Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Rasteau Cru 2022-What Is A Rasteau? This is a Trader Joe's $9.99 wine that just happens to have a Cru designation. Cru is the top of French wine designations, in Bordeaux, there are First Growth wines, but in the Southern Rhone Valley, this is it. TJ's does not…
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The Substance Cs Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a wine I found selling for $13.99 it is sourced from the Goose Ridge, Painted Hills, Badger Mountain, and the Sportfisher vineyards in the Columbia Valley of Washington State. This is a wine brand from The House of Smith wines (Charles Smith) whose stated goal for this wine…
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The Kirkland Signature Sancerre 2022 is a $14.99 Costco exclusive. Sancerre is a town in the Loire Valley of France and the grape is Sauvignon Blanc. The White wine of the Loire Valley is Sauvignon Blanc, the regular affordable wines are a spring day in a bottle, pure joy to drink. The best Sauvignon Blanc…
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The Kidia Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023 is a $5.99 wine, at Trader Joe’s it sells for $5.99, it seems to be a $10 wine elsewhere. It is an Estate wine produced by Vina del Pedregal (VDP), a family-owned winery located in Loncomilla Valley in the Maule Valley of Chile. They were founded in 1825 with…
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The Chateau de Gretels Prestige Cahors 2021 is a $7.99 Costco import wine and it seems to sell for about $12 in places that Costco does not serve. Cahors is a village in southwest France, the surrounding vineyards are known for growing the Malbec grape. In recent years Malbec from Argentina has become a trendy…
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Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021-$8 And Really Good This is a limited edition Trader Joe's wine from Chile. Carmenerein Chile has an interesting story (sorry, you have to listen to the Podcast). In the 1800s it was an integral part of the Bordeaux, and phylloxera hit. It somehow…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Maule Valley Carmenere 2021 is a $7.99 exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Maule Valley in the south-central portion of the Central Valley in Chile. The back label says this wine was vinted and bottled by TerrAral Wines and here is a link to their website, they seem to own…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Ynez Valley GSM 2022 is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 exclusive. The blend is 47% Mourvedre, 34% Syrah, and 19% Grenache, so it is an MSG blend. The Santa Ynez Valley is located in southern Santa Barbara County, between 2 mountain ranges. The western part of the valley gets cool Pacific…
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The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is a wine I found selling at a local wine shop for $11.99. Cannonball Wine was founded in 2016 with the mission goal of making “the best California Cabernet under $20“, they have since branched out to include Melot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. The Cannonball California Sauvignon Blanc 2022…
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The Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Red Blend 2021 is a $10.99 Costco exclusive. Costco often names the producer of their Signature wines, but not here. This is a Bordeaux Blend with 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Carmenere is the other Bordeaux-approved Red grape, but it is…
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The Peaks & Tides Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is a $11.99 Aldi exclusive. There is a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast AVA from Peaks and Tides. The Peaks and Tide’s name is more reflective of the Sonoma Coast AVA than Sonoma County since the is located in Coastal Mountain Valleys….
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The Vinha Da Fonte Reserva 2021 is a $8.99 Trader Joe’s import wine though it is available in other countries. This Red Blend is produced by Casa Ermelinda Freitas, a winery in business since 1920 in the south of Portugal inside the Setúbal Peninsula Region. This wine is a blend of Castelão (25% a local…
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The Revelation Pays D’Oc Chardonnay 2021 is $7.99 at Trader Joe’s in the US and is widely available in other countries. Badet Clement is the producing winery. That is a project by two winemakers who make affordable wines with grapes from the Rhone Valley, Burgundy, and the Languedoc, and about 2/3rds of their wines are…
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Send us Fan Mail Noble Vines 181 Merlot 2020-Attack of the 181 Clones The importance of Clones in Grape Varietals cannot be overestimated. Except for value-priced wines, where quality grapes regardless of the clone are King. High-priced Pinot Noir is all based on the proper clone being used. There are vineyards in Bordeaux that have…
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The Noble Vines 181 Merlot 2020 is $7.99 at Costco, anywhere from $8 to $14 online. Nobles Vines is a Delicato Family Vineyards brand that started in Lodi and expanded to Napa Valley and recently purchased Coppola wines in Sonoma. The 181 in the title refers to the number of the Merlot Clone they planted…
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Send us Fan Mail Get ready to raise your wine glasses as I, Domain Dave, introduce you to a hidden gem from the shelves of Costco: the Kirkland Signature Series Columbia Valley Red Wine 2021. Crafted by esteemed French winemaker Nicole from Long Shadow, this wine is a testament to how affordable wines can rival…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Ready for a sensory journey that takes your palate on a tropical vacation without the hefty price tag? Join me, Domain Dave, as we uncork the delightfully affordable Picton Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 from Trader Joe’s, a bright and lively wine that’s as refreshing as a summer breeze. We’ll explore…
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The Rough And Ready Cabernet Franc Vs Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s wine, but in places that don’t have a Trader Joe’s this wine sells for $15 to $18. It is a wine made for Trader Joe’s by Bozzano & Co., they have produced other quality wine for TJ’s in the past….
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Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2021-A Quality 10 Buck Red Blend A Meritage Blend uses the grapes approved for Bordeaux Red Wines. Meritage is a California Organization that promotes Bordeaux grapes, funds studies for vineyard advances, and educates wine drinkers. Wineries must pay a fee to use Meritage on the…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Paso Robles Meritage 2021 is a $9.99 TJ’s exclusive. The back label says this Red was “vinted and bottled by Healdsburg Wine Cellars.” That is a division of Delicato Family Wines, they make Gnarlyhead wines, along with many other brands. They recently purchased Coppola WInes and also have holdings in Napa….
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Send us Fan Mail Cloudline Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2021- Legit Under $20 Pinot Noir After 15 years of writing CheapWineFinder.com, I have figured out that my favorite wines are Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Hey, your CWF why are you promoting expensive Boutique Pinot? Because years of drinking Trader Joe's, Aldi's, and Costco wines have…
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The Outlander Meritage Paso Robles 2021 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive. The Meritage in the name indicates that this is a Bordeaux blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec grapes. To be a Meritage wine a license is purchased from the Meritage Alliance. They are an industry group promoting education and working on…
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Send us Fan Mail 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Blanc 2021-Sippin' On Sauvignon Blanc Who knew that Snoop Dogg's Sauvignon Blanc from 19 Crimes is the perfect Patio Pounder wine of the summer of 2023? This wine is rated Medium-Sweet, but it has enough acidity to balance the sugar. This is a Sau Blanc that…
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The 19 Crimes Snoop Dogg Cali Blanc 2021 is California Sauvignon Blanc, Cali Blanc is simply Snoop’s name for it. There is a history of calling this grape something other than Sauvignon Blanc. In the 1960s Robert Mondavi tried selling high-end Sauv Blanc and nobody was buying. In those days Sauvignon Blanc was the cheap…
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The Land of the Saints Central Coast Pinot Noir 2021 is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from three vineyards one in the Edna Valley AVA, the next in Arroyo Grande AVA, and the Santa Maria Valley all located inside San Luis Obispo County. For reference, Paso Robles is also inside San Luis Obispo County. It is…
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