The 2008 Nerelo Del Bastardo is imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $7.99. The Bastardo is the Italian equivalent of the French negotiant wines. The wine makers in the Italian DOCG’s are allowed to produce only a certain amount of their top wines and the wines that don’t make the cut cannot be labeled…
Read MoreThe 2009 Domaine de Gournier is 100% Estate grown Chardonnay located in the hills overlooking the town of Nimes in the Rhone Valley, but outside the borders of the Costieres de Nimes AOC. Since this was not grown inside a AOC designated growing area, the wine is referred to as a Vin de Pays des Cevennes (translates…
Read MoreThe 2009 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is 99% Chardonnay and 1% Roussanne sourced from several vineyards with long term grape contracts in Carneros and other Sonoma growing areas. 52% of the wine (mostly from vineyards in the coolest growing areas) was aged in mainly Hungarian oak barrels (Hungarian oak barrels are $300 cheaper than French oak…
Read MoreVouvray is the name for Chenin Blanc grown in the Vouvray growing region near the town of Tours in the Loire Valley, France. The Lacheteau Vouvray is exclusively imported for Trader Joe’s and sells for $6.99. Lacheteau is one of the largest negociant’s in the Loire Valley, which means they do not grow the grapes,…
Read MoreThe 2008 Scott Harvey Amador County Mountain Selection Zinfandel is 99% Zinfandel and 1% Mixed Ports (the grapes that go into Port) sourced from several vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, California. The list of the vineyards used is interesting, 64% Bowman Vineyards, 13% Manby Vineyards, 9% Norton Vineyard (84 year old vines),…
Read MoreThe 2009 Bonterra Organic Chardonnay is 92% Chardonnay, 4% Muscat and 4% Viognier sourced from several vineyards along side the Russian River in Mendocino, California. Bonterra is under the same ownership group as Fetzer wines, so the majority of the grapes come from Fetzer’s certified organic vineyards (Fetzer started growing organic grapes back in 1984)….
Read MoreThe Les Trois Couronnes (the 3 Crowns) Cotes-du-Rhone is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah sourced from sustainably grown grapes in the south of the Rhone Valley, France. This is a negociant wine (the negociant is Cellier des Dauphins), they purchase excess wine from different producers and make their own less expensive bottling out of the…
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