The Trader Joe’s Sonoma County Brut Rosé is a $9.99 blend of 84% Pinot Noir and 16% Pinot Meunier produced for TJ’s by Rack and Riddle, a custom Sparkling Wine facility located in Sonoma, California. Pinot Meunier is a grape that is routinely used in Champagne, but does not get star billing like the other…
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The Leer Vineyards Valiant White is a non-vintage Moscato sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. The Valiant White and the Heroic Red Blend were created to support the Military Warriors Support Foundation provide mortgage free and tax-free homes for combat wounded veterans. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold go…
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The Leer Vineyards Heroic Red is a non-vintage blend of 58% Syrah, 29% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from several California grape growing AVA’s. That is the particulars on this bottle of wine, but that is not the story here. The Leer Family and Leer Vineyards (Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay…
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The Outlander Meritage 2013 is a $8.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Paso Robles AVA inside the Central Coast AVA of California. A Meritage wine is made from the grapes varietals that are permitted for use in the Red blends of Bordeaux in France. Here the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot…
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The Cotillion Pinot Noir 2013 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in 60% Monterey County, 24% Sonoma County and 16% Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara County is about an hour north of Los Angles, Monterey County is north of Paso Robles and both are part of the Central Coast AVA. Sonoma County…
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The VINTJS Paso Robles Syrah 2013 is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. Trader Joe’s uses the VINTJS label when they are offered a one time only deal on a limited amount of wine. Here, they indicate this Syrah came from a family owned winery in Paso Robles and if they told you which vineyard the…
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The Rodney Strong Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from both estate and contracted vineyards in the Sonoma Coast AVA, Russian River AVA and the Dry Creek AVA, all inside Sonoma County in northern California. Rodney Strong Vineyards (Rodney Strong was a professional dancer, he danced ballet and on Broadway. He said he didn’t think…
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The Seadrift Pinot Noir 2014 is a $7.99 ALDI exclusive sourced from more than one grape growing AVA in California. ALDI never gives out much information about their wines, a quick check of the internet showed that the Seadrift is produced by a custom winery located in the Central Coast AVA, but anything more than…
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The Saved Red Wine 2013 is a project between Scott Campbell, an artist and founder of Saved Tattoo, Brooklyn, New York and Clay Brock, a wine-maker whose resume includes Edna Valley Vineyards, Byron Vineyards, Zaca Mesa and currently Wild Horse Winery. The name Saved does not necessarily have religious overtones, Scott Campbell (his designs have…
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The Sterling Vintner’s Collection Meritage 2013 is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot sourced from Sterling’s Paris Valley Ranch Vineyard near Monterey Bay along with other vineyards in California’s Central Coast AVA. A Meritage wine (rhythms with heritage) is a Red Blend wine based on the wine-making tradition of…
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The Chateau La Paws Cabernet Sauvignon is a non-vintage wine (grapes come from more than on vintage) sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Chateau La Paws is made by, or more accurately vinted and bottled by Rosenberg Cellars, who are owned by Diego Chateau & Estate Wines. Who in turn…
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The Onx Moon Dark Red Blend (the label reads MOONX) is a non-vintage $6.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA and made for Trader Joe’s by one of the larger wineries in Lodi, California. The Onx Moon is one of…
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The Rabbit Ridge Allure de Robles 2013 is a Rhone inspired wine blend, available for $6.99 at Trader Joe’s, but it does not seem to be an exclusive wine, sourced from vineyards in Paso Robles inside the Central Coast AVA of California. Northern Rhone wines are Syrah based wines and Southern Rhone Reds are Syrah…
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The Cycles Gladiator Chardonnay 2013 is sourced from vineyards in the Arroyo Seco AVA (inside the Monterey AVA) and the Livermore Valley AVA (near the San Francisco Bay), both inside the Central Coast AVA of California. The Cycles Gladiator brand was started in 2005 by Hahn Family Wines, Hahn recently decided to overhaul their wine…
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The Sargent Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is a $6.99 ALDI’s wine sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. The Sargent Canyon Cabernet is Estate grown and sustainably farmed. So who or what is Sargent Canyon? A quick check with Google shows that Sargent Canyon is a trademark owned by Scheid Vineyards, vineyards and winery…
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The Jargon Pinot Noir 2012 is 76% Pinot Noir, 18% Syrah and 6% Petite Sirah, the Syrah is sourced from the Monterey AVA, the Pinot and the Petite Sirah are sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. Jargon is one of Trinchero Family Estates (founded in 1974) line of wines, other brands include…
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The Emma Pearl Pinot Noir 2013 is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. The Emma Pearl Pinot is 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Petite Sirah. Now, California Pinot Noir does not usually sell for under 4 bucks, there is a story to tell here. Treasury…
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The Green Fin Grenache Rose’ 2013 is 76% Grenache, 20% mixed Red grapes and 4% mixed White grapes sourced from certified organic (the Green Fin is Vegan friendly, too) vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. Green Fin is a $4.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, produced by Bronco Wines (the makers of Two…
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The 2013 Oak Ridge Winery OZV Red Blend is Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Merlot sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. Oak Ridge Winery is the oldest winery in the Lodi AVA, started as part of a Co-op (a wine Co-op is where a group of vineyard owners band…
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The 2013 Woodwork Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards in coastal regions of the Central Coast AVA of California. Woodwork is one of The Wine Bars brands of wine that include Snap Dragon, Ensemble, Uppercut and many others. The key to the Woodwork line of wines is their use of oak staves, instead of oak…
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The 2012 Lander Jenkins Chardonnay is one of Rutherford Wine Companies brands of wine, they also produce Rutherford Ranch, Predator and Round Hill wines, among others. The grapes are sourced the Central Coast, the Central Valley and the North Coast, as well as Rutherford Wine Company estate vineyards (and long-term grower vineyards) in Napa, Monterey…
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The 2012 Maryhill Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from 2 vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington. Maryhill Winery is family owned and was founded in 1999, by 2009 they were named Washington Winery of the Year and in 2015 were named Pacific Northwest Winery of the year. This Sauv Blanc was fermented and aged…
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The 2011 Viña Fuerte Tempranillo Crianza is a $4.99 ALDI’s import exclusive, bottled by Bodegas Isidro Milagro using grapes grown in the La Mancha DO (a DO is similar to an AVA in California, it delineates the boundaries of a wine region and provides rules and regulations) of central Spain. La Mancha is a huge…
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The 2013 Earthstone Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc is $4.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced by a family owned, sustainably farmed, carbon neutral winery located in Healdsburg, California. Trader Joe’s does not say who produces this Sauv Blanc, but if you Google carbon neutral, solar powered, family owned wineries in Healdsburg, it’s easy to figure out. Single…
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The 2013 Black Ink Red is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Malbec and Zinfandel sourced from more than one California grape growing Ava. When 85% of the grapes in the bottle come from one AVA (such as Napa, Lodi, Paso Robles, etc..), then you will see that AVA shown on the front label. If none…
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