The Motif Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is a Trader Joe’s $4.99 exclusive. The Red Hills AVA is located inside the Lake County AVA which is north of Napa Valley and east of Mendocino. Clear Lake is the largest lake in California and it is situated in Lake County. The Red Hills AVA is on…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer says this wine would sell for around $25 at a retail wine shop. A quick web check showed a 2017 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon selling in 2023 for a range of $20 to $70. Most wines,…
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The 3 Rein Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Aldi is a $10.99 Aldi exclusive made for them by Precept Wines, the largest independently owned wine company in the Northwest. Horse Heaven Hills AVA comprises about a fourth of the grapes grown in the Columbia Valley in Washington State. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is…
Read MoreTrader Joe's Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 Never had a Petit Verdot wine? Well, if you had a Bordeaux blend or a California Meritage wine you probably had. Or maybe one of the Petite Petit wines that blend Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah because, why not. This wine is worthy of Napa Valley…
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The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2021 is a $14.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Petit Verdot is one of the five grapes approved to be included in the blend for the Red wines of Bordeaux, France. The other Red grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. The name Petit Verdot roughly…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Syrah 2021 is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive. This Syrah is produced by the Miller Family Wine Company they are a fifth-generation wine company that owns 1,500 acres of vineyards in Paso Robles. They are also part of Thornhill Companies which own the acclaimed Bien Nacido and French Camp…
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Chateau Ste Michelle Sauvignon Blanc 2021-Always A Good Value This is a ten-dollar Sauv Blanc from the Columbia Valley. Chateau Ste Michelle is the largest (by far) winery in Washington. This affordable Sauvignon Blanc is more Bordeaux than New Zealand. Which if you want a change of pace Sauv Blanc is a very good thing….
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The Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petite Verdot, and 8% Merlot sourced from vineyards in the 58% Paso Robles AVA and 42% Lodi AVA. This is a Bordeaux blend. Cycles Gladiator is a project from winemaker Adam LaZarre started in 2005. The brand is part of the Wine Hooligans’ stable…
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The Substance CH Chardonnay 2020 is a brand in winemakers Charles Smith’s House of Smith family of Washington State wines. Those wines span from fairly expensive 100-point wines to value-priced wines. The CH Chardonnay lists for $17, but I found it for $12.99. The Substance CH Chardonnay 2020 was sourced from three vineyards, 70% Frenchmen…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2021 is a Trader Joe’s limited release exclusive. It is produced for Trader Joe’s by the Miller Family Wine Company which also makes Trader Joe’s Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc, also from Paso Robles grapes. The Miller Family Wine Company also owns the Central Coast Wine Warehouse…
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The Petite Sirah vs Petit Verdot Red Blend 2021 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine sourced from vineyards in the Lodi AVA. This is the first wine that I can remember where I was not sure what the name was. It could be Rough & Ready or Two Heavy Hitters or it could be all…
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The Dreaming Tree Pinot Noir 2020 is a collaboration between Dave Matthews (yeah, that Dave Matthews) and New Zealand winemaker Sean McKenzie. This is Pinot Noir sourced from multiple locations in France. French wines are typically sourced from one appellation or a sub-appellation, such as Bordeaux or the Médoc. The vineyards used for a particular…
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Trader Joe's Reserve North Coast Meritage 2020- A Wine Well Worth Drinking!! A Meritage wine is a Bordeaux-style blend produced in California. A Bordeaux-style blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec grapes. This wine is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The North Coast AVA is Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino,…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Meritage 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive Red blend. According to the Fearless Flyer, the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, the only Bordeaux-approved grape missing is Malbec. A Meritage Red blend, which rhymes with heritage, is a wine that is based on the…
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Substance Sb Sauvignon Blanc 2021- Heads Up Sauvignon Blanc Lovers!! The Substance Sb has had a change in style. The Black label was a Bordeaux-Style Sauv Blanc fermented and aged in French oak barrels. This is the Yellow Label Sauvignon Blanc which is 90% stainless steel with 10% neutral oak barrel. The black label seems…
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The Substance Sb Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from four vineyards, 43% Caliche Lake Vineyard, 26% Holmason Vineyard, 19% Frenchman Hills Vineyard, and 12% Roza Hills Vineyard all located in the Columbia Valley of Washington. The Substance line of wines is from The House of Smith one of the top producers in the Columbia Valley,…
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The Rebuttel Chardonnay 2021 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive made for them by a winery from Lodi, California, though this wine is a California wine and not AVA designated. You may notice that Rebuttel is misspelled (Rebuttal). The name is a sort of a pun, a butt is an old measurement for wine and…
Read MoreOutlander Meritage Red 2019- A $9.99 Aldi Bargain From Paso Robles I don't think this wine has anything to do with the time travel Scottish series on Starz. It is a Bordeaux blend from Paso Robles made for Aldi by Coppola and sold for $7.99. Is it good? Oh Yeah! The website and the podcast…
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The Outlander Meritage Red 2019 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles, California. This wine was produced by Coppola Winery from Sonoma California and was purchased the last year by Delicato Family Vineyards, headquartered in Lodi. A Meritage Red blend is a California wine that uses the approved grapes of the…
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The Daou Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is part of the Discovery series of wine from Daou Vineyards of Paso Robles California. Daou is one of the finest wineries in Paso Robles known for their Bordeaux-inspired wines and they are Cabernet Sauvignon specialists. The Daou Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is made by the same…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Lot 225 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a wine produced for Trader Joe’s by Precision Wine Company which makes custom wines and several of its own brands from Napa Valley grapes. The Alexander Valley is about twenty-five miles from the Pacific Coast along…
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The Tilia Malbec 2020 is the first Argentinian-certified sustainably farmed wine. This is a wine that is sourced from various family farm vineyards in the eastern Mendoza Valley and the Uco Valley of Argentina. Since this is not a single estate wine and several privately owned vineyards the coordination to achieve the sustainable certification was…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Oak Knoll Napa Merlot 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The Oak Knoll AVA in Napa is located at the southern end of Napa on the Valley floor. It is just above the Napa side of the Carneros AVA which borders to the south on the San Pablo Bay. Most…
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The Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is sourced from vineyards in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s South Island. Marlborough is on the northern part of the South Island. Starborough is an E & J Gallo wine brand, the largest family-owned wine company in the world. The Starborough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is produced by…
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Lazy Bones Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2020- A TJ's Wine Named After Me This is a & buck Trader Joe's exclusive wine that has been available for years, it is a perennial favorite. Cabernet Franc is a Bordeaux blending grape and not often seen as a single varietal wine, especially for value-priced wine. This is…
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