Sometimes the most remarkable wines are hiding in plain sight on grocery store shelves. The Trader Joe’s Reserve Walla Walla Syrah 2023 represents everything worth celebrating about today’s value wine landscape – exceptional quality from a prestigious growing region at a surprisingly accessible $10 price point.
This blue-labeled bottle comes from Washington State’s elite Walla Walla region, an area that wine connoisseurs know produces wines that rival Napa’s finest. What makes this particularly interesting is the story behind Syrah itself – once the darling of critics in the early 2000s before falling into relative obscurity after the 2008 economic downturn. Despite its current status as what wine insiders call a “hidden wine,” Syrah continues to deliver remarkable quality-to-price value for those in the know.
The wine itself presents a fascinating duality: elegant, rounded fruit flavors upfront that transition to a slightly rustic edge in the mid-palate. This tension creates a complex sipping experience rarely found at this price point. Expect juicy notes of black cherry, tart cranberry, plum, and a distinctive cooling blueberry finish that appears after the spice elements have made their statement. It’s crafted by DNA Cellars (Dennis Patton and Andrea Silverstein), who bring over 65 years of combined winemaking expertise and are responsible for some of Trader Joe’s most successful wine collaborations.
Looking for a perfect summer wine that offers both easy drinking and genuine complexity? Pick up this Washington State gem next time you’re at Trader Joe’s – and don’t forget to look for that distinctive blue label. After you try it, visit CheapWineFinder.com to discover more exceptional values that prove great wine doesn’t have to break the bank.
Check us out at http://www.cheapwinefinder.com
or email us at [email protected]
Introducing Trader Joe's Walla Walla Syrah
Speaker 1
0:03
Hey
,
welcome
,
it's
the
domain
Dave
.
Again
CheapWineFindercom
.
We
do
wine
reviews
for
value
price
wines
and
today
we've
got
the
Trader
Joe's
Reserve
Walla
Walla
,
syrah
2023
.
It's
got
a
blue
label
which
is
a
little
bit
different
.
I
guess
they've
been
color
coding
the
different
places
.
Walla
Walla
is
partly
in
the
Columbia
Valley
of
Washington
and
partly
in
Oregon
,
but
this
one
is
in
Washington
.
Syrah's History and Market Evolution
Speaker 1
0:39
Syrah
is
a
grape
from
,
well
,
actually
,
the
Rhone
Valley
of
southern
France
.
It
was
all
the
rage
in
Australia
in
the
2000s
.
They
called
it
Syrahs
back
then
.
It's
still
Syrah
and
it
was
the
critics'
darling
.
There
was
more
value-priced
wines
with
90-plus
points
and
it
was
everywhere
into
about
2008
.
And
then
the
big
economic
meltdown
of
2008
,
though
I
read
there
were
problems
going
on
before
that
.
That
kind
of
caused
the
collapse
.
Ever
since
then
,
syrah
has
been
kind
of
a
hidden
wine
.
It
was
there's
a
,
you
know
,
merlot
kind
of
fell
apart
after
the
movie
Sideways
,
when
one
of
the
characters
said
he
loved
Pinot
Noir
and
hated
Merlot
and
all
of
a
sudden
Pinot
Noir
,
which
was
not
a
big
grape
,
became
one
of
the
top
three
or
four
grapes
and
Merlot
kind
of
fell
to
the
side
.
So
it's
weird
.
Tasting Notes and Wine Characteristics
Speaker 1
1:43
But
there
you
go
,
and
here
we
have
a
Trader
Joe's
Reserve
Walla
Walla
Syrah
.
It's
from
DNA
Cellars
.
That's
Dennis
Patton
and
Andrea
Silverstein
.
They've
got
like
65
years
plus
experience
and
they've
done
a
whole
bunch
of
some
of
the
best
Trader
Joe's
wines
in
the
past
10
years
or
so
.
I
got
a
link
to
their
website
and
they
kind
of
proudly
put
a
bunch
of
those
labels
on
their
website
.
You
know
often
people
who
do
Trader
Joe's
wines
,
you
know
,
kind
of
keep
it
on
the
down
low
.
Nope
,
they're
proud
of
it
and
they
should
because
their
wines
are
some
of
the
better
ones
.
So
this
is
a
.
Speaker 1
2:24
I
don't
know
anything
other
about
this
wine
other
than
it's
from
Walla
Walla
.
You
don't
see
too
many
value
price
wines
from
Walla
Walla
.
I
have
read
that
Walla
Walla
Cabernet
Sauvignon
is
rivals
Napa
Cabernet
Sauvignon
,
that
it's
an
elite
growing
area
and
Syrah
has
always
been
big
in
Washington
State
.
I
mean
it's
a
great
place
for
it
to
grow
.
So
there
you
go
.
So
you've
got
some
things
going
for
it
here
.
You've
got
a
good
area
for
the
grape
,
you've
got
a
good
producer
who
can
make
value-priced
wines
.
Speaker 1
3:01
And
let's
take
a
sip
.
It's
kind
of
rounded
and
rich
up
front
and
then
in
the
mid
palate
it
starts
to
get
a
little
rough
edge
,
which
I
kind
of
like
.
Syrah
kind
of
reminds
me
of
Zinfandel
in
that
it
can
be
spicy
and
fun
,
and
this
one's
kind
of
got
elegant
up
front
and
a
little
rustic
in
the
back
and
it
comes
together
,
which
for
me
is
fun
.
It
gives
you
two
distinct
elements
in
one
wine
wine
and
it
kind
of
it's
fine
as
long
as
the
rough
edge
ain't
too
rough
edge
and
you
get
it
got
a
lot
of
odd
flavors
or
weird
tannins
and
what
have
you
.
But
no
,
this
one's
just
fine
.
I'm
gonna
take
another
sip
.
Actually
,
yeah
,
for
ten
bucks
is
a
really
nice
wine
.
It's
a
really
nice
wine
.
Speaker 1
4:05
It's
a
good
Syrah
.
It's
got
rounded
red
flavors
.
You're
getting
rounded
juicy
flavors
and
a
little
bit
of
sourness
.
Fruit
,
maybe
black
cherry
,
maybe
cranberry
,
tart
cranberry
,
maybe
some
plum
.
It's
got
some
blueberry
on
the
edge
on
the
very
end
.
I
mean
,
after
all
the
spice
.
Then
you
get
a
little
bit
of
cooling
blueberry
,
which
is
a
nice
little
effect
.
You
know
to
actually
taste
all
these
things
.
You
got
to
actually
,
for
about
35
,
40
seconds
,
just
contemplate
your
navel
a
little
bit
and
drink
the
wine
and
then
you're
done
.
You
can
just
sit
there
and
enjoy
it
.
But
it's
um
,
but
you
get
all
these
flavors
.
Speaker 1
4:43
And
one
thing
that's
kind
of
fun
,
cuz
we've
been
doing
this
website
since
2008
is
that
value
price
,
not
.
Wines
now
are
worthy
of
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
Speaker 1
4:52
taking
the
time
out
to
taste
them
.
They're
not
just
well
,
that's
that
.
That
tastes
fruity
and
sweet
and
nice
.
They're
actually
well-made
wines
in
their
own
right
.
Are
they
the
same
as
the
Spencer
Wines
?
No
,
but
in
their
own
right
they're
good
wines
.
So
there
you
go
.
Speaker 1
5:09
I
don't
have
too
much
to
say
about
it
.
I
didn't
know
too
much
about
it
.
All
I
know
is
that
it's
from
a
good
area
,
from
a
good
producer
,
and
it
tastes
for
10
bucks
.
It's
a
solid
wine
.
So
you
got
the
trader
joe's
reserve
walla
,
walla
,
syrah
2023
.
Look
for
the
blue
label
if
you're
looking
for
a
summer
wine
that's
easy
to
drink
and
has
some
interest
.
It's
a
good
wine
.
So
,
adios
,
keep
it
cheap
.
Uh
.
Domain
dave
cheap
wine
findercom
.
The
website
has
all
the
links
to
everything
.
It's
not
a
bad
place
to
go
if
you
want
to
learn
a
little
bit
more
about
it
.
And
then
we
go
plug
in
the
microphone
and
we
talk
a
little
bit
.
So
,
adios
,
keep
it
cheap
and
I'll
be
talking
to
everybody
in
a
couple
of
days
.
It's
hot
,
sticky
outside
,
so
drink
and
air
conditioning
.
Adios
,
bye-bye
.
