The Apothic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Zinfandel, and 4% various Red grapes (according to SAQ, the Quebec Liquor Authority). The Apothic line of wine is one of E & J Gallo’s many wine labels, they are the largest family-owned winery in the US. The Apothic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 lists for $11.99…
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The Trader Joe’s Petit Reserve Barossa Shiraz 2020 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes grown in the Barossa Valley of South Australia. There is a chart at Trader Joe’s that says Petit Reserve wine equals retail wines selling in the $12 to $15 range. A quick check of the web showed several…
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Send us Fan Mail Rodney Strong Russian River Pinot Noir 2018-Classic Value-Priced Estate Pinot Ok, this is an estate Pinot Noir most of the grapes came from one of the first Pinot Noir vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA. Rodney Strong came to Sonoma in 1959 and is one of the modern Pioneers of…
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The Rodney Strong Russian River Pinot Noir 2018 is an estate-grown 100% Pinot Noir. For a little bit of background, Rodney Strong was a dancer on Broadway who came to Sonoma in 1959 and became a modern pioneer of California wine. He was one of the first to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River…
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Send us Fan Mail Hook or Crook Cellars Lodi Chardonnay 2020- A Costco Bargain Chardonnay This is a classic California Chardonnay in the style of the great Napa Chardonnay's, but sleek and modern. If you are a no oak Chardonnay person maybe this is not your style. But if you are a great-tasting Chardonnay person…
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The Hook or Crook Cellars Lodi Chardonnay 2020 is currently available at Costco for under $12, but will soon be available across the country at wine retail outlets. This Chardonnay is produced by Thomas Allen Wine Estates of the Lodi AVA. They produce 12,000,000 bottles of wine a year all for other major wine brands….
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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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The Lazy Bones Paso Robles Cabernet Franc 2020 is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It has been $6.99 for years we first reviewed the 2013 vintage, here s a link. This Red was produced by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse back then. Today the producer on the back label is Miller Family Wine Company. It…
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The Hook Or Crook Cellars Field Blend 2018 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, and Petite Sirah sourced from a vineyard in the Lodi AVA of California’s Central Valley. This is a brand of wine from Thomas Allen Wine Estates (Lodi). They produce over 1,000,000 cases (12,000,000 bottles) for well-known brands. This brand…
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Send us Fan Mail Michael David Freakshow Zinfandel 2019-Freaking Good There is an effort in California to elevate Zinfandel wines to be equal to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. I always loved Zinfandel, I never thought they weren't equal. But elegant, sophisticated is the new normal. I have nothing against elegant and sophisticated, but…
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The Michael David Freakshow Zinfandel 2019 is 86% Zinfandel, 8% Petite Sirah, and 6% Petit Verdot sourced from vineyards in the Lodi AVA. Petite Sirah is often found blended with ZInfandel, it is almost a surprise if no Petite Sirah is added. Petit Verdot is one of the Red grapes approved for wines in Bordeaux….
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The Caretaker Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced for them by Miller Family Wine Company. The Caretaker brand has been available at Trader Joe’s since at least the 2009 vintage when CWF reviewed their Pinot Noir. In the past, the Caretaker wines had the Central Coast Wine Warehouse as the…
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The Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2020 is the “entry-level” Chardonnay from Wente Vineyards, the oldest continuously operated family-owned winery in America (founded in 1883). They survived World Wars, the Depression, and Prohibition, and their story is of great significance to the entire wine industry. In 1912 Ernest Wente started working on grapevine cutting from a…
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The William Wright Monterey Chardonnay 2019 is a $6.99 Aldi exclusive, produced for them by Scheid Vineyards located in Greenfield, Monterey County in the California Central Coast AVA. Scheid is a large family-owned winery and this wine does show up in their portfolio on their website. The back label says “This classic Chardonnay was sourced…
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The Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Paso Robles Organic Zinfandel 2020 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. This is a wine that seems to be available every year, most Trader Joe’s Reserve wines are one-off wines. TJ’s does not offer information concerning the vineyard selection or the production techniques but there are details that we can…
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Send us Fan Mail Trader Joe's Reserve Chalone Pinot Noir 2020- The Best Ten Dollar Pinot Noir #2 Chalone is a 300-acre AVA 1,300 to 2,300 feet up in the Monterey coastal mountains. The soil is closer to Burgundy, France than California and the climate is all it's own. Pinot Noir from the Chalone AVA…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Chalone Pinot Noir 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The interesting part of the last sentence was the reference to the Chalone AVA. The Chalone AVA is perched about 1,200 to 2,300 upon a plateau in the Monterey coastal mountains. There are only 300 acres of vines planted with only…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Sonoma Valley Merlot 2020 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from grapes farmed in the Sonoma Valley AVA and produced for TJ’s by William Knuttel Winery. They make their own high-end wine along with custom wine for folks like Trader Joe’s. Tj’s Fearless Flyer mentions William Knittel Winery as one…
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The Curious Beasts Chardonnay 2019 is a supermarket wine, it is made for Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel/Osco, and a host of other stores in the chain. It is produced exclusively for them the same way Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s, and Costco have their wines made for them. The Curious Beasts brand has been around for several years…
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The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir 2020 s a $12.99 TJ’s exclusive. The 2020 vintage is the 12th edition of this Pinot Noir, here is a link to a CWF review of the 1st edition, it was ten bucks then. Every Carneros Grand Reserve is Lot #23, so it seems all 12 vintages…
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Send us Fan Mail Mon Frére Chardonnay 2018-Au Contraire Mon Frère Peppy LaPew, Bart Simpson, Bill Murray in Caddyshack? The name comes from somewhere, but I think it actually comes from how the Chardonnay is a blend of California and Burgundian winemaking techniques. Talk about the best of both worlds. If you like your Chardonnay…
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The Mon Fére Chardonnay 2018 is a brand and winery from Taub Family Selections, which are mainly importers but have their own vineyards and wineries. They have a very extensive portfolio of wines. This Chardonnay is sourced from grapes grown in Mendocino, Monterey, and Lodi. That is a textbook example of why the Chardonnay shows…
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The Stormchaser Wild Ride Red 2019 is a $7.99 Aldi exclusive farmed from grapes grown in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. It seems to be produced for Aldi by the largest privately owned wine company in Washington. I checked the California Wine COLA website for the lister producer. They do not show this wine…
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The Marengo Mauro Nas-Cetta 2020 is a White wine from the Langhe district near the town of Novello in the Piedmont area of northwest Italy. Marengo Mauro is a family-owned and operated winery, every member of the family has a duty. One manages the vineyards, another does the graphics and packaging, another oversees the winemaking,…
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The Union and Branch Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 are a $14.99 Aldi wine exclusive produced for them by a large family-owned wine estate located in the Monterey AVA of California. The $14.99 price point is a stretch for Aldi wine. They have an excellent $19.99 Champagne that they release every year for the holidays,…
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