is in the…
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The Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2011 is a blend of 31% Petite Sirah, 29% Petit Verdot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley AVA near San Francisco Bay. Murrieta’s Well was first planted in 1883 and in the 1930s was purchased by Wente Vineyards (they…
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