The Ava Grace California Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is one of the many brands from The Wine Group, the second-largest US wine company and the third in the world in terms of volume. Ava Grace has a full line of wines and the winemaker is Andrea Brambila. The Ava Grace California Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is a…
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Send us Fan Mail Vigilance Red Hills AVA Sauvignon Blanc 2020-An Excellent California Sauv Blanc Red Hills AVA is inside the Lake County AVA just north of Napa. For years they sold their grapes to other wineries. Today, excellent wineries are making terrific wine in Lake County. Vigilance is one of the brands from Shannon…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Meiomi California Pinot Noir NV-The New Meiomi Meiomi Pinot Noir is a hugely successful wine, with more than 7,000,000 bottles sold a year. Constellation Brands bought this wine in 2015, and there have been changes made to this Pinot Noir. Is it still what you know and expect? Check out http://www.cheapwinefinder.com…
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The Meiomi California Pinot Noir NV is a very popular wine. In 2015, Constellation Brands purchased the Meiomi brand from Joe Wagner of the Wagner family of Caymus fame for $315,000,000. At the time, Meiomi was selling 600,000 cases of Pinot Noir per year, that is, over 7 million bottles. From what I have read,…
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Send us Fan Mail Louis Pommery Brut NV-$20-Thinking French-Drinking California I was about to buy a $14.99 Trader Joe's Reserve Sonoma Sparkling wine when I remembered there are Napa/Sonoma outposts of celebrated Champagne Houses. The Louis Pommery sells for $20, and it's Champagne big brother is CHampagne Pommery, the creator of Brut Champagne. I do…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Heartleaf California Rosé 2020- $6 Adult Rosé That Would Pair With Thanksgiving. A $5.99 Trader Joe's Rosé is produced in the same manner as the inexpensive European food wines. In France, Italy, etc., they drink wine that sells for a few euros with each meal. The wine is inexpensive, but the…
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The Heartleaf California Rosé 2020 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive produced by a private brand winery located in Napa. The last few Trader Joe’s wines we reviewed were also sold at retail wine shops in New York, and Trader Joe’s prices are 40% to 50% than the same wines at the retail shop. While…
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Send us Fan Mail The Farmhouse California Red 2019 is a blend of Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache sourced from vineyards in California. Farmhouse California is one of Cline Family Cellars' line of wine.Cline is a family-owned winery founded in 1981 that specializes in sustainably farmed vineyards and wine. One of the…
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The Farmhouse California Red 2019 is a blend of Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache sourced from vineyards in California. Farmhouse California is one of Cline Family Cellars’ line of wine. Cline is a family-owned winery founded in 1981 that specializes in sustainably farmed vineyards and wine. One of the things I admire…
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The Hacienda Methode Champenois Brut California Sparkling Wine is 100% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. This is one of Bronco Wines (yes, the 2 Buck Chuck folks) over 100 wine brand labels, they have 18 different Sparkling wine labels. Bronco wines is a huge operation and virtually all…
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The California Roots Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 is a $5 Target exclusive sourced from vineyards located in more than one California grape growing AVA. California Roots is made for Target by Trinchero Family Estates whose wines include, Charles & Charles, Menage a Trois, Joel Gott, Folie a Duex, The Show, and 3 Thieves (along with many others),…
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The California Roots Chardonnay 2016 is Targets 5 dollar answer to Trader Joe’s 2 Buck Chuck. It’s a little bit more expensive than Charles Shaw wines ( $2.99 in Illinois) and that $2.01 may be well spent. There may well be a too low price for wine, especially Red wine. Many White grape wines, Pinot Grigio,…
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The DeLoach California Chardonnay 2014 is sourced from vineyards in the delta region of California. Which include Clarksburg and Lodi, they a warm weather growing region, but they are in line with the San Francisco Bay and receive cooling winds in the morning and evening. DeLoach is one of the labels for the Boisset Collection, a family owned business that has properties…
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The Avalon CAB California Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Syrah, 7% Zinfandel and 4% Merlot sourced from vineyards located in Napa Valley (the largest % of the grapes come from Napa), Lodi, Paso Robles and Monterey County in Northern California. This Cab was aged for 8 months in French and American oak…
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The 2012 PoiZin California Zinfandel is 75% Zinfandel, 19% Petite Sirah and 6% Grenache sourced from more than one California grape growing AVA. There are actually 2 different PoiZin bottlings, this one, sourced from California vineyards, which has the black skull and crossbones on the label (should sell for a little over $10) and the…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2024 Wine has changed; California has changed! Just because last year’s wine had perfect conditions does not mean this year’s wine has the same. Trader Joe’s, in the past, may have had five to ten new wines a month. Those times are gone. Each vintage needs to…
Read MoreThe Compass Bridge Sonoma Chardonnay 2024 is a $9 Trader Joe’s exclusive. It appears to be produced by Delicato/Coppola Wines. The Story The back label reads ” Vinted and bottled by Compas Bridge,” Manteca and Geyserville, California. Manteca (Lodi AVA) is the home of Delicato Family Vineyards, and Geyserville is the home of Coppola Wines….
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Underwood Oregon Pinot Gris 2023 Ok, Ok, so Oregon Pinot Gris has nothing in common with New Orleans Voodoo culture! Except they are both pretty cool. This is an affordable, tasty Oregon White wine that sips great. Gris is French for grey, and Grigio is Italian for grey, and it refers…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 This is a value-priced Pinot Noir that I have enjoyed for several vintages. I never knew I liked Santa Barbara Pinot Noir and Chardonnay until Trader Joe’s started offering these wines at value prices. Buying at full price would never have given me…
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The Trader Joe’s Reserve Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2024 is a $9.99 Trader Joe’s wine, produced and bottled by (that means they made it) Bozzano and Company. The Story Bozzano & Company is a wine company based in the Central Coast AVA of California. They have made many wines for Trader Joe’s. Check out their…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Kirkland Signature Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 This is a Kirkland wine that has been around since 2014; they have a stable supplier from Stags Leap AVA The reason they say Stags Leap District is because Stags Leap Winery has a worldwide reputation, and they do not want to make…
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 This is the $7.99 Costco Renwood Zin. The podcast has a story about Renwood. There have been major changes recently. Renwood, in spite of the changes, is still a remarkable wine. Amador County still makes excellent Zinfandel. This is a bargain; find out why!…
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The Renwood Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel 2023 is selling for $7.99 at Costco and in the $ 15-plus range elsewhere. The Story Amador County wine country is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and this is where the Gold Rush occurred. It is east of Napa and north and east of Lodi….
Read MoreSend us Fan Mail Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Brut Cuvée This is a Bubbly that sells in the $20 range that I found at a sale price of $7.99. I was very happy. This is a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and French Colombard blend made with the Charmat Method. This is not a cookie-cutter Bubbly; it has…
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The Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Brut Cuvée is a wine I found on sale for $8, while the going internet price is closer to $20. The Story Kendall-Jackson is a family-owned wine company in business since 1982, and it has a truly impressive brand portfolio. Click on the link; they have a wine for every price…
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